Mahishasura himself came to fight with Vaishnavai devi then and the fight went on for ten thousand divine years. Eventually Mahishasura was forced to flee, but the goddess pursued him astride her lion. She finally caught up with the demon on the hundred-peaked mountain known as Shatashringa. She pressed Mahishasura down with her feet and cut off his head with her spear. (When the story is recounted in other Puranas, a more natural sequence is given. In those accounts, the goddess struck Mahishasura with a spear in his chest and sliced off his head with a sword.)

Because Mahishasura was killed at the hands of Vaishnavi devi, he went straight to heaven. The gods were relieved to be freed from the depredations of such a terrible demon and sung a hymn in praise of the goddess. The chanting of this stotra cleanses our sins and brings us success. The name of the hymn is devi stotra.

(In the Puranas, the best accounts of the Mahishasura story are to be found in the Markandeya Purana, the Kalika Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana. The goddess who killed Mahishasura is there referred to as Durga and not as Vaishnavi devi.)