Namuchi’s brothers, Shumbha and Nishumbha, were very angry when they learned that Indra had killed Namuchi. They gathered a huge army and attacked the gods. The gods, led by Indra, fought bravely. But they were no match for the demons. The danavas defeated the gods convincingly and Shumbha and Nishumbha became the rulers of the three worlds.

You will remember that Raktavija, Chanda and Munda had been the companions of Mahishasura. They had not been killed by Katyayani and had been biding their time. They joined Shumbha and Nishumbha.

Chanda and Munda also described to Shumbha a beautiful woman who was living in the Vindhyas. They felt that this woman would be the right wife for Shumbha. This woman was none other than the goddess Koushiki, who had been asked by Indra to live in the Vindhya mountains. Shumbha sent a demon named Sugriva as a messenger to Koushiki.

Sugriva told the goddess, “My lord and master Shumbha is the king of the three worlds. He has acquired the most valuable objects in the three worlds for himself. You are like a jewel yourself. Therefore, it is only fitting that you should marry Shumbha or his brother Nushumbha.”

“You are quite right,” replied Koushiki. “However, there is a minor problem. I have resolved that I will only marry a person who has defeated me in battle. Why don’t you ask Shumbha to come and fight with me? If he succeeds in defeating me, I shall certainly marry him.”

Sugriva came and reported these words of the goddess to Shumbha. The demon’s anger was roused. He sent a strong demon warrior named Dhumraksha to go and capture Koushiki. Dhumraksha and a huge army of demons invaded the Vindhyas. But as soon as Dhumraksha started to threaten Koushiki, she burnt up the entire danava army with a stern glance of her eyes. Nothing but ashes were left. Shumbha next sent Chanda and Munda, together with another powerful demon named Ruru. Koushiki and her lion started to fight with the demons and killed several of them. From Koushiki’s forehead there emerged another goddess named Kali. Her body was bathed in blood and she wore a garland of skulls around her neck. She too began to fight with the demons.

When Ruru attacked Kali, the goddess killed him with one stroke of her sword. She then tore the hair off his head by the handfuls. This she knotted into a braid that she could wear around her own hair. In the process, a strand of hair fell on the ground and from this there emerged another goddess named Chandamari. Half of her body was fair in complexion and the remaining half completely dark.

Witnessing the terrible destruction, Chanda and Munda decided that discretion was the better part of valour. But the goddess Chandamari would not let them go. She pursued them through the sky and captured them. When she brought them back to Koushiki, the goddess sliced off their heads with a sword. She wore these severed heads like a headdress and because these were Chanda and Munda’s heads, she came to be known as Chamunda.

Chamunda had however had enough of the fighting. She left the destruction of the danavas for Kali to complete and Kali was only too happy to do this. She killed many demons with her weapons. Others, she simply swallowed up.

Chamunda rejoined the fighting when Raktavija came to do battle. She created many other goddesses from her body and all of them began to fight with the demons. There was however a problem with Raktavija. Whenever a drop of his blood was spilt onto the ground, a demon who was just like Raktavija emerged from the drop of blood. As Raktavija got wounded in the course of the battle, the battlefield became full of hundreds and thousands of Raktavijas.

On witnessing this remarkable development, Chamunda told Kali, “We will have to kill this asura through a joint effort. I will strike him with weapons and you follow me around. Whenever a drop of his blood comes out, you proceed to lick it up. That way, none of his blood will be spilt on the ground.”

This is what Kali did and this is how Raktavija met his death.

Nishumbha then attacked Chamunda with a sword. But the goddess sliced off his arms with her arrows. As soon as Nishumbha died, Shumbha came to fight. But Chamunda killed him also with her arrows.

The remaining demon soldiers ran away. The universe was free once again and the gods began to pray to Koushiki. Promising the gods that she would return whenever the gods required her services, Koushiki vanished.