CHAPTER – 88
The Rishi said, Chanda was killed and Munda fell, their abundant forces were diminished. The bravest lord of the Asuras, Sumbha was moved to anger, and directed all the forces of the demons to be prepared. Then the giants of various forces with eighty-six sorts of arms, eighty-four kinds of cumboos, set out in legions. One koti of heroes, fifty thousand of the giant race, the tribes of Dhoumra marched by his order. Kalikas, great Mowryas, and likewise Kalakeya, directly prepared for battle by his order. The lord of the Asuras, the frightful leader
Sumbha, advanced, attended by myriads of cohorts. Chandika viewing the approach of this dreadful army, filled the extremeties of the regions, and sky with the sound of her bow-string. The lion roared tremendously; the goddess rung the bell; Ambika shouted. The sound of the roar penetrated to the extremeties of the regions, the mouth of Devi expanded hideously. The army of the giants having heard the sound in the four points, furiously surrounded the goddess, the lion, and likewise Kali. O king! previous to the time, that the enemies of the Suras met their dissolution, for the benefit of the heroic brave immortals. The powers of Brahma, Eça, Guha, Vishnu, likewise of Indra, issued from their bodies and proceeded on their respective forms towards Chandika. The similar forms with their vehicles, ornaments, and valour of the deities went to fight with the giants. She who rode in front in a car, drawn by divine swans, with a string of beads, and a pitcher of water in her hand, she was called Brahmani. Maheswari rode on the ox, she held an excellent trident, great serpents were coiled round her, she was adorned by the signal crescent. Koumari held a Sakti in her hand, she was mounted on an excellent Mayura, and proceeded in the form of Guha to fight with the giants. Vaishnavi sitting on the Garuda, held the conch, discus, mace, Sarana, and a sword in her hand and marched out. Hari assumed the peerless form of Yagna-Varaha, took the form of the boar and attended there in a terrific shape. Narasimha assumed the dreadful body of Narasimhi, and with her mane extinguished the constellation. Indri, holder of Vajra, was mounted on a mighty elephant having one thousand eyes like Sakra. Eçana was surrounded by the Sakti1, of the deities, and said to Chandika, “kill directly the Asuras for my satisfaction.” The implacable power of Chandika proceeded from the body of the goddess in a dreadful form, named Siva, whose voice increased an hundredfold. She said to Eçana, (who was smoky-hued, unattainable, and a divine messenger), “go to Sumbha and Nisumbha. Tell those proud giants to prepare for war, together with the other demons. Indra shall resume the three worlds, and gods will devour the sacrificial oblations: if they wish to live, let them go to Patala. If they presume to wage war with me, the jackals shall be glutted with their flesh. As Siva sent the message by the goddess to the giants she was called a Siva-Duta, or Siva’s messenger in this world. The great Asura having hearkened to the message of the goddess sent by Siva, was transported with rage and repaired to the place where Kattyani lived. First the enemies of the immortals furiously rained showers of arrows and Saktis on the goddess. She in turn discharged the great arrows from her bow and sportively cut off their arrows by her trident, Chakra and Parusu. In their front Kali struck them with her trident, and with the Khutwanga and achieved mighty deeds. Brahmani destroyed wherever she went, the heroic and valiant enemies, by pouring water from her Kamandalu on them. Maheswari, by her trident, likewise Vaishnavi with her discus, Kaumari with her wrathful Sakti killed the giants. Indri pierced one hundred demons, and evil genies with her Kuliça, and threw them on the earth, their blood gushed out. Brahmamurti broke their breasts with the discus. By her nails, she tore and devoured many of the great Asuras; Narasimhi talked in the battle; her voice filled the directions and sky. The goddess shouted; she struck the demons to the ground and devoured them. The chief amazons detested the mighty Asuras, and the various demons were ineffectual, and having overcome their measures and stratagems, the warriors, adversaries of god, fled away. Seeing the retreat of the Daityas, the great demon Rackta-Bija, (whose blood is a seed), became enraged and proceeded to fight. When a drop of the blood from his body fell on the earth: it produced the same sized giants from the ground. The great demon holding a mace in his hand, fought with Indri, who held the Sakti Vajra. He was struck by the Kuliça, the blood gushed out: other demons immediately arose of similar form and valour. Equal in number to the drops of blood that fell from his body, demons of the same heroism, vigour and fortitude, were produced. By the severe beating of the weapons of the chief amazons as also by the cut of the Vajra, his head fell off. When the blood was streaming, thousands of demons were produced by it; Vaishnavi beat him in the battle with her discus. Indri smote the lord of giants with her mace; Vaishnavi struck him with her discus, and the blood was spilt. Thousands of the giants of the same feature abounded in this world; Kaumari beat him with her Sakti; likewise Varahi with her sword. Brahmani, with a cudgel of Brahmani, and Narasimhi tore him with her claws,
1 Sakti – power
Maheswari beat on the bosom of the great giant Rackta-Bija with her trident for he did not move. He being surrounded by the enraged chief amazons, severely beat them with his clubs. He cut off abundant of the Sakties, tridents, and so forth and made a hundred to fall on the earth. The giants produced by the blood thronged over all the world; the gods afterwards were overwhelmed by fear. Chandika looked at the discomfited Suras, and speedily said, to Kali, “O Chamunda open your mouth widely. Great Asuras are produced by the drops of the blood of Rackta-Bija, you must instantaneously lick up the blood before it falls to the ground. Devour the blood before the demons are produced; the Daityas will be diminished and become void of blood. If you do this they never can spring up again,” saying thus – the goddess pierced them with her trident. Kali sucked up the blood of Rackta-Bija; Chandika beat him violently with her mace. By the vehement beatings of the clubs, a profusion of blood gushed out all over his body. Chandika licked it up; Chamunda drank his blood. Devi by her trident, arrows, sword, and fists killed Rackta-Bija, and drank his blood. He being overwhelmed by a number of arrows, O Ruler of the earth! the mighty demon Rackta-Bija, fell on the earth, and became void of blood. Afterward the deities felt the highest degree of pleasure, the chief amazons proudly danced. Thus extends the eighth Chapter, mentioning the death of the Rackta-Bija.