rājovāca . 1 .
The king said:
vicitramidamākhyātaṁ bhagavan bhavatā mama . devyāścaritamāhātmyaṁ raktabījavadhāśritam . 2 .
O revered one, you have told me this wondrous account of the Devi's deeds and greatness, the story of how Raktabija was slain.
bhūyaścecchāmyahaṁ śrotuṁ raktabīje nipātite . cakāra śumbho yatkarma niśumbhaścātikopanaḥ . 3 .
Now I wish to hear what Shumbha did after Raktabija fell, and what the wrathful Nishumbha did.
r̥ṣiruvāca . 4 .
The Rishi said:
cakāra kopamatulaṁ raktabīje nipātite . śumbhāsuro niśumbhaśca hateṣvanyeṣu cāhave . 5 .
When Raktabija had fallen and others had been slain in the battle, the asura Shumbha and Nishumbha were seized by a boundless rage.
hanyamānaṁ mahāsainyaṁ vilokyāmarṣamudvahan . abhyadhāvanniśumbho'tha mukhyayāsurasenayā . 6 .
Seeing his great army being slain, Nishumbha, burning with fury, rushed forward with the pick of the asura host.
tasyāgratastathā pr̥ṣṭhe pārśvayośca mahāsurāḥ . sandaṣṭauṣṭhapuṭāḥ kruddhā hantuṁ devīmupāyayuḥ . 7 .
Before him, behind him and at his sides came great asuras, biting their lips in anger, to slay the Devi.
ājagāma mahāvīryaḥ śumbho'pi svabalairvr̥taḥ . nihantuṁ caṇḍikāṁ kopāt kr̥tvā yuddhaṁ tu mātr̥bhiḥ . 8 .
Shumbha too, of great valour, came surrounded by his own forces, having fought the Mothers, to slay Chandika in his anger.
tato yuddhamatīvāsīddevyā śumbhaniśumbhayoḥ . śaravarṣamatīvograṁ meghayoriva varṣatoḥ . 9 .
Then a fierce battle broke out between the Devi and Shumbha and Nishumbha, the two of them pouring out a most violent rain of arrows, like two clouds raining.
cicchedāstāñcharāṁstābhyāṁ caṇḍikā svaśarotkaraiḥ . tāḍayāmāsa cāṅgeṣu śastraughairasureśvarau . 10 .
Chandika cut down the arrows those two had loosed with the storm of Her own, and struck both lords of the asuras on their limbs with a flood of weapons.
niśumbho niśitaṁ khaḍgaṁ carma cādāya suprabham . atāḍayanmūrdhni siṁhaṁ devyā vāhanamuttamam . 11 .
Nishumbha, taking up a sharp sword and a gleaming shield, struck the lion, the Devi's noble mount, on the head.
tāḍite vāhane devī kṣurapreṇāsimuttamam . niśumbhasyāśu ciccheda carma cāpyaṣṭacandrakam . 12 .
When Her mount was struck, the Devi at once cut through Nishumbha's fine sword with a razor-edged arrow, and his shield too, with its eight moons.
chinne carmaṇi khaḍge ca śaktiṁ cikṣepa so'suraḥ . tāmapyasya dvidhā cakre cakreṇābhimukhāgatām . 13 .
His shield and sword cut down, the asura hurled a spear; and as it came at Her, She split that too in two with Her discus.
kopādhmāto niśumbho'tha śūlaṁ jagrāha dānavaḥ . āyātaṁ muṣṭipātena devī taccāpyacūrṇayat . 14 .
Then the danava Nishumbha, swelling with rage, seized a trident; as it came, the Devi shattered that too with a blow of Her fist.
āvidhyātha gadāṁ so'pi cikṣepa caṇḍikāṁ prati . sāpi devyā triśūlena bhinnā bhasmatvamāgatā . 15 .
Then he whirled a mace and hurled it at Chandika; that too, split by the Devi's trident, was turned to ash.
tataḥ paraśuhastaṁ tamāyāntaṁ daityapuṅgavam . āhatya devī bāṇaughairapātayata bhūtale . 16 .
Then, as that bull among daityas came on, axe in hand, the Devi struck him with a flood of arrows and laid him on the ground.
tasminnipatite bhūmau niśumbhe bhīmavikrame . bhrātaryatīva saṅkruddhaḥ prayayau hantumambikām . 17 .
When Nishumbha, his brother of fearsome prowess, had fallen to the ground, Shumbha, in towering rage, went forth to slay Ambika.
sa rathasthastathātyuccairgr̥hītaparamāyudhaiḥ . bhujairaṣṭābhiratulairvyāpyāśeṣaṁ babhau nabhaḥ . 18 .
Standing in his chariot, with eight matchless arms raised high, each gripping a mighty weapon, he seemed to fill the whole sky.
tamāyāntaṁ samālokya devī śaṅkhamavādayat . jyāśabdaṁ cāpi dhanuṣaścakārātīva duḥsaham . 19 .
Seeing him come, the Devi blew Her conch, and drew from Her bowstring a twang most hard to bear.
pūrayāmāsa kakubho nijaghaṇṭāsvanena ca . samastadaityasainyānāṁ tejovadhavidhāyinā . 20 .
And She filled the quarters with the ringing of Her bell, a sound that struck the spirit from every daitya army.
tataḥ siṁho mahānādaistyājitebhamahāmadaiḥ . pūrayāmāsa gaganaṁ gāṁ tathaiva diśo daśa . 21 .
Then the lion, with great roars that made the mightiest elephants lose their rut, filled the sky, the earth and the ten directions.
tataḥ kālī samutpatya gaganaṁ kṣmāmatāḍayat . karābhyāṁ tanninādena prāksvanāste tirohitāḥ . 22 .
Then Kali leapt up into the sky and struck the earth with both Her hands; at that crash, all the sounds before it were lost.
aṭṭāṭṭahāsamaśivaṁ śivadūtī cakāra ha . taiḥ śabdairasurāstresuḥ śumbhaḥ kopaṁ paraṁ yayau . 23 .
Shivaduti laughed peal upon peal, a laughter that boded ill for the asuras; at those sounds the asuras trembled, and Shumbha flew into a towering rage.
durātmaṁstiṣṭha tiṣṭheti vyājahārāmbikā yadā . tadā jayetyabhihitaṁ devairākāśasaṁsthitaiḥ . 24 .
When Ambika called out, ‘Stand, stand, O wicked one!’, the gods standing in the sky cried, ‘Victory!’
śumbhenāgatya yā śaktirmuktā jvālātibhīṣaṇā . āyāntī vahnikūṭābhā sā nirastā maholkayā . 25 .
The spear Shumbha came and hurled, most dreadful with its flames, came on like a mountain of fire; She drove it off with a great blazing brand.
siṁhanādena śumbhasya vyāptaṁ lokatrayāntaram . nirghātaniḥsvano ghoro jitavānavanīpate . 26 .
Shumbha's lion-like roar filled the space of the three worlds, O king, but a crash as dreadful as a thunderclap overcame it.
śumbhamuktāñcharān devī śumbhastatprahitāñcharān . ciccheda svaśarairugraiḥ śataśo'tha sahasraśaḥ . 27 .
The Devi cut the arrows Shumbha loosed, and Shumbha the arrows She sent, each with fierce arrows of their own, into hundreds and thousands of pieces.
tataḥ sā caṇḍikā kruddhā śūlenābhijaghāna tam . sa tadābhihato bhūmau mūrcchito nipapāta ha . 28 .
Then Chandika, in wrath, struck him with Her spear; wounded, he fell senseless to the ground.
tato niśumbhaḥ samprāpya cetanāmāttakārmukaḥ . ājaghāna śarairdevīṁ kālīṁ kesariṇaṁ tathā . 29 .
Then Nishumbha, coming back to his senses, took up his bow and struck the Devi, Kali and the lion with arrows.
punaśca kr̥tvā bāhūnāmayutaṁ danujeśvaraḥ . cakrāyudhena ditijaśchādayāmāsa caṇḍikām . 30 .
Again that lord of the danavas, that son of Diti, took on ten thousand arms and covered Chandika with discuses.
tato bhagavatī kruddhā durgā durgārtināśinī . ciccheda tāni cakrāṇi svaśaraiḥ sāyakāṁśca tān . 31 .
Then Bhagavati Durga, who ends the suffering that is hard to cross, cut down those discuses and those arrows with arrows of Her own, in wrath.
tato niśumbho vegena gadāmādāya caṇḍikām . abhyadhāvata vai hantuṁ daityasenāsamāvr̥taḥ . 32 .
Then Nishumbha, surrounded by the daitya army, seized a mace and rushed at Chandika to slay Her.
tasyāpatata evāśu gadāṁ ciccheda caṇḍikā . khaḍgena śitadhāreṇa sa ca śūlaṁ samādade . 33 .
Even as he fell upon Her, Chandika swiftly cut through his mace with Her keen-edged sword, and he took up a trident.
śūlahastaṁ samāyāntaṁ niśumbhamamarārdanam . hr̥di vivyādha śūlena vegāviddhena caṇḍikā . 34 .
As Nishumbha, the tormentor of the gods, came on with the trident in his hand, Chandika pierced him through the heart with Her spear, hurled with force.
bhinnasya tasya śūlena hr̥dayānniḥsr̥to'paraḥ . mahābalo mahāvīryastiṣṭheti puruṣo vadan . 35 .
From the pierced heart came out another man, of great strength and great valour, crying, ‘Stop!’
tasya niṣkrāmato devī prahasya svanavattataḥ . śiraściccheda khaḍgena tato'sāvapatadbhuvi . 36 .
As he came out, the Devi laughed aloud, and with Her sword cut off his head; and he fell to the ground.
tataḥ siṁhaścakhādograṁ daṁṣṭrākṣuṇṇaśirodharān . asurāṁstāṁstathā kālī śivadūtī tathāparān . 37 .
Then the lion fiercely devoured those asuras whose necks he had crushed in his teeth, while Kali and Shivaduti devoured others.
kaumārīśaktinirbhinnāḥ kecinneśurmahāsurāḥ . brahmāṇīmantrapūtena toyenānye nirākr̥tāḥ . 38 .
Some great asuras, pierced by Kaumari's spear, perished; others were driven off by the water Brahmani had made pure with Her mantra.
māheśvarītriśūlena bhinnāḥ petustathāpare . vārāhītuṇḍaghātena keciccūrṇīkr̥tā bhuvi . 39 .
Others fell, split by Maheshwari's trident; some were ground to dust on the earth by blows of Varahi's snout.
khaṇḍaṁ khaṇḍaṁ ca cakreṇa vaiṣṇavyā dānavāḥ kr̥tāḥ . vajreṇa caindrīhastāgravimuktena tathā'pare . 40 .
Danavas were cut to pieces by Vaishnavi's discus, and others likewise by the thunderbolt loosed from Aindri's hand.
kecidvineśurasurāḥ kecinnaṣṭā mahāhavāt . bhakṣitāścāpare kālīśivadūtīmr̥gādhipaiḥ . 41 .
Some asuras perished, some fled from that great battle, and others were devoured by Kali, Shivaduti and the lion.