Even after their heads had been severed and fallen to the ground, some of the asura warriors’ headless bodies rose again, animated by a terrible force. These trunk-like forms, undeterred by their decapitation, seized their foremost weapons and continued to battle the Goddess with undiminished fury. Others, amidst the chaos of war, danced wildly to the rhythm of the battle-drums; headless trunks wielded swords, spears, and lances, moving eerily across the field. The earth where this great battle raged soon became impassable, covered with heaps of fallen chariots, elephants, horses, and the bodies of asuras. Torrents of blood flowed in mighty rivers, coursing instantly through the asura army, washing over elephants, horses, and the demon warriors. In but a moment, Ambika brought destruction upon that vast army of asuras, consuming them as swiftly and completely as a blazing fire devours a heap of dry grass and wood. Her lion, shaking its mighty mane, let out a thunderous roar. It moved among the bodies of the enemies of the gods, seeking out their lives with relentless power. In that place, the Goddess and her hosts fought the asuras with such prowess and glory that the gods themselves, delighted, showered flowers from the heavens in celebration. Seeing his army being cut down, the great asura general Chikshura was seized by rage and advanced to confront Ambika. Like a raincloud pouring water on the peak of Mount Meru, Chikshura unleashed a torrential shower of arrows upon the Goddess. Yet, with effortless grace, the Goddess cut down his volleys of arrows. With her own shafts, she struck down his horses and his charioteer, leaving his chariot helpless. She then swiftly cut his bow and his towering banner, and struck his limbs with sharp arrows, shattering his weapon. Deprived of his bow, chariot, horses, and charioteer, Chikshura, now on foot and armed with sword and shield, rushed furiously toward the Goddess. He struck the lion on the head with his sharp-edged sword, and, filled with furious energy, also struck the Goddess on her left arm. But her arm received the blow, and the sword shattered upon impact. Enraged, his eyes red with fury, Chikshura seized his spear and hurled it at Bhadrakali, the Goddess, the weapon blazing and radiant like the sun’s disk in the sky. Seeing the spear speeding toward her, the Goddess released her own spear, and with divine force, her weapon shattered his spear into a hundred pieces, destroying the great demon Chikshura. With the fall of their mighty commander, another terror of the gods, Camara, appeared, riding a huge elephant. He hurled his spear at the Goddess, but Ambika, with a resounding humkāra, struck it down to the ground, rendering it powerless. Enraged at the loss of his weapon, Camara flung his trident, but the Goddess cut it apart with her arrows. Then the lion, leaping up, stood between the elephant’s temples, engaging in fierce, hand-to-hand combat with that great enemy of the gods. Both lion and asura fell from the elephant to the earth and, inflamed with fury, fought each other with terrible blows. With a sudden leap into the sky and a swift descent, the lion struck Camara with his paw and severed his head. Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Goddess struck down Udagra with rocks, trees, and similar weapons; Karala too was felled by blows from her teeth, fists, and palms. Enraged, she crushed Uddhata with her mace, shattered Vaskala with a club, and with arrows struck down Tamra and Andhaka. The Supreme Lady struck down Ugrāsya, Ugravīrya, and Mahāhanu as well, and with her trident, the three-eyed one slew Trinetra. She severed Bidāla’s head from his body with a sword; both Durdhara and Durmukha were sent to the abode of Yama by her arrows; Kālarātri struck down Kāla with the staff of death. She struck Agradarśana with exceedingly fierce sword-blows, and in the festival of battle, she cut down Asilomā with her sword, while her hosts and her lion exulted in the celebration of victory. As his army was being destroyed in this way, Mahiṣāsura himself, in his terrible buffalo form, began to terrorize the hosts of the Goddess. Some he struck with his beak, others with the blows of his hooves; some he battered with his tail, and others he tore apart with his horns. With his speed, he knocked down some, others he felled with his deafening roar and whirling motion; still others he cast to the ground with the force of his breath. After scattering the hosts of Pramathas, the demon rushed forward, intent on killing the lion of Mahadevi. This enraged Ambika. Mahiṣāsura, mighty in his wrath, trampled the earth with his hooves, hurled mountains high into the sky with his horns, and let out a terrifying roar. The earth was shattered by his furious spinning and speed; struck by his tail, the ocean overflowed in all directions. Clouds, split apart by his swinging horns, scattered in fragments, and hundreds of mountains fell from the sky, swept down by the force of his breath. Seeing the great demon, swollen with rage and rushing to attack, Caṇḍikā too became angry, intent on his destruction. She cast her noose upon him and bound the great demon. Even as he was bound in that great battle, he abandoned the form of a buffalo and, in an instant, became a lion. But as Ambika struck off his head, a man wielding a sword appeared there. Immediately, the Goddess cut down that man with her arrows, but together with his sword and shield, he transformed into a great elephant. With his trunk, he seized the great lion and roared; but as he dragged the lion, the Goddess severed his trunk with her sword. Once again, the great demon assumed the form of a buffalo, and in the same way, he shook the three worlds, with all their moving and unmoving beings, as the fierce battle raged on.