The End of Mahishasur

In the third adhyay, seeing his army fall, the general Chikshura stepped forward and rained arrows on the Devi. As if in play, she cut down his arrows, bow and chariot and defeated him. Then Chamara came riding an elephant. The Devi's lion leapt onto the elephant and ended Chamara.

After that many great asuras, Udagra, Karala, Baskala, Tamra, Andhaka and others, came one by one. The Devi overcame them all with her mace, sword, trident and arrows. At last Mahishasur himself came in his buffalo form. The earth cracked under his hooves and the seas surged as his tail swept them.

When the Devi caught him in a noose, he used maya to become a lion. She struck the lion, and he became a man with a sword. She held him back with arrows, and he became a giant elephant. She cut off its trunk, and he became a buffalo again, shaking the three worlds.

Then the Devi calmly drank a divine drink and said, laughing, 'Roar, fool, roar for the moment while I drink. Once you fall at my hands, the gods will roar right here.' Saying this, she leapt onto him and pressed his neck down with her foot.

Pinned under her foot, Mahishasur had only half come out of his buffalo's mouth when the Devi's power held him there. With her great sword, she ended him. The rest of the asura army fled. The gods were filled with joy, the gandharvas sang and the apsaras danced. This is why the Devi is called Mahishasuramardini.