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As I discuss in this answer, the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha once defeated the gods and took over the three worlds. The gods went to Mount Kailash to ask Durga for help. After they said a prayer to Durga, Shiva's wife Parvati walked by, and out of her body came a form of Durga known as Ambika, AKA Kaushiki, who defeated Shumbha and Nishumbha in battle and restored the rule of the three worlds to Indra and the gods.

In any case, in this chapter of the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana, after the battle, Durga tells the gods about her future incarnations, and in particular, she says this about an incarnation in the present Mahayuga:

40-41. The Devi said: 'When the twenty-eighth age has arrived during Vaivasvata Manu, two other great asuras, Shumbha and Nishumbha will be born. Then born from the womb of Yasoda, in the home of cowherd Nanda, and dwelling on the Vindhya mountains, I will destroy them both.'

For those who don't know, around the same time that Krishna was born to Vasudeva and Devaki, a daughter was born to Nandagopa and Yashoda. She was an incarnation of Yogamaya, the illusory power of Vishnu who is often associated with Durga. When Vasudeva brought Krishna to Nandagopa and Yashoda, he took Yashoda's daughter back to the prison and presented her to Kamsa as the eighth son of Devaki. When Kamsa tried to kill the baby girl, she revealed herself as a goddess and said something like "Fool! The eighth son of Devaki is still alive and he'll kill you!" And then she flew up into the sky.

Afterward, this goddess is said to have gone to the Vindhya mountains, which is why she is known as Vindhyavasini. But my question is, what is the story of her fighting the rebirths of the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha? Who were they reborn as?

Are there any scriptures that describe this story?

Shashaank
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Keshav Srinivasan
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  • Keshav, I asked the similar question earlier also at http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/3809/do-we-have-any-account-of-nand-and-yashodas-daughters-afterlife. But there were no answers. Luckily, you have got some information, so can you either mark the earlier question as duplicate or answer the details there as well. – Aby Apr 10 '15 at 07:33
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    @Aby I just found a chapter of the Virata Parva of the Mahabharata where Yudhishthira worships Vindhyavasini, and it specifically mentions her as the daughter of Nandagopa and Yashoda: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04006.htm So at least by the time the Pandavas had gone into exile, Yashoda's daughter Vindhyavasini was already famous and being worshipped. – Keshav Srinivasan May 15 '15 at 00:59
  • Thanks for more details Keshav. Its good to know that our books still have such pointers for missing information. – Aby May 19 '15 at 08:48
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    So like Krsna would she gave been worshipped as Devakitanaya for some 12 to 15 years? Before who's who was cleared up? And did she continue to be worshipped as both Devaki and Yashoda's daughter? – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 12:26
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    @Surya As far as I know she's only worshipped as the daughter of Yashoda. I think right after she scared Kamsa, she remained as an adult-looking goddess and went around doing great deeds like fighting demons and blessing devotees and the like, so who her parents were didn't matter much. Also I think Kamsa and everyone clearly knew that she wasn't Devaki's child, because she told him that Devaki's child is still out there. – Keshav Srinivasan Jan 14 '16 at 12:39
  • @Keshav Kamsa's knew. But that's not how rumours spread. ;) – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 12:50
  • @Surya Well, I'm not sure if the people of the Vindhyas even knew that she had come from Mathura after scaring Kamsa. They just saw a goddess appearing in the Vindhyas. – Keshav Srinivasan Jan 14 '16 at 12:59
  • @Keshav BTW where does Mahishasura (from your other question) come here? She only mentions Shumbha Nishumbha. – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 13:03
  • @Surya I've seen other sources on the Internet say that Vindhyavasini killed Mahishasura. I'm not sure if it's mentioned in Hindu scripture. – Keshav Srinivasan Jan 14 '16 at 13:06
  • @Keshav If it interests you, Rupa Gosvami, in his Lalita Madhava, has Vindhyavasini return to meet Krsna. Its quite a complicated plot (albeit beautiful), in which Garuda comes back to Dvaraka with the 16100 maidens, who are incidentally Gopikas, and they all meet Krsna's now eight wives - who are also incidentally Chandravali (Rukmini), Radha(Satyabhama), Lalita (Jambavati), Vishakha (Kalindi), Bhadra(Bhadra), Padma(Lakshmana), Shyama(Mitravinda) and Shaibya(Satya). 1/2 – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 13:08
  • @Keshav Then, when all these Gopika (Queens) meet, Nanda Yashoda and the gopas also arrive on a visit. It is then that Yashoda's daughter, who is called Ekanamsa Devi, returns, and with her powers, recreates Vrndavana in Dvaraka (in the garden called Nava Vrndavana), and the story ends with Radha gazing at Krsna surrounded by this beautiful scenery. – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 13:11
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    @Surya That's interesting. You know my views on Radha, but I'm still interested in whether this story has some basis in Hindu scripture. By the way, Ekanamsha is another name for Vishnu's Yogamaya, who of course Vindhyavasini is an incarnation of. Ekanamsha is described in great detail in the Pancharatra Agamas; she was worshipped a lot by early Vaishnavas but somehow she lost popularity over time. – Keshav Srinivasan Jan 14 '16 at 13:22
  • @Keshav This story was inspired by Devi Satyabhama to Rupa Gosvami which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu approved of so you have the acharya's sanction. So do early Vaishnavas include Gaudiyas? – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 13:27
  • @Surya No, when I say early Vaishnavas I mean like thousands of years ago, before the emergence of Sampradayas like Sri Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, etc. Back then the followers of Pancharatra weren't even called Vaishnavas, just Bhagavatas, but they still held that Vishnu was supreme and they placed emphasis on figures like Vishvaksena and Ekanamasha. Worship of Ekanamsha had declined long before the time of Ramanujacharya. In any case, as a Sri Vaishnava I don't accept Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's words as authoritative, but I'm still curious as to whether this story occurs in scripture. – Keshav Srinivasan Jan 14 '16 at 13:35
  • @Keshav Obviously this story cannot have occurred. Else the whole Krsna meeting Gopikas abd gopas story goes for a toss. – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 13:40
  • @Surya Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. Why can't this story of Krishna meeting Vindhyavasini have occurred in Hindu scripture? – Keshav Srinivasan Jan 14 '16 at 13:42
  • Because actually the Queens of Dvaraka were different from the Gopikas so the question of the reunion doesn't arisen although they could have met separately. – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 14:03
  • @Surya Well, perhaps there's a story in Hindu scripture of a story involving Krishna's queens and other wives, and Rupa Goswami is giving it a symbolic interpretation in terms of Radha and the Gopis, or vice versa: the Gopis could have come to Dwaraka and Vindhyavasini might have made a Vrindavana there, but Rupa Goswami could give a symbolic interpretation in terms of Krishna's queens and other wives. – Keshav Srinivasan Jan 14 '16 at 14:34
  • @Keshav There is no symbolism in the Gopikas and Queens thing. Gosvami wanted to show that wherever Krsna goes he cannot be away from his Gopikas. – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 14:39
  • @Keshav There is although one story in Garga Samhita where Yogamaya creates similar conditions after The Queens meet Radharani after the hundred year curse is over. I think that's the one you are searching. – Surya Jan 14 '16 at 14:41
  • @Surya Well, the Garga Samhita is a supposed Pancharatra text that pretty much only Gaudiya Vaishnavas accept the authority of (like the Brahma Samhita), but yeah I find it plausible that Rupa Goswami would base his work on that Garga Samhita story. – Keshav Srinivasan Jan 14 '16 at 14:56
  • She is referred as ekkha nanga in both srimad bhagavatam and mahabharata everyone saw the serial mahabharata kamsa trys to kill ekhanamga throwing but she was living with devaki not seen by anyone and then moves to nandagaown – Prasanna R Dec 01 '22 at 03:05
  • Even the Vindhyavashini strotram tell that it was Goddess who killed Nishumba and Shumba – Shashaank Mar 20 '23 at 08:56

