[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975) › c8.2060 # Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.2060 Purāṇic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Purāṇic Literature c8.2060 - **Language:** English ### [c8.2060](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.2060) At that time there were two great demons called Rambha and Karambha. They had no sons and they started severe penance. Karambha was doing penance standing in deep waters and a crocodile swallowed him. The crocodile was none other than Indra. Rambha did penance standing in the midst of fire and finding no result even after a long time decided to sacrifice himself into the fire. Agnideva then appeared before him and blessed him thus: “Oh Rambha, you will get a mighty son of the woman you love.” Rambha stopped his penance and returned home with the boon. On the way he saw a beautiful she-buffalo and passion rose in him and he made contacts with the buffalo. The buffalo became pregnant and in due course delivered a child which later on became the notorious Mahiṣāsura. In the meantime a buffalo loved Mahiṣāsura’s mother and it attacked Rambha and gored him to death. The Yakṣas burnt his dead body in a funeral pyre and the she-buffalo jumped into the pyre and abandoned her life. From that pyre there arose then another demon and he was the notorious Raktabīja. Mahiṣāsura became the king of demons and Raktabīja, Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa became his ministers. They attacked the devas and drove them to exhaustion. The devas took refuge in Brahmā to think of a plan to kill those asuras. Viṣṇu, and Śiva took part in the conference. Viṣṇu the eternal, got angry along with Śiva and became fierce like the fire of death. Brahmā and the devas also became angry and from the face of everyone a brilliance emanated and all these brilliances joined together and reached the holy āśrama of Kātyāyana maharṣi and that eminent sage also sent out a brilliance. The ascetic brilliance joined with the divine brilliance and the combined brilliance shone like a thousand suns. Then this superior brilliance entered the peeled-off skin of Kālī to produce the fierce and divine form of a goddess named Kātyāyanī. Each limb of the new form was made up of the brilliance from a particular god as follows: From the brilliance of Mahendra was formed the face; from Agni, the eyes; from Yama, the hair; from Viṣṇu, the eighteen hands; from Indra, the central parts; from Varuṇa, the hip and the thighs; from Brahmā, the feet; from Sūrya, the toes; from Prajāpati, the teeth; from Vasus, the fingers of the hands; from Yakṣa, the nose; from Vāyu the ears and from the ascetic brilliance, the erotic eyebrows. Thus Kātyāyanī shone in the world with a figure formed with distinctive perfection. - [Previous: c8.2059](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.2059) - [Next: c8.2061](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.2061) - [Up: c8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.2060](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.mani-1975.c8.2060) · Pramāṇa