Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Rishi said:

After the Daitya Chanda was slain and Munda was felled and so many battalions destroyed, then the Demon King, the mighty Shumbha, his mind overcome with anger, commanded the marshalling of his entire army of Demons.
“Let the eighty-six companies of troops march forth with weapons at the ready and the eighty-four Kambus march with their elephant forces.
Let the fifty bravest Asura clans go forth.
Let the hundred families of Dhaumras go forth at my command.
Let the Kalakas, the Daurhritas, the Mauryas and the Kalakeyas march out at my order, equipped for battle.”

After issuing orders, the ferocious Demon King Shumbha marched out with his thousands of forces.
Then Chandika saw that terrible army advance. She twanged Her bowstring.
The sound vibrated all the space between Earth and Heaven.
Then, O King, the lion gave a mighty roar and Ambika magnified those roars by clanging Her bell.
Kali opened wide Her terrible mouth and filled the quarters with the sound “Hum.”
She overwhelmed the noises of the bowstring, the lion and the bell.
The angry demon army heard that tremendous sound from all directions.
They encircled those Goddesses, Chandika and Kali and the lion.

O King! Then, the Shaktis of all the Gods, of Indra, Brahma, Isha, Vishnu and Kartikeya, all came out in their true forms to join the Goddess Chandika in destroying the enemies of the Gods.
They came with the same weapons and vehicles as the Gods from whom they had emerged.
Brahma’s Shakti, called Brahmani, came in Her chariot drawn by swans. She carries a rosary and a water-pot.
Maheshvari came riding an ox, holding Her trident. She wears bracelets of great serpents and a crescent moon adorns Her forehead.
Ambika- Kaumari rides on a peacock. She carries a spear to slay demons.
Vaishnavi rides on Garuda. She carries Her conch, discus, mace, bow and sword.
Sri Hari’s Shakti advanced in the form of a boar. She is Varahi.
Likewise, Narasimhi came, in lion-form, like Narasimha, scattering constellations of stars with a toss of her mane.
Then the thousand-eyed Indrani came, seated on the king of elephants, wielding Her thunderbolt weapon.
After this, Lord Shiva, surrounded by all these Shaktis, asked Chandika to slay the demons to please Him:
“O Chandika, delight Me by slaying these demons at once.”
Immediately, the energy of Chandika emerged from Her body in the form of a ferocious Shakti, very powerful and making a noise like a hundred jackals.
This invincible Goddess, Aparjita, says to Shiva of the dark matted locks:
“Go, My Lord, as My ambassador to Shumbha and Nishumbha. Tell those two excessively proud demons, and all the others assembled for war, that they must restore Indra as sovereign of the three worlds so that the gods may again eat the fruit of sacrificial offerings. Say to them:
‘If you wish to continue living you must go back to hell. But, if you are still arrogant about your strength, and you still want to fight, then come on. Let My jackals feast their fill on your flesh.’”

As She appointed Lord Shiva Himself as messenger, She became known as Shivaduti after that.
The demons were so furious when Lord Shiva, the Lord of destruction told them Her message that they at once marched to where Katyayani stood.
Enraged, they showered volleys of arrows, javelins and other weapons on the Goddess.
She raised Her huge bow and easily cut through their missiles of arrows, spears, darts and axes.
Then Kali roaming in the forefront of the battle, tore them with Her pike and crushed them with Her skull-topped staff as She stalked about.
Brahmani sprinkled water from Her Kamandalu and drained the enemies’ vigour.
Maheshvari slew those daityas with Her trident, Vaishnavi with Her discus, Kaumari slew with Her javelin.
Aindri hurled Her thunderbolt down on them, tearing daityas and danavas to pieces. They fell to earth in hundreds, pouring streams of blood.
The boar-headed Goddess Varahi shattered the enemy with blows of Her snout. She wounded many, tearing their breast with Her tusks. Other asuras were felled by Her discus.
Narasimhi the lion-headed Goddess roamed through the battle, filling the sky with Her roars. She tore the asuras with Her claws and devoured them.
Many asuras, dazed by the fierce, loud laughter of Shivaduti, fell down and were eaten by Her. The combined powers of the angry Mothers was so terrible to behold that the demon army fled in disorder.
Then, the great and furious Raktabija saw the rout of his troops and strode into battle. Whenever a drop of his blood fell, another demon exactly like him appeared on the earth.
With his mace he fought against the Shakti of Indra while Aindri fought him with Her thunderbolt. Hit by the thunderbolt, his blood gushed out. Immediately fresh combatants just like him sprang up beside him. As many drops of blood that fell, so many persons of his strength and courage came into being.
These ferocious warriors hurled dreadful weapons at the Mothers. Again and again the thunderbolt struck his head and the blood that flowed brought forth thousands of Raktabijas.
Vaishnavi struck with Her discus and Aindri beats him with Her mace.
Each cut of Vaishnavi’s discus produced thousands of great demons. The world became full of them.
Kaumari struck with Her spear, Varahi with Her sword, Maheshvari with Her trident. And that great demon Raktabija, full of anger, struck each of the Mothers with his club.
But the streams of blood pouring from him where he was hit by the spears, swords and clubs only brought countless hundreds more like him into being.
The whole world became covered in demons. The Gods were all terrified.

Chandika laughed to see this and said:

“Quick, Kali, open Your mouth wide and catch the blood and the demons coming from this great asura. Roam the battlefield and devour these fresh demons. When his blood drains he will meet his doom. As You quickly eat these, the anger will be gone and no more demons will be born.”
Then Chandika struck him with Her pike. Kali caught his blood in Her mouth. He struck Chandika with his club but it caused Her no pain. Blood flowed from his many wounds and Kali caught it all in Her mouth. She also devoured the asuras who sprang from that blood.
The goddess hit him with all Her weapons; dart, thunderbolt, arrows, sword and spears, and Chamunda drank all the blood.
And so it was, O King, that finally he fell on the earth, stricken by a multitude of weapons and bloodless.
Then the Gods were filled with joy, and the Mothers, filled with blood, danced ecstatically.