Nishumbha- Hindu DemonDemon"Conqueror of the Gods"

The Conquest

Nishumbha and his brother Shumbha obtained boons through prolonged austerities: no god or asura could kill them. They marched on heaven, drove Indra from his throne, expelled Surya from the sky, and seized the offerings that belonged to the gods. The brothers ruled the three worlds between them.

The Goddess's Vow

The dispossessed gods gathered on the Himalayas and raised a hymn to the great goddess. In response, from Parvati's body emerged a radiant form of Devi called Ambika. When Shumbha and Nishumbha's scouts reported her beauty, the brothers sent messengers demanding she choose one of them as husband. The goddess replied that she had made a vow: she would marry only whoever defeated her in combat.

The Battle

The brothers sent wave after wave of asura armies. Devi and her emanations destroyed them: the generals Chanda and Munda fell, then Raktabija, whose every drop of spilled blood spawned a new demon until Kali drank it all before it could touch the ground.

Nishumbha entered the fight himself, attacking with sword and mace. The goddess matched him blow for blow, then drove her trident through his chest. A second form of Nishumbha rose from the wound, roaring. She took its head with her sword.

Shumbha accused the goddess of fighting unfairly, relying on other goddesses rather than her own strength. Devi absorbed every emanation back into her single body. "I alone exist in this world," she said. "Who else is there besides me?" She killed Shumbha in single combat. No god or asura had destroyed the brothers. A power their boons had not accounted for had done it.