From Ruru, the mighty lord of the demons, arose Charma and Munda, and when the Goddess took them in hand, she became known as Chamunda. This Goddess, supreme ruler and the most terrible among all beings, is the destroyer, called Kalaratri. Around her gathered countless millions of her attendant goddesses, surrounding the highly fortunate Goddess and standing by her side. These attendants, eager for demon flesh and driven by hunger, addressed the Goddess: “We are hungry, O auspicious one; give us food, O Goddess.” Hearing their plea, the Goddess pondered what food she could provide, but found nothing suitable nearby to offer them. In her contemplation, she meditated upon Mahadeva, Rudra—the lord of creatures, all-pervading and supreme. Rudra, the three-eyed one, arose from his meditation and quickly spoke to the Goddess, “What task do you wish to accomplish? Speak, O beautiful one, tell me what is on your mind.” The Goddess replied, “O lord of the gods, you must provide something here for these ones to eat. These mighty beings are demanding food from me with great force. Otherwise, O lord, they may even devour me.” Rudra answered, “Hear from me, O queen of the gods, of a food I have prepared for them. Listen as I declare it, O beautiful one, O Kalaratri, O greatly radiant. Any woman who, while pregnant, wears the clothing of another woman, or puts it on, or even touches it—especially that of a man—let that portion, O highly fortunate one, belong to some of them upon the earth. Let others, having seized children at doorways, receive offerings there and remain well-pleased for hundreds of years. Others, honored in the birthing chamber, may seize an opening there, O queen of the gods; and still others may dwell as takers of newborns. In houses, fields, ponds, reservoirs, and gardens, women who stand constantly, distracted and weeping—some beings enter their bodies and attain satisfaction.” Having spoken thus to the Goddess, Rudra, radiant in power, looked upon Ruru and his fallen army, the lord of the demons, and offered praise to the three-eyed Goddess. Rudra proclaimed, “Triumph, O goddess Chamunda! Triumph, remover of beings! Triumph, all-pervading goddess! O Kalaratri, I bow to you. O universal form, auspicious, pure, three-eyed with strange eyes, fierce in appearance, O Shiva, O knowledge, O great illusion, O great awakening! Swift as the mind, victorious, expanding, fierce-eyed, agitated destroyer, great death, of wondrous form, fond of song and dance, auspicious one! Terrible, great Kali, O Kalika, remover of sin, holding a noose and a staff, fierce in form, frightening one! O Chamunda, with blazing mouth, sharp fangs, mighty strength, goddess seated upon a corpse, Shiva dwelling among spirits! Fierce-eyed, terrifying goddess, causing fear to all beings, grim, dreadful, great time, fierce one, Kali, Karali, powerful, O Kalaratri, I bow to you. O goddess with a dreadful face, O flame-mouthed, I bow to you. O goddess, benefactor of all beings, O goddess of all, I bow to you.” Pleased by Rudra’s praise, the supreme Goddess spoke: “Choose a boon, O lord of gods, whatever is in your mind.” Rudra requested, “O goddess, those who praise you with this hymn, O beautiful-faced, may you grant boons to them, O goddess, ever-present and true. Whoever, with devotion, recites this threefold hymn to you, O goddess, attains sons, grandsons, livestock, and prosperity. Whoever hears this, with devotion, concerning the origin of the three powers, becomes free from all sin and attains a state free from suffering.” Having thus praised the supreme goddess Chamunda, Bhava vanished in an instant, and the gods returned to heaven. Whoever knows this threefold origin of the goddess and holds it, becomes free from all sin and attains supreme liberation. When a king, deprived of his kingdom, observes the ninth day with purity and fasts on the eighth and fourteenth days, within a year he regains a kingdom free from obstacles. This threefold power has been declared, following the principles of conduct; this is the white, supreme creation, sattvic, established in Brahma. This same power is red in passion, called Vaishnavi; this same is black in darkness, called Raudri, the goddess. Just as the Supreme Self, O divine one, is one yet established in three forms, so too, by necessity, the single power became threefold. Whoever hears this account of creation, the supreme auspiciousness of the triple power, becomes free from all sin and attains the highest liberation. Whoever listens to this with devotion, steadfast on the ninth day, obtains incomparable sovereignty and is freed from all fears. For the one whose home always holds this written text, there will be no dreadful fear from fire, serpents, thieves, or the like. And whoever worships this, even when it is kept in a book, with devotion and wisdom, all the three worlds, with their moving and unmoving beings, are as if offered by him. Cattle, sons, wealth, grain, noble women, jewels, horses, elephants, servants, and vehicles quickly arise for the one whose home holds this; these surely come to him. Śrī Varāha then said, “This very secret has been declared to you, O bearer of beings; the entire greatness of Rudra has been recounted by me. There are nine crore forms of Chamunda, established in various distinctions; that fierce, dark power is called Chamunda. There are eighteen crore forms of Vaishnavi, it is said; that royal power is the sustaining Vaishnavi, and the Brahma power, established in sattva, is declared to be infinite. Among all these distinct forms, individually and separately, Lord Rudra is the master and pervader of them all.