As the battle raged, the host of divine Mothers, fierce and radiant, swept through the ranks of the demons. Enraged, they crushed the great enemies of the gods, and the demon soldiers fell in countless ways, perishing before the power of the Mothers. Witnessing his forces fleeing in terror from the Mothers, Raktabīja, the mighty demon, was seized with fury. He advanced to the front lines, determined to fight. But Raktabīja possessed a dreadful power: whenever a drop of his blood fell upon the earth, from that very spot arose a new demon, equal in size and strength to himself. The battle grew ever more intense. Raktabīja, wielding a heavy mace, clashed with Indrāṇī, who fought with her spear. Indrāṇī struck him with her thunderbolt, and as it hit, blood spurted from his wounds. From each drop, warriors sprang forth, bearing Raktabīja’s form and valor. As many drops as fell, so many fierce men arose, each with his strength, power, and courage. These new demons joined the fray, fighting alongside the Mothers in a terrible battle, where exceedingly fierce weapons fell in torrents. Each time Raktabīja’s head was wounded by the thunderbolt, blood poured forth, and thousands more demons were born from those drops. Vaiṣṇavī struck Raktabīja with her discus, and Aindrī battered him with her mace. From the streams of blood that flowed from the wounds made by Vaiṣṇavī’s discus, countless great demons arose, filling the world with their numbers, each equal to Raktabīja himself. Kumāri pierced him with her spear, Vārāhī with her sword, and Māheśvarī with her trident. Yet Raktabīja, possessed by wrath, struck back at each of the Mothers with his mace. Whenever he was struck by weapons—spears, swords, and divine energies—the blood that poured from him fell upon the earth, and from that stream countless demons arose. These demons, born from his blood, filled the entire world, and the gods were seized with utmost fear. Seeing the gods disheartened, Chandika, the supreme Goddess, spoke swiftly to Kali: “O Chamunda, open your mouth wide. With this swift mouth, devour the great demons who are born from the drops of blood that fall from my weapons, and those from Raktabīja’s blood. Consume them in battle, so that when his blood is exhausted, this demon will perish. Those fierce ones whom you devour will not arise again.” Having spoken thus, Chandika struck Raktabīja with her spear, and Kali caught his blood in her mouth. Raktabīja retaliated, striking Chandika with his mace, but even the slightest pain did not arise in her from the blow. Blood continued to flow from Raktabīja’s body, but wherever it fell, Camunda received it with her mouth. The great asuras who emerged from his blood as it touched the ground were devoured by Camunda, who also drank the blood itself. The Goddess struck Raktabīja—whose blood was now being consumed by Camunda—with her trident, discus, arrows, swords, and spears. Struck by the multitude of weapons, Raktabīja, covered in blood, finally fell to the earth. At that moment, the gods attained incomparable joy, and the host of Mothers, intoxicated with the blood of battle, began to dance in celebration. “O venerable one,” said the listener, “you have narrated to me this marvelous account—the glorious deeds of the Goddess centered on the slaying of Raktabīja. I wish to hear further: what actions did Śumbha perform, and Niśumbha, greatly enraged, after Raktabīja was struck down?” When Raktabīja was slain, Śumbha and Niśumbha, along with the other demons who had fallen in battle, were seized by boundless wrath. Seeing his great army destroyed, Niśumbha, filled with indignation, rushed forward with his chief demon forces. At his front, behind him, and on both sides, mighty demons, their lips bitten in anger, approached, intent on slaying the Goddess. Śumbha, of great valor, came as well, surrounded by his own forces, burning with wrath and intent on killing Caṇḍikā. Battle was joined with the Mothers. A fierce battle erupted between the Goddess and Shumbha and Nishumbha, with arrows raining down as intensely as storm clouds. Caṇḍikā cut down their arrows with her own volleys, striking the two lords of the demons on their limbs with showers of weapons. Nishumbha seized a sharp sword and a brilliantly shining shield, and struck the lion, the supreme vehicle of the Goddess, on its head. But when his shield and sword were cut down, the demon hurled a spear at the Goddess, which she split in two with her discus. Inflamed with anger, Nishumbha seized a trident; as it approached, the Goddess shattered it with a blow of her fist. He then took up his mace and hurled it at Caṇḍikā, but she shattered it with her trident, reducing it to ashes. Next, as Nishumbha, the foremost of demons, approached wielding an axe, the Goddess struck him down to the ground with a shower of arrows. When Niśumbha, of terrible might, fell to the earth, his brother Śumbha, greatly enraged, advanced to slay Ambikā. Standing on his chariot, grasping supreme weapons, with his eight unmatched arms, Śumbha filled the entire sky and shone brilliantly, ready for the final confrontation.