When the mighty lord of the demons had been vanquished by the Goddess, the gods—led by Agni and Indra—gathered together. Their faces shone with joy, for their deepest wishes had been fulfilled. With grateful hearts, they praised Kātyāyanī, the Divine Mother. "O Goddess," they cried, "you who remove the distress of all who seek refuge in you, be gracious! Be gracious, Mother of the entire world! Be gracious, Sovereign of the universe, and protect all creation. You are the Lady of all that moves and does not move." They continued, "You alone are the foundation of the world, abiding as the very earth itself. By your presence as the essence of water, you nourish all existence, O you of unfathomable power. You are the Vaiṣṇavī power, of infinite strength; the supreme Māyā, the seed of the universe. All beings are deluded by your wondrous force, O Goddess; yet when you are pleased, you become the cause of liberation upon the earth." "All forms of knowledge are but your aspects, O Goddess," the gods praised. "All women in the worlds are your manifestations. By you alone is this universe filled, O Mother—what praise could ever suffice? Any praise is but a partial description of your greatness." "O Goddess," they prayed, "you grant heaven and liberation to all beings. When you are praised, what words could ever reach the heights of your glory?" They offered salutations to Nārāyaṇī, the Goddess who dwells in the hearts of all people as intelligence, who bestows heaven and liberation. They bowed to Nārāyaṇī, who takes the form of time, moments, and all divisions, who brings about transformation, and who is the power at the cessation of the universe. "O Nārāyaṇī," they said, "auspicious among all that is auspicious, O Śivā, accomplisher of all aims, refuge of the distressed, three-eyed one, fair-complexioned Gaurī, salutations to you. O Nārāyaṇī, eternal foundation of the powers of creation, preservation, and destruction, support of the qualities, made of the qualities, salutations to you. O Nārāyaṇī, protector of those distressed and afflicted who have sought refuge, remover of all suffering, salutations to you." They continued, "O Nārāyaṇī, who dwells in an aerial chariot yoked with swans, who assumes the form of Brahmāṇī, who is the essence of pure waters, salutations to you. O bearer of the trident, the crescent moon, and the great serpent, riding the mighty bull, in the form of Māheśvarī—O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you." "Surrounded by the peacock and the cock, wielder of the great spear, resplendent in the form of Kaumārī—O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you. Holding the conch, discus, mace, and the bow Śārṅga, supreme weapons in hand, be gracious in your Vaiṣṇavī form—O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you." "Holding the fierce great discus, lifting up the earth with your tusks, in the form of Varāha, O auspicious one—O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you. In the fierce form of Narasiṃha, intent on destroying the demons, united with the protection of the three worlds—O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you." "Crowned, bearing the great thunderbolt, shining with a thousand radiant eyes, slayer of Vṛtra's life, in the form of Indrāṇī—O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you. O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you, who, in the form of Shivaduti, destroyed the mighty strength of the demons; fierce in appearance and terrifying in your roar." "O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you, Chamunda, whose face is dreadful with protruding fangs, adorned with a garland of heads, crusher of skulls. O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you, Lakshmi, Lajja, Mahavidya, Shraddha, Pushti, Swadha, Dhruva, O great night, O great illusion." "O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you, Medha, Sarasvati, Vara, Bhuti, Babhravi, Tamasi, Niyate; be gracious, O ruler. O Nārāyaṇī, we bow to you, who are at the ends of all hands and feet, in every eye, head, and mouth, and in every ear and nose." "O Devi Durga, we bow to you, who are the essence of all forms, the ruler of all, endowed with all powers; protect us from all fears, O Devi. May this gentle face of yours, adorned with three eyes, protect us from all fears; O Kātyāyanī, salutations to you." "May your trident, fierce with blazing flames and exceedingly terrible, destroyer of all demons, protect us from fear; O Bhadrakālī, salutations to you. That bell of yours, which fills the world with its sound and shatters the strength of the demons, may it protect us, O Goddess, from sins, as a mother protects her children." "Your shining sword, smeared with the blood and fat of demons, may it bring us auspiciousness; O Caṇḍikā, we bow to you. When pleased, you remove all diseases; when angered, you destroy all desired things. Those who take refuge in you do not fall into misfortune; indeed, those who seek refuge in you become a refuge for others." "This destruction of the great demons, the enemies of righteousness, which you have accomplished today, O Goddess, by assuming many forms and manifestations—who else but you, O Ambikā, could do this? In knowledge, in the scriptures, in the lamps of discernment, in the foremost statements—who but you, plunges this entire world into the vast darkness of delusion, into the pit of possessiveness?" "Wherever there are demons, serpents with fierce poison, enemies, bands of robbers, raging forest fires, or in the midst of the ocean—there you stand, protecting the world. O Lady of the Universe, you protect the world; as the soul of the universe, you sustain the world. Those who bow to you with devotion become the refuge of the world, and you are worshipped by the Lord of the universe." "O Goddess, be gracious! Protect us always, without fear, just as you did now by slaying the demons. Quickly bring to rest the sins of all beings, and swiftly remove the great calamities born of ripened misfortunes. Be gracious to those who bow to you, O Goddess, remover of all the world's distress. Praised by the dwellers of the three worlds, be the granter of boons to all beings." Hearing their heartfelt prayers, the Goddess spoke: "I am the granter of boons, O assembly of gods. Whatever boon you desire in your hearts, choose it; I shall grant it, for the benefit of the worlds." The gods replied, "O Sovereign of all the worlds, may you always remove afflictions and destroy our enemies." The Goddess then revealed, "When the period of Vaivasvata Manu arrives, in the twenty-eighth yuga, there will arise two great asuras, Shumbha and Nishumbha. Born in the house of Nanda the cowherd, emerging from the womb of Yashoda, then I, dwelling on Mount Vindhya, will destroy those two. Again, descending to earth in an exceedingly fierce form, I will slay the Vaipracitta danavas." Thus, the gods praised the Goddess for her boundless power and compassion, and the Divine Mother assured them of her protection for all ages to come.