Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Seeing the Mother Ambika slay that whole army the Asura General Chikshura advanced enraged. He rained arrows on Her like clouds of rain on Mount Meru. She cut his masses of arrows easily with Her own arrows, killed his horses and charioteer, split his bow and his tall banner and pierced his limbs even as they held his shattered bow. He snatched up his sword and shield and rushed at Her, striking the lion on the head and slashing at Her left arm.
O King! That sword disintegrated when it touched Her arm. So he grasped his pike, red-eyed with rage, he flung it at Her.
Bhadrakali, the great Devi, saw the pike coming at Her like a blazing comet. She hurled Her pike and shattered his to fragments and the demon with it.
When that mighty general is slain, another General, Chamara, charged up on his elephant. He hurled his spear at Ambika who gave a disparaging hoot and struck it down lustreless. Seeing his broken spear fall Chamara angrily flung a pike at Her. She split it with arrows.
Then the lion leapt onto the forehead of the elephant and attacked that demon Chamara. They both fought fiercely as they fell from the elephant. Then the lion sprung up to the sky and came down severing Chamara’s head with a blow of his paw. Udgara was killed in the battle by the Devi using stones and trees and other missiles. And Karala She killed with Her teeth, fists and palms. And the angry Goddess ground Uddhata to powder with blows of Her club. Vaskala She killed with a dart, and Tamra and Andhaka with arrows.
The supreme three-eyed Goddess slayed Ugrasya and Ugravirya and Mahahanu all with Her trident. With Her sword she struck Vidala’s head clean down from his body. Durdhara and Durmukha She sent to Yama’s abode with Her arrows.
Now, as his army was being utterly destroyed, the Asura Mahisha assumed his buffalo form and attacked the troops of the Devi, terrifying them. Some he attacked with blows of his muzzle. Others he stamped with his hooves. Some were lashed by his tail and some slashed by his horns. Some he laid low on the face of the earth by the impetuous rush of his onslaught. Some were blasted by his breath or his bellowing or his wheeling career. Having laid low Her army, Mahishasura rushed to attack the Devi’s lion. This enraged Ambika.
Mahishasura, was fearless. He pounded the surface of the Earth with his hooves. In his rage he tossed the mountains aloft with his horns and bellows. Crushed by his impetuous wheeling, the Earth was crumbled to pieces. The sea, lashed by his tail, overflowed in every direction. Clouds, pierced by his swaying horns were rent to fragments; cast up by the blast of his breath, hundreds of mountains rained down from the sky.
Seeing the great Asura swollen with rage as he rushed on, Chandika let loose Her fury in order to slay him. She flung Her noose and bound him fast. Then as he is bound in that battle, he suddenly stops being a buffalo and becomes a lion.
While Ambika beheaded the lion he emerged as a man wielding a sword. She swiftly pierced the man and his sword and his shield with Her arrows. Then he changed into a huge elephant, grabbed her lion with his trunk and roared. But, as he pulled, She severed that trunk with Her sword. Then he became a buffalo again, shaking everything in the three worlds.
The Mother Chandika now became really angry and Her eyes grew red as She quaffed a divine drink again and again, and She laughed.
He was puffed up with his frenzy and strength and hurled mountains against Chandika with his horns as he roared.
With showers of arrows She shivered those mountains to atoms, Her face flushed, she drank and spoke swiftly:

“Roar. Roar on for a brief moment, O you fool, while I finish this wine. Soon the Gods will be roaring right here when you are slain by Me!”

The Rishi said:

As she spoke She leapt up and landed on that Asura, pinning him down by Her foot on his neck, She speared him. Caught by Her foot, Mahishasura’s real form began to emerge from his buffalo mouth. Chandika then struck off his head with Her great sword. Then all his demonic army, wailing with fear, were destroyed while the Gods arose in joyous exaltation.
The Gods and Rishis praised the Devi while the Gandharva Chiefs sang and Apsaras danced for joy.

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