195. Doṣavarjitā
She is free from any blemish.
In the defensive role of protecting the devotees, She will no doubt attack the evil forces and may appear to be cruel. But this is the cruelty of a surgeon who makes an incision, a wound in the patient's body to relieve him of the evil effects which are disturbing his peace. Hence, destructive forces used against evil cannot be considered to be wrong. On the contrary, the policing is a necessary evil so long as evil is present.
In the Rudram we find Śiva being described as Taskarāṇāmpati1 meaning that he is head of thieves and bandits. Brahmā the creator of the Vedas, was asked by the Ṛṣis: “Why did you call Śiva by such a name?”, Brahmā said: “You have to set a master thief to catch the lesser thieves.” Śiva is the master thief who serves the useful purposes of bringing to book the lesser forces of evil. Śiva wields his paśupatāstra to turn around or to destroy the evil forces working in a man. Devi is not different from Śiva. She serves the same purpose.
1 Śrī Rudram Anuvāka 3, verse 3: namo niṣaṅgiṇa iṣudhimate taskarāṇāṁ pataye namo - "salutations to the holder of the quiver, to the owner of the quiver, to the lord of robbers, salutation!"
Source: Śrī Amṛtānandanātha Sarasvatī "Sudhā Syandinī Bhāṣyaṃ" Typed Manuscript
(an incomplete commentary on Lalitā Sahasranāma)
