gods' in addition to the Saptamatrika, making a group of 10 Matrikas. According to latter episode of Devi Mahatmya, Durga created Matrikas from herself and with their help slaughtered the demon army. In this version, Kali is described as a Matrika, who sucked all the blood of demon Raktabija. Kali is given the epithet Chamunda in the text. When demon Shumbha challenges Durga to a single combat, she absorbs the Matrikas in herself and says that they are her different forms.In the Vamana Purana too, the Matrikas arise from different parts of Devi and not from male gods although they are described and named after the male deities. In Matsya Purana, Shiva had created seven Matrikas to combat the demon Andhaka, who had the ability to duplicate from each drop of his blood that falls from him when he is wounded. The Matrikas drink up his blood and help Shiva defeat the demon. After the battle, the Matrikas begin a rampage of destruction by starting to devour other gods, demons and peoples of the world. Narasimha, Vishnu's man-lion incarnation, creates a host of thirty-two benign goddesses who calm down the terrible, fire-breathing Matrikas. Narasimha commanded the Matrikas to protect the world, instead of destroying it and thus be worshipped by mankind. At the end of the episode, Shiva's terrible form Bhairava is enshrined with the images of the Matrikas at the place where the battle took place. This story is retold in Vishnudharmottara Purana. Vishnudharmottara Purana further relates them with vices or inauspicious emotions like envy, pride, anger etc. In Varaha Purana, they are created from the distracted mind of goddess Vaishnavi, who loses her concentration while doing asceticism. They are described as lovely and act as the goddesses' attendants on the battlefield. In the Bhagavata Purana, when beings created by Vishnu are enlisted; the Matrikas are listed with rakshasas (demons), bhutas (ghosts), pretas, dakinis and other dangerous beings. In the same text, milkmaids offer a prayer for protection of the infant-god Krishna from the Matrikas. The Devi Purana (6th – 10th century) mentions a group of sixteen matrikas and six other types of Matrikas mentioned, apart from the Saptamatrikas. It introduces the Loka-matara (mothers of the world), a term used in the Mahabharata, in the very first chapter. Kind to all creatures, the Matrikas are said to reside in various places for the benefit of children. The text paradoxically