When the energies from all the Gods and their special powers were pooled together to form the Goddess, she was so resplendent and powerful, beaming with bright light, that Mahishasura, the demon who was threatening all the gods and kings and wreaking havoc in the world, was taken by surprise and amazement at her sight.
“Aha, who can this woman be?” he wondered aloud with anger filling his words. The war cry was sounded almost with no notice. The crown of the Goddess reached the seven worlds above the earth and her feet stood firm in the seven worlds below up to the Patala Loka. Mahishasura rushed there with all his Asura army men in the direction of the commotion raised around the Devi. When she walked, the earth shook beneath. Her crown evoked electric sparks and lightning in the skies and people living in the nether worlds down below shook with fear. When she twanged her bow to just aim the arrow at the enemy, people shivered at the mere sound.
There was no time for announcements or any preparation. The war simply broke out. Arrows, spears and clubs were exchanged in all directions. The number of chariots on the side of the Asuras was a whopping 50 crore and the Goddess is challenging them single-handedly. The Devi never missed her smile. She was unfazed by the assortment of weapons that were hurled at her by the Asuras as she broke and defused the mighty power of the Asuras. She also released her own weapons that brought down the Asuras hurtling to the ground, dead. Mounted on her vehicle, lion, she moved through the Asura forces. All the sound that she made were only her long expulsions of breath in the battlefield.
The very breaths created hundreds of armed attendants who fought the Asuras and vanquished them. The Chandi Ganas seemed to enjoy the melee. They just not fought with weapons, but they sounded merrily on the conch, played the mridangam and war drums. Thousands of Asuras were brought down by her weapons. The battle field looked like a mess of Asuras lying on the ground in different states of destruction. The whole path in the battlefield was now obstructed with bodies of Asuras, broken chariots, elephants and horses that lay dead. The demons could take it no more and they appealed her to stop the rampage.
In a trice, the mighty army of the Asuras was brought down just as fire burnt up a grass forest. The lion on which Devi was riding surveyed the scene as if it was a job well done and looked if there was still some life left for consuming. All the Gods showered flowers from the heavens and sang hymns of joy praising the Goddess for destroying Mahishasura and his forces with aplomb.
The author is Acharya, Chinmaya Mission, Tiruchi; brni.sharanyachaitanya@gmail.com
www.sharanyachaitanya.blogspot.in