victorious Pandavas. With the power of Rudra, he attacks and kills the followers in their sleep. During his frenzied assaults on the followers, Kaalratri appears on the spot. “.....in her embodied form, a black image, of bloody mouth and bloody eyes, wearing crimson garlands and smeared with crimson unguents, attired in a single piece of red cloth, with a noose in hand, and resembling an elderly lady, employed in chanting a dismal note and standing full before their eyes.” This reference in the Mahabharata appropriately depicts Goddess Kaalratri as representing and personifying the horrors of war, laying its unpleasantness bare. Markandeya Purana Chapter 1 of the Durga Saptashati, verse 75, references the destructive concept personified by Goddess Kaalratri in all Puranas:prakṛtistvaṃca sarvasya guṇatraya vibhāvinī kāḷarātrirmahārātrirmoharātriśca dāruṇāYou are the primordial cause of everythingBringing into force the three qualities (sattva, rajas and tamas)You are the dark might of periodic dissolutionYou are the great night of final dissolution and the terrible night of delusion Skanda Purana The Skanda Purana describes Lord Shiva beseeching his wife, Parvati (the cosmic feminine creative force), to help the gods when they are terrorised by the demon-king, Durgamasur (NB: distinct from Goddess Durga, who is so-named for having killed this very demon). She accepts to help and sends Goddess Kaalratri, "...a female whose beauty bewitched the inhabitants of the three worlds...". Some sources claim that the Skanda Purana describes the Mother Goddess as Parvati (Durga) removing her golden skin, to reveal her darker Kaalratri form. Devi-Bhagavata Purana After Goddess Ambika (also known as Kaushiki and Chandika) comes forth from the body of Goddess Parvati, Parvati’s skin turns extremely dark (almost black, like the hue of dark clouds). Therefore Parvati is given the names ‘Kalika’ and ‘Kalaratri’. She’s described as having two arms, holding a scimitar and half broken skull (that acts as a bowl to collect blood), and she eventually kills the demon king, Shumbha. This version in the Devi Bhagwatam is quite different than the one mentioned in the Mahatmyam. Varaha Purana In this text, the name Raudri is used to reference Kaalratri. Chapters 90-96 describe Goddess Raudri (Kaalratri) killing the demon, Ruru. Vishnudharmottara Purana Regarded as an appendix to Vishnu Purana, this encyclopaedic narrative makes reference to Goddess Kaalratri in the 48th adhyaya (chapter) of the third khanda (part), as being Dumordhana, the feminine counterpart to Lord Yama, the god of death. Other scriptural references to