In ancient times, there lived a demon maiden of striking beauty and auspicious presence named Māhiṣmatī. One day, as she beheld a delightful hermitage, her mind began to churn with mischief. “I shall frighten this ascetic myself, right here in his peaceful abode,” she thought, “and then remain here, playing with my companions, receiving great honor and delight.” With this intent, Māhiṣmatī, who possessed the radiance of a goddess, transformed herself into the formidable form of a buffalo with sharp-tipped horns, and her companions followed suit. Together, they made their way to the sage’s hermitage, hoping to terrify him. But the sage, perceiving her true nature through his divine insight, grew angry. With words burning with the power of his penance, he cursed the demon maiden: “Because you sought to frighten me in the form of a buffalo, O wrongdoer, you shall indeed become a buffalo for a hundred years.” Stricken with fear, Māhiṣmatī and her companions trembled and fell at the sage’s feet, pleading, “End this curse, O holy one.” Hearing her desperate plea, the sage’s heart softened with compassion. He granted her a way to be freed from the curse, declaring, “O blessed one, by giving birth to a son in this very buffalo form, your curse will end. My words shall not be in vain.” Thus instructed, Māhiṣmatī departed for the sacred banks of the Narmadā river, where the great ascetic Sindhudvīpa was engaged in severe penance. There, she encountered another demon maiden of surpassing beauty, Endumatī, who was seen by the sage as she plunged unclothed into the river’s waters. At that moment, the sage’s seed fell upon the rocky slope by the river. Māhiṣmatī, noticing the divine fragrance emanating from the water where the seed had mingled, said to her companion, “I will drink this pure water.” She drank the water, and thus, by the sage’s seed, Māhiṣmatī conceived and gave birth to a son. This son was endowed with wisdom, immense strength, and valor; he became known as Mahisha, the enhancer of the Brahma lineage. Now grown, Mahisha sought the goddess herself, the one who crushes the armies of the gods. Mahisha, having conquered the gods and the three worlds, sent a messenger to the goddess, promising her everything and offering himself, hoping to accomplish a great deed through her acceptance. When the messenger conveyed Mahisha’s proposal, the radiant goddess only laughed, saying not a word. As she laughed, the bewildered messenger beheld a wondrous vision: within her belly, he saw the entire universe, all that moves and does not move, and he was utterly overcome. At that moment, Jaya, the goddess’s powerful attendant, spoke aloud the thoughts held in the goddess’s heart. She declared, “You have spoken of seeking the maiden, but if her vow of maidenhood is eternal, there are other maidens here devoted to the goddess. Yet, not even one of them may be attained, let alone the auspicious goddess herself. Go, messenger, hasten away—nothing more will come of this for you.” Thus dismissed, the messenger departed. Just then, the great sage Narada descended from the sky, dancing and resounding with his ascetic power. Crying out, “By fortune! By fortune!” he approached the goddess, greeted her with reverence, and was received with honor. Bowing before the supreme goddess, he said, “O goddess, I have been sent by the pleased gods to you. The immortals have been defeated by the demon Mahisha, who now seeks to seize you, O goddess. I bring you this message from the gods: O beautiful-faced one, now is the time to firmly oppose that demon.” Having delivered his message, Narada vanished by his own will. The goddess then commanded all her maidens to arm themselves for battle. Instantly, those highly fortunate maidens assumed terrifying forms, wielding swords, shields, and bows, standing ready to destroy the demons. Meanwhile, the demon forces, abandoning the army of the gods, rushed to confront the goddess’s formidable host of women. In the ensuing battle, the proud maidens fought fiercely, and in a mere moment, struck down the fourfold army of the demons. Heads were severed and fell; chests were torn open, and flesh-eating spirits drank the blood. Some demon leaders, transformed into headless bodies, danced in frenzy. In a short time, all the evil-minded demons were destroyed, and the survivors fled to Mahishasura. When Mahisha saw his entire army in chaos and ruin, he demanded of his commander, “What is this? My army is shattered before my eyes!” The demon Yajñahanur, who bore the form of an elephant, replied, “This defeat has been caused everywhere by the maidens.” Enraged, Mahisha seized his mace and rushed at the maidens with beautiful eyes. One among them charged swiftly to meet him. Where the goddess stood, honored by gods and gandharvas alike, Mahisha advanced. Seeing him approach, the goddess assumed a wondrous form, manifesting twenty arms. She grasped twenty weapons: bow, sword, spear, arrows, trident, mace, axe, drum, a mighty bell, the hundred-killer, a dreadful mallet, a bhuśuṇḍī, another spear, pestle, discus, sling, staff, noose, banner, and lotus. Thus armed, the goddess mounted her fierce lion, and in her heart remembered Rudra, the wrathful lord of the gods and cause of destruction. At her remembrance, the bull-bannered Rudra himself appeared. The goddess bowed to him and declared, “O eternal Lord of gods, merely by your presence, I shall conquer all the demons.” Thus empowered, the supreme goddess defeated the demon host, sparing only Mahisha, whom she approached after slaying the rest. But upon seeing her, Mahisha himself turned and fled.