Goddess Jwalamalini made a huge wall of fire to protect the Shakti Sena. Lord Ganapati destroyed all the Vighna Yantras made by the asuras. When the vignhna yantras were placed by the asuras, the shakti sena lost the enthusiasm for war and became lazy. It is when Lord Ganapati intervened and destroyed all the vighna yantras. Mother was happy and blessed Ganapati with Her glance. Bhandasura took 10 incarnations named Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Duryodhana, Dushasana, Dantavaktra etc. From the fingernails of Devi, manifested the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu. Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Balarama, Parasurama, Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, etc. killed the demons named Hiranyaksya and so on.
Om karāṅguli nakhotpanna nārāyaṇa daśākṛtyai namaḥ
(who created from Her fingernails all ten incarnations of Narayana (Vishnu).)
Using a special weapon named Maha Pashupata, Devi destroyed the entire asura army. Using another special weapon named Kameshwarastra, Devi destroyed Bhandasura and his city.
Om kāmeśvarāstra nirdagdha sabhaṇḍāsura śūnyakāyai namaḥ
(who burned and destroyed Bhandasura and his capital Shunyaka with the mighty Kameshvara missile.)
All the Gods & Goddesses praised Devi
Om brahmopendra mahendrādi deva saṁstuta vaibhavāyai namaḥ
(whose many powers are extolled by Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and other gods.)
The huge story of slaying Bhandasura and the great war is described in a nutshell in Lalita Sahasranama starting from
bhaṇḍāsura vadhodyukta śakti senā samanvitā to brahmopendra mahendrādi deva saṁstuta vaibhavā
This Lalita Sahasranama Stotra composed by the Vashinyadi Vagdevis should be chanted with the utmost reverence by all of us. After the daily morning routines, and practices, Sri Chakra puja should be performed before chanting Lalita Sahasranama. There are many rules in scriptures on how to and how not to chant Lalita Sahasranama.
गीती शीघ्री शिरःकम्पी तथा