O King, hear now the wondrous story of the Goddess, whose divine form encompasses all the realms and measures of creation. She is the embodiment of the threefold Veda, the abode of the three aims of life, and the essence of the fourth state. She is the mistress of the five elements and the ruler of the sixth, sovereign over the seventh—the days of the week—and bestower of blessings multiplied sevenfold. As the eighth, she reigns over the Vasus, and as the ninth, she is sovereign of the nine planets and delights in the nine moods and arts. She is worshipped in all ten directions, pervading the ten quarters, and is known in elevenfold form, honored by the eleven Rudras and pleased by the eleventh lunar day. With twelve arms, she is the source of the twelve suns, and as the thirteenth, beloved of the thirteen hosts, she bears thirteen names and is chief among all goddesses, granting boons to Indra and the fourteen, and mother to the fourteen Manus. She is the fifteenth lunar day, and as the Sixteenth, she shines with sixteen arms, composed of the sixteen digits of the moon, her divine body pervaded by radiant lunar rays. O Goddess of gods, her form is beyond all qualities, the very source of tamas. It was by her power that the Blessed Lord, God of gods and Lord of Lakshmi, was seized, along with the two fierce and mighty demons, Madhu and Kaitabha. For their destruction, the goddess awakened the Lord of gods. Thus praised, the Goddess Tamasi, beloved of the Blessed Lord, departed from him and deluded the two demons. At that moment, Vishnu, Supreme Self and Lord of the world, regained consciousness and beheld the two foremost demons. Seeing Madhusudana, the demons resolved upon battle and approached Hari, who fought them both. For five thousand years, the mighty Lord fought with his arms as weapons, while the demons, intoxicated by their strength, were deluded by the world-illusion. "Choose a boon," they said to the Supreme Lord. Hearing this, the Primeval Person replied, "Let both of you be slain by me today." The demons, exceedingly strong, spoke again: "Slay us not where the earth is covered with water." Hari agreed, and with his discus, he struck and severed their heads at their hips. Thus the Goddess was manifested and praised by Brahma. O great king, Mahakali, sovereign of all yoginis, was thus revealed. Now listen to the origin of Mahalakshmi as well, and the narration of Savarni Manu, together with the deeds of the Goddess. When the gods were defeated and cast out from heaven, they went to the highest world, led by Brahma. There, where Shankara and Achyuta were present, they recounted the wicked deeds of Mahishasura, the evil demon who had violently seized the abodes of all the gods and now enjoyed them, intoxicated by pride and valor. "Let the means for his destruction be quickly considered, O destroyers of demons," they pleaded. Hearing their words, the Blessed Lord, along with the sons of Shankara and Padmaja, became greatly enraged. As Hari's anger grew, a divine radiance, brilliant as a thousand suns, emerged from his mouth. In succession, the radiance of all the dwellers of heaven issued forth from their bodies, delighting the lords of the gods. From Shambhu's radiance her face was formed; Yama's energy became her hair, Vishnu's power her arms. Soma's energy shaped her breasts, Indra's radiance her waist, Varuna's radiance her thighs and shanks. The earth's radiance formed her hips, Brahma's energy her feet, the Sun's brilliance her toes, Vasava's power her fingers. Kubera's energy created her nose, Prajapati's supreme radiance her teeth. Agni fashioned her three beautiful eyes, and Sandhya's radiance her eyebrows. Vayu's energy formed her ears. Thus, from the radiance of all, the goddess Mahishamardini was born. Each god bestowed divine gifts upon her: Shiva gave her a trident; Vishnu, a discus and a conch; the Lord of Bonds, a noose; Agni, a spear; Maruta, a bow and arrows. Mahendra gave her a thunderbolt and a bell from Airavata the elephant; Yama, the staff of time; Brahma, a rosary and water-pot. The Sun bestowed a garland of rays for her pores; Kala, a sword and spotless shield. The ocean gave her a pure garland, an unaging garment, a crest-jewel, earrings, bracelets, armlets, a flawless crescent moon, anklets, a neck ornament, and other adornments. Vishvakarma gave her armlets; Himavat, a lion as her mount and various gems. The lord of wealth gave her a vessel filled with divine liquor, and the blessed Shesha gave her a serpent-necklace. Thus, O King, the gods witnessed the birth of the great Goddess, radiant and armed, ready to destroy the wicked Mahishasura and restore balance to the heavens.