Skandapurana 16.242

Īśvara said:
Then, O great goddess, one should go to where Goddess Kumārikā is; / she is stationed precisely in the eastern quarter of it for protection.

In ancient times, in the Rathaṃtara kalpa, a great asura named Ruru / was born; he had a huge body and brought fear to all the worlds.

By him the gods, together with the gandharvas, were terrified and driven from the realm of the thirty [gods]; / out of fear of him, all then took refuge in the world of Brahmā.

Likewise on the earth's surface that evil-minded one killed brahmins, / sacrificers, ascetics, and others who practiced righteousness.

The surface of the earth was then devoid of Vedic study and the sacrificial exclamation vaṣaṭ, / its sacrifices and festivals entirely ruined, oppressed by the fear of Ruru.

Then the deeply distressed gods and all the great seers, / having assembled, held counsel for the destruction of that evil-minded one.

Then, O goddess, sweat was produced from the bodies of them all; / as they deliberated, they held it by restraint.

A divine, lotus-eyed maiden was born there, / pervading all quarters, and stood before them all.

She then said to all the gods: "For what purpose have I been created? / I shall perform that work for you." Hearing her words then,

those gods reported their distress and the conduct of Ruru to her. / Hearing it, that goddess laughed, for the sake of accomplishing the task of the gods.

As she laughed, there emerged from her fair-limbed maiden-warriors, / all holding nooses and goads, with plump hips and breasts,

terrifying the moving and unmoving creation with merely the sound of their roars. / Accompanied by them, that glorious goddess pursued Ruru to where he was.

Then a tumultuous and fierce battle broke out between them and his host, / with varied, terrible missiles and weapons that brought destruction to the enemy's side.

Battered by their blows, all of his followers / turned their backs in an instant, and some were struck down.

Then, seeing his army slain, Ruru created an illusion / named Tāmasī ('Darkness'), O ruler of gods, but she was not bewildered by it at all.

When it had become dark, the goddess then / pierced the Daitya Ruru in the chest with a spear, and he fell into a swoon.

Regaining consciousness after a moment and realizing her prowess, / he resolved to flee and ran toward the ocean.

The goddess also went after that evil-minded one, / being praised by the hosts of gods, kiṃnaras, and great serpents.

Then, entering the ocean and seeing that Dānava, in fury / she cut off his head with the tip of her sword, and bearing his skin and head, she then

came forth again from there and returned to the sacred field of Prabhāsa, / accompanied by the radiant, multiform army of maidens.

Beholding the supreme goddess holding the skin and severed head, the gods were filled with wonder; / standing with joined palms, the gods then offered praise:

The gods said:
“Victory to you, O goddess Cāmuṇḍā! Victory to you who destroy evil spirits! / Victory to you who pervade all things, O goddess Kālarātri! Salutations to you!

O you of terrible form, auspicious one, sacred lore, great illusion, supreme prosperity! / O highly fortunate one, victorious one, gaping-mouthed one, terrible-eyed one, dreadful to behold!

O great illusion, variegated-limbed one, lover of song and dance, auspicious one! / O dreadfully fierce one, Mahākālī, Kālikā, embodiment of time and death!

O you with a dart in hand, a staff in hand, formidable-handed one, terrifying-faced one! / O Cāmuṇḍā, with a flaming mouth, sharp fangs, and great strength! / O goddess mounted upon a corpse, served by hosts of spirits!

Thus praised then by all [the gods] led by Indra, / the goddess, with a joyful face, spoke these words:

“Choose a boon, may good befall you, whatever is always in your mind. / I shall grant it all, even if it be extremely difficult to attain.”

The gods said:
“We have accomplished our purpose through you, O auspicious one, because of the slaying of the Dānava.

Whoever praises you with this hymn of praise, O fair-faced goddess, / be a bestower of boons to him, O omnipresent, virtuous goddess!

And whoever hears of your manifestation with devotion, O goddess, / freed from all sins, may he attain the supreme goal.

You should always reside in this sacred field, O auspicious goddess.

Whoever worships you here with collected mind on the ninth day of the bright fortnight / in the month of Āśvina—may his undertaking always be auspicious!”

Īśvara said:
Thus addressed, the great goddess remained devotedly right there. / The gods went to heaven, rejoiced, with their enemies destroyed.

Thus ends the two hundred and forty-second chapter, titled ‘Description of the Māhātmya of Kumārī,’ in the first [part], the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya, of the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.