89 - The Devi-mahatmya. 

The slaying of Nishumbha.

Nishumbha attacked the goddess Ch’andika and was worsted in single combat. —Shumbha came to his help, but the goddess foiled him, and slew Nishumbha—Numbers of the Asuras were destroyed. 

The king spoke:

1 Wonderful is this that thou, Sir, hast related to me, the majesty of the goddess’ exploits in connexion with

2 the slaying of Rakta-vija; and I wish to hear further what deed did Sh’umbha do after Rakta-Vija was killed, and what the very irascible Nishumbha did. 

The rishi spoke:

3 After Rakta-vija was slain and other demons were killed in the fight, the Asura Sh’umbha gave way to unbounded wrath,

4 and Nishumbha also. Pouring out his indignation at beholding his great army being slaughtered, Nishumbha then rushed

5 forward with the flower of the Asura army. In front of him and behind and on both sides great Asuras, biting their lips

6 and enraged, advanced to slay the goddess. Sh’umbha also went forward, mighty in valour, surrounded with his own troops, to slay Chandika in his rage, after engaging in battle with

7 the Mothers. Then occurred a desperate combat between the goddess and Sh’umbha and Nishumbha, who both, like two thunder-clouds, rained a most tempestuous shower of arrows

8 on her. Ch’andka with multitudes of arrows quickly split the arrows shot by them, and smote the two Asura lords on their limbs with her numerous weapons. 

9 Nishumbha grasping a sharp scymitar and glittering shield struck the lion, the noble heast that bore the goddess, on the

10 head. When her animal was struck, the goddess quickly clove Nishumbha’s superb sword with a horse-shoe-shaped arrow, and also his shield on which eight moons were pourtrayed

11 When his shield was cloven and his sword too, the Asura hurled his spear; and that his missile also, as it came

12 towards her, she split in two with her discus. Then Kishumbha, the Danava, puffed up with wrath, seized a dart; and that also, when it came, the goddess shattered with a blow of

13 her fist. And then aiming* his club he flung it against Ch’andnka, yet that was shivered by the goddess’ trident and

* Avidhya. The Bombay edition reads addya, “taking.” 

14 became ashes. As that lordly Daitya then advanced with battle-axe in hand, the goddess struck him with a multitude of arrows and laid him low on the ground. 

15 When his brother Nishumbha, who was terrible in prowess, iell to the ground, Shumbha in utmost fury strode forward to

16 slay Ambika. And he, standing in his chariot, appeared to fill the entire sky with his eight arms, which were lifted far on high grasping his superb weapons. 

17 Beholding him approaching, the goddess sounded her conch, and made her bow also give forth from its string a

18 note which was exceedingly hard to endure. And she filled all regions with the clanging of her bell, which caused

19 the vigour of all the Daitya hosts to die away. Then her lion filled the heaven, the earth and the ten regions of the sky with loud roars, which checked the copious flow of

20 the exudation from the demons’ rutting elephants. Kali springing upward then struck the heaven and the earth with

21 both her hands; the boom thereof drowned those previous sounds. Sh’iva-duti† uttered a loud inauspicious laugh. At those sounds the Asuras trembled; * Shumbha gave way

† I. e., Ch’andika; see canto Ixxxvii, verse 27.

* For Asurastreshu read Asuras tresuh, as in the Bombay edition.

22 to utmost rage. When Ambika cried out “Stand, O evilsoaled!” stand!” the gods who had taken their stations in the air then called to her, “Be thou victorious!” 

23 The spear flaming most terribly, which shumbha approaching hurled, that, gleaming like a mass of fire as it came along, was

24 driven aside by a great fire-brand. The vault between the three worlds reverberated with S’nmbha’s lion-like roaring, but the dreadful sound of the slaughter among his soldiers surpassed

25 that, king. The goddess split the arrows shot by Sh’umbha, and Sh’umbha the arrows that she discharged, each with her and his sharp arrows in hundreds and thousands.

26 Chandika enraged thereat smote him with a dart. Wounded therewith he fell in a faint to the ground. 

27 Thereupon Nishumbha, regainingconsciousness, seized his bow again and struck the goddess, and Kali and the lion with

28 arrows. And the Danava lord, that son of Diti, putting forth a myriad arms, again covered Ch’andika with amyriad discuses.†

†For ch’akrayudhena read ch’akrayutena as in the Bombay edition.

29 The goddess then enraged, she, Durga who destroys the afflictions of adversity, split those discuses and those arrows with

30 her own arrows. Then Nishumbha seizing his club rushed impetuously at Ch’andika to slay her outright, with the Daitya

31 host surrounding him. As he was just falling upon her, Ch’andika swiftly clove his club with her sharp-edged scymitar

32 And he took hold of a dart. Ch’andika with a dart hurled swiftly pierced Nishumbha, the afflicter of the Immortals, in the heart, as he approached with dart in hand.

33 When he was pierced by the dart, out of his heart issued another man of great strength and great valour, exclaiming

34 “Stand!” When he stepped forth, the goddess laughing aloud then struck off his head with her scymitar; thereupon he fell to the ground. 

35 The lion then devoured those Asuras whose necks he had crushed with his savage teeth, and Kali and Sh’iva-duti devowed

 36 the others. Some great Asuras perished, being pierced through by the spear held by Kumara’s Energy; others were driven back by the water purified by the spell

37 uttered by Brahma’s Energy; and others fell, pierced by the trident wielded by Shiva’s Energy; some were pounded to dust on the ground by blows from the snout of Varaha’s

38 Energy; some Danavas were out to pieces by the discus hurled by Vishnu’s Energy; and others again by the thunderbolt

39 discharged from the fingers of Indra’s Energy. Some Asuras perished outright, some pei-ished by reason of the great battle, and others were devoured by Kali, Sh’iva-duti and the lion.