Śuṃbha-Niśuṃbha Vadha (Vāmana Purāṇa)

Chapters 29 and 30 of the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa tell how the devī Kauśikī, also called Caṇḍikā, fought the dānava brothers Śuṃbha and Niśuṃbha. The account tells of their brother Namuci, of the generals Dhūmrāksha and Caṇḍa-Muṇḍa, of the defeat of Raktabīja, and of the killing of Niśuṃbha and Śuṃbha. It tells of the Sapta Mātṛkās and Śivadūtī who appeared in the battle. It ends with the hymn of the devas and the future avatāras that Caṇḍikā named.

Śuṃbha and Niśuṃbha

Śuṃbha and Niśuṃbha were sons of Danu and Kaśyapa. They were dānavas of great power. Their brother Namuci was just as strong. Indra killed Namuci in a special way, with sea-foam charged as the vajra (thunderbolt). In this way a being that no ordinary weapon could harm met his end. When Namuci was gone, Śuṃbha and Niśuṃbha were the most powerful of the dānavas. (Chapter 29)

The dānavas take Svarga

Śuṃbha and Niśuṃbha defeated the devas and drove them out of Svarga. They seized the signs of divine rule: Indra’s elephant Airāvata, Varuṇa’s royal umbrella, and the other marks of lordship over the devas. The devas were shamed and had no power against the combined force of the dānavas. As with the earlier defeat by Mahishāsura, this defeat of the devas called for the devī to step in. (Chapter 29)

Śuṃbha’s offer to Kauśikī

Kauśikī had risen from the dark kośa (sheath) of Pārvatī. Indra had set her in the Vindhya mountains as Vindhyavāsinī. Śuṃbha heard of her great beauty. He sent his messenger Sūgrīva (a dūta) to her with an offer. Śuṃbha offered her his power and rule, and asked her to yield to him.

Kauśikī refused without any doubt, with the fearlessness of divine śakti (power). She said she would not yield and would fight instead. (Chapter 29)

Dhūmrāksha sent with an army

Śuṃbha was angry at the refusal. He sent his general Dhūmrāksha at the head of six hundred akshauhiṇī (the largest battle divisions), a huge army. When the army came near, Kauśikī answered with one hūṃkāra, a single sound of divine power. That one sound destroyed the whole army of six hundred akshauhiṇī. The sound of her voice, charged with the force of pure tapas (austerity), was stronger than any army. (Chapter 29)

Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, and Caṇḍamārī

Next Śuṃbha sent the generals Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa. From Kauśikī’s own kośa (covering) a fierce devī was born, named Caṇḍamārī, to meet these two. Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa were taken and brought bound before Kauśikī. Then the devī killed them. From the killing of Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa came the name Camuṇḍā, “slayer of Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa”. It is one of the best-known names of the fierce form of the devī. (Chapter 29)

Raktabīja’s battle

Raktabīja was the minister of Mahishāsura, named earlier in Chapter 20. He now entered the battle against Kauśikī-Caṇḍikā. He had a terrible power: every drop of his blood that fell on the earth made a whole new copy of him. As Caṇḍikā’s weapons struck him and his blood flowed, thousands of Raktabījas grew up and filled the battlefield. The usual ways of fighting were of no use against this power.

Caṇḍikā found the answer. She ordered Caṇḍī, one of her fierce attendant forms, to drink the blood before it could reach the earth. As the fight went on, Caṇḍī stretched her tongue across the field and drank every drop of Raktabīja’s blood as it fell. He could no longer copy himself. At last his blood was drained and he was killed. (Chapter 30)

Niśuṃbha is killed

Niśuṃbha came onto the field with his gadā (mace) and attacked Caṇḍikā fiercely. For all the force of his attack, Caṇḍikā struck him down and Niśuṃbha was killed. (Chapter 30)

Śuṃbha is killed by Caṇḍikā’s arrow

His brother and all his generals were dead, and Śuṃbha himself came onto the field. The fight between Śuṃbha and Caṇḍikā was the last and greatest of the battle. Caṇḍikā struck Śuṃbha with her arrow and he was killed. The rule of the dānavas over the three worlds came to an end. (Chapter 30)

The Sapta Mātṛkās

During the battle seven great devīs, the Sapta Mātṛkās (seven Mothers), came out of Caṇḍikā’s own body. Each took the form that matches one of the chief devas. In the Vāmana Purāṇa the seven Mātṛkās are:

  1. Brāhmaṇī, from the aspect of Bhagavān Brahmā
  2. Māheśvarī, from the aspect of Bhagavān Śiva
  3. Kaumārī, from the aspect of Kumāra-Skanda
  4. Vaishṇavī, from the aspect of Bhagavān Vishṇu
  5. Vārāhī, from the aspect of Bhagavān Varāha
  6. Māhendrī, from the aspect of Indra
  7. Nārasiṃhī, from the aspect of Bhagavān Narasiṃha

Śivadūtī, the messenger of Bhagavān Śiva, also came out of Caṇḍikā’s body at this time. (Chapter 30)

The hymn of the devas and Caṇḍikā’s future avatāras

After the battle the devas sang a great stotra (hymn of praise) to Caṇḍikā. They thanked her and knew her as the highest power behind all that exists. In answer to their praise, Caṇḍikā named the avatāras she would take in times to come, to protect dharma:

  • Carcikā, born from the sweat (sveda) of Bhagavān Śiva, a devī of fierce power
  • Yaśodā’s daughter, the divine child born as Yaśodā’s daughter at the same time as the birth of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, who became Yogamāyā
  • Śākaṃbarī, the devī of plants and food, who will appear in a time of great drought and feed all beings with her own body
  • Bhramarī, the devī of bees, who will appear to destroy the asuras with bees as her weapon

With these words Caṇḍikā declared her place in the worlds across many ages. (Chapter 30)

Sources

  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 29
  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 30
  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 28 (Kauśikī) and Chapter 20 (Raktabīja), named in passing