Markandeya says- ‘During ancient times, the deities and the demons fought a fierce battle which lasted for a hundred years. The deities were defeated in this battle. Mahishasura drove out the deities from heaven and ascended the throne of Indra. The defeated deities went to seek the help of Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Mahadeva. They narrated their woeful tale to all the three deities. Brahma, Vishnu and Mahadeva became furious at the demons’ cruelty. A powerful effulgence appeared from the mouth of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahadeva. Similar effulgence appeared from the bodies of all the deities. The super effulgence was created from the unison of all these effulgence and a Goddess manifested from it. The deities were very pleased. All the deities presented their weapons to the Goddess. After this, they hailed her name in a loud voice by chanting- ‘Victory be to her.’ The Goddess laughed loudly. Her laughter shook the whole earth violently.
When Mahishasura heard her laughter, he proceeded towards her accompanied by a huge army. When he reached there, he was amazed at the appearance of the goddess. He attacked her with his army, which boasted of mighty warriors like Chamar, Chikshur, Udagra, Asilom, Mahahanu, Vashkal, Parivarit, Vidal and Kal. These demons had dangerous weapons like Tomar, Shakti, axe, mace etc. One by one, the Goddess destroyed all the demons’ weapons and launched an attack on them. The deep exhalations made during the battle resulted into the creation of numerous Ganas. These Ganas joined the Goddess in the battle. Ultimately, the Goddess succeeded in killing all the demons.
The battlefield was covered by demons’ corpses as well as carcasses of elephants and horses. The deities were pleased by the outcome of this battle.