2 Answers2

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The anedote of Vindhyavāsinī killing Śumbha-Niśumbha occurs in the 41st chapter of the Māhātmyakhaṇḍa of Tripurārahasya. According to it, 2 Asura brothers named Śumbha & Niśumbha attacked Vṛndāvana with their army after Śri Kṛṣṇa left for Dvārakā in order to avenge the death of their brother Aghāsura. They captured Nanda, the daughters of the gopas & their cows. Yashodā & other women fled the spot to seek refuge at the hermitage of sage Kātyāyana. On hearing their cries, Vindhyavāsinī manifested before them at the hermitage. A terrible battle ensured at the banks of Yamunā, in which Vindhyavāsinī rescued Nanda & the gopakumārīs. Terrified of her, the surviving Asuras fled away from Vṛndāvana & hid in the Vindhya mountains. Niśumbha hid in a cave deep within the mountains, Śumbha within the Gaṅgā & the remaining Asuras in a cave/hole near the Gaṅga in the mountains. Vindhyavāsinī assumed 3 corporeal forms to kill them & settled down in those places in those 3 forms with the aim to grant mokṣa to humans during Kaliyuga.

According to the Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa & Harivaṁśa, Yashodā's daughter didn't dissapear into the skies after the she assumed Her divine form & harshly rebuked Kaṁsa. That girl, subsequently named as Ekānaṁśā, was raised by Devakī & Vasudeva. Śrī Kṛṣṇa married off Ekānaṁśā to sage Durvāsā.

অনু
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Quoting from the Vindhyeshwari Stotram

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Translated:

https://www.bharattemples.com/sri-vindhyeswari-stotram/

This is also quoted in Devi Mahatmyam

[Here is the link of the website that attributes the Devi Mahatmyam] (https://greenmesg.org/stotras/durga/deeds_of_parvati.php)

Apparently,it was in the form of Vindhyeshwari that Mother killed the two demons.

Edit:

This video answers your question,and gives more information

Amethyst
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