Armed with sword and spear, fierce and formidable, bearing mace and discus, holding the conch, skilled as an archer, equipped with arrows, slings, and iron club—such was her awe-inspiring presence. Yet, she was also gentler than the gentlest, supremely beautiful, and alone stood as the highest among all that is high and low, O Supreme Lady. Indeed, whatever exists anywhere, whether real or unreal, she is the essence and power behind it all—how could anyone truly praise her? It is by her that even the creator, protector, and destroyer of the worlds are overcome by sleep; who then, O Lady, could possibly praise you here? Vishnu, who takes many forms, and the great Lord Ishana, are made to act by her will; thus, who could ever be capable of praising her? So, O Goddess, praised by her own noble powers, bewilder these two unconquerable demons, Madhu and Kaitabha. Let Achyuta, the Lord of the universe, be quickly awakened, and let awareness return to him, so that he may slay these two great demons. Thus praised by the Creator, the Tamasic Goddess appeared, for the purpose of awakening Vishnu and destroying Madhu and Kaitabha. She emerged visibly from the eyes, mouth, nose, arms, heart, and chest of Brahma, the one of unmanifest birth. Freed by her, Janardana, the Lord of the universe, arose from his serpent-bed in the single ocean, and saw those two demons. Madhu and Kaitabha, evil-minded and possessing immense strength and valor, their eyes red with anger, intent on killing Brahma, were seen by Vishnu. Rising up, the Blessed Hari fought with those two, wielding his mighty arms as weapons, for five thousand years. The two demons, exceedingly strong and intoxicated, deluded by the great Māyā, said to Keśava, "Choose a boon from us." Vishnu replied, "You two are now pleased with me; though both of you are to be slain by me, what other boon is needed here? For this alone is my wish." Then, realizing they had been deceived, and seeing the whole world composed of water, the lotus-eyed Lord spoke to them, "Slay us both where the earth is not covered with water; we are pleased with your battle—your valor is praiseworthy, and death comes to us by you." Saying, "So be it," the Lord, bearer of conch, discus, and mace, struck off their heads at their hips with his discus. Thus she arose, praised by Brahmā himself. Now, hear again of this goddess’s power. Long ago, a great war broke out between the gods and the asuras, lasting a hundred years, with Mahisha, lord of the asuras, and Purandara, lord of the gods, as their leaders. In that battle, the army of the gods was defeated by the mighty asuras; having conquered all the gods, Mahishasura became Indra. The defeated gods, led by the Lotus-born Prajapati, went to the place where the lord with the Garuda-banner was present. They described everything that had happened, including the deeds of Mahishasura and the extent of his domination over the gods. Mahishasura had seized the authority of the Sun, Moon, Fire, Wind, Yama, Varuna, and the other deities. Driven out of heaven by that wicked Mahisha, all the hosts of gods wandered the earth like mortals. Having told all that had been done by the enemy of the gods, they said, “We have taken refuge with you—let his destruction be considered.” Hearing these words, Madhusudana and Shambhu both became angry, their faces frowning with furrowed brows. Then, from the face of the discus-wielder, filled with intense wrath, there emerged a great radiance, as also from Brahma and Shankara. From the bodies of the other gods, beginning with Indra, a supremely great radiance came forth, and all that radiance united together. The gods saw a mass of exceedingly brilliant light, blazing like a mountain, with flames filling all the quarters of space. That incomparable radiance, born from the bodies of all the gods, became unified in one place as a woman, whose brilliance pervaded the three worlds. Her face was formed from Śiva’s radiance; her hair in great abundance from Yama’s energy; her arms from Viṣṇu’s brilliance. Her two breasts and her midsection arose from Soma’s and Indra’s energy, and her thighs and hips from Varuṇa’s radiance. Her feet were made from Brahmā’s energy, her toes from the brilliance of the Sun, her fingers from the Vasus, and her nose from Kubera’s power. Her teeth came forth from the radiance of Prajāpati, and her three eyes were born from the brilliance of Fire. Her eyebrows were formed from the energy of the twilight, her ears from the wind’s power, and other auspicious parts from the brilliance of various gods. Seeing her—arisen from the gathered radiance of all the gods—the gods, afflicted by Mahiṣa, were filled with joy. Then the gods gave to her their own weapons, each his own, and loudly proclaimed, "Victory, victory!"—those desiring her triumph hailed the Victorious One. Pinākadhṛk (Śiva), drawing forth his trident, gave her the trident; Kṛṣṇa, producing his own discus, also gave her the discus. Varuṇa gave her a conch, and Agni gave her a spear; Marut gave her a bow, along with a quiver full of arrows. Indra, lord of the immortals, produced his thunderbolt and gave it to her; the thousand-eyed one also gave her a bell from Airāvata, his elephant.