The Glory of the Goddess-Devi Mahatmyam

y the blows of her mace, lay down on the ground while some who were severely hammered
by the pestle vomited blood. Pierced in the breast by her trident, some fell on the ground.
In the battlefield, the asuras who afflicted the gods were caught in a flood of arrows and were
pierced all over by arrows. Resembling porcupines, they breathed their last. Some had their
arms cut off, some others their necks. Heads of others rolled down while some others were
torn asunder in the middle of their trunks. Some great asuras fell on the ground with their legs
severed. Some rendered one-armed, one-eyed, and one-legged were again rent into two by the
Goddess. And others, though rendered headless, fell and rose again. Some of these headless
trunks danced there in the battlefield to the rhythm of the battle drums. The trunks of some
other great asuras whose heads had been severed just then, shouted at the Devi “Stop, stop”,
with their swords, spears and lances still in their hands.
That part of the earth where the battle was fought became impassable with the asuras,
elephants and horses and chariots that had been felled. Streams of blood from the asuras,
elephants and horses flowed immediately like large rivers amidst that army of the asuras. As
fire consumes a huge heap of straw and wood, so did Ambika destroy that vast army of asuras
in no time. And her carrier-lion, thundering aloud with quivering mane, prowled about in the
battlefield, appearing to search out the vital breaths from the bodies of the enemies of the
gods. In that battlefield the battalions of the Goddess fought in such a manner with the asuras
that the gods were pleased and showered flowers from heaven.
Thus ends the second chapter – ‘Slaughter of the armies of Mahisasura’- of Devi-Mahatmya
in Markandeya Purana.
Chapter 3
Seeing that army being slain, Ciksura, the great asura general, proceeded in anger to fight
with Ambika. The asura rained showers of arrows on the Goddess in battle just as a cloud
showers rain on the peak of Mount Meru. Then the Goddess playfully cutting asunder the
volley of arrows, killed his horses and their driver with her arrows. Forthwith she broke his
bow and banner flying aloft, and with swift arrows she pierced the body of that asura whose
bow had been broken. His bow shattered, his chariot smashed, his horses killed and his
charioteer slain, the asura armed with sword and shield jumped at the Goddess. Swiftly he
struck the lion on the head with his sharp-edged sword and hit the Devi also on her left arm.
His sword broke into pieces as soon as it touched her arm. Eyes reddened with anger he took
the spear and hurled the resplendent weapon at Bhandrakali, as though he was hurling the
very orb of sun from the skies. Seeing the spear coming upon her, the Devi hurled her spear.
It shattered his spear into a hundred pieces, as it did likewise with the great asura.
When the very valiant general of Mahisha, was slain, Camara, the afflictor of the gods came
forward mounted on an elephant. He too hurled his lance at the Devi. Ambika quickly
assailed it with a grunt, made it lustreless and fall to the ground. Seeing his lance broken and
fallen, Camara, full of rage, hurled a spear, and she broke that also with her arrows. Then the
lion, leaping up and seating itself at the centre of the elephant’s forehead, engaged itself in a
hand to hand fight with that enemy of the gods. Fighting, the two then came down to the earth
from the back of the elephant, and fought very animatedly dealing each other terrible blows.
Then the lion, springing up quickly to the sky, and descending, severed Camara's head with a
blow of its paw.
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