A fierce and tumultuous battle erupted between the Goddess and the demon brothers Shumbha and Nishumbha. Arrows rained down like torrents from storm clouds, filling the air with deadly intent. Caṇḍikā, radiant and resolute, intercepted their arrows with her own, sending volleys that cut through the enemy’s weapons and struck the demon lords on their limbs with showers of divine armaments. Nishumbha, seething with fury, seized a sharp sword and a brilliantly shining shield. With these, he struck at the lion, the supreme vehicle of the Goddess, aiming for its head. But Caṇḍikā swiftly cut down his shield and sword, forcing the demon to hurl a spear in desperation. Even as it soared toward her, the Goddess split it in two with her discus. Inflamed with anger, Nishumbha then seized a trident, but the Goddess shattered it with a blow of her fist. Undeterred, he took up his mace and hurled it at Caṇḍikā, but she crushed it with her trident, reducing it to ashes. Next, Nishumbha, wielding an axe, advanced toward the Goddess, but she struck him down with a shower of arrows, causing him to fall to the earth. Seeing his brother of terrible might felled, Shumbha was consumed by rage and rushed forward to slay Ambikā. Standing atop his chariot, grasping supreme weapons, Shumbha’s eight unmatched arms filled the entire sky and shone with dazzling brilliance. As Shumbha approached, the Goddess sounded her bell, and the twang of her bowstring echoed unbearably loud. The peal of her bell resounded through the quarters, diminishing the valor of all the demon armies. The lion, her mighty companion, roared fiercely, filling the sky, earth, and all ten directions with its thunderous voice, as if maddened by a rutting elephant. Kālī leapt up, striking the sky and earth with her hands, overpowering all previous sounds. Śivadūtī let out a dreadful, wild, and terrible laugh, sending tremors of fear through the demons and inciting Shumbha’s rage. Ambikā called out, "Stay, you wicked ones, stay!" and the gods stationed in the sky shouted, "Victory!" Shumbha unleashed a terrifying power, blazing with flames and approaching like a mass of fire, but it was destroyed by a great meteor. The lion’s roar filled the three worlds and all their realms, its dreadful sound conquering all. The battle intensified as the Devi cut down Shumbha’s arrows, while Shumbha, in turn, struck down hundreds and thousands of her missiles with his fierce arrows. Enraged, Chandika struck him with her spear, causing Shumbha to fall unconscious to the ground. Regaining consciousness, Nishumbha seized his bow and attacked the Devi, Kali, and the lion with arrows. Once again, the lord of the demons multiplied his arms ten thousandfold and, armed with a discus, covered Chandika with a shower of weapons. The blessed Durga, destroyer of difficulties, enraged, cut down those discuses and arrows with her own sharp shafts. Nishumbha, moving swiftly, seized his mace and, surrounded by the demon army, rushed to slay Chandika. As he advanced, Caṇḍikā struck down his mace with her sharp-edged sword, prompting him to seize his spear. Niśumbha, destroyer of the immortals, came forward holding his spear, and Caṇḍikā pierced his heart with her own spear, driven with force. From his heart, split by the spear, another mighty and powerful being emerged, shouting, "Stop!" As this being came forth, the Goddess laughed aloud and, with her sword, severed his head, causing him to fall to the ground. The lion tore apart fierce demons with its fangs and claws, while Kālī and Śivadūtī struck down other asuras. Some great demons, pierced by Kaumārī’s spear, could not move; others were driven away by Brahmāṇī with water sanctified by mantra. Some fell to Māheśvarī’s trident, while others were pulverized by Vārāhī’s snout. The Dānavas were cut into pieces by Vaiṣṇavī’s discus, and others by the thunderbolt hurled from Indrāṇī’s hand. Some of the Asuras fled, some vanished from the great battle, and others were devoured by Kālī, Śivadūtī, and the lion. Witnessing his brother Nishumbha—his equal and beloved—slain, and his army destroyed, Shumbha, enraged, spoke defiantly: "Out of arrogance in your strength, you are wicked—do not, O Durgā, boast! Relying on the power of others, you fight, thinking yourself superior. I alone am here in this world—who else is my equal? See, O wicked one, these are all entering into me; they are my own manifestations." At his words, all the goddesses, led by Brahmāṇī, merged into dissolution, leaving only Ambikā present. The Goddess declared, "When I have manifested with many forms through my power, I alone remain when all is withdrawn; stand firm in battle." Then a fierce battle began between the Devi and Shumbha, witnessed by all the gods and asuras. Their combat was terrible, with showers of arrows, sharp weapons, and dreadful missiles, terrifying to all the worlds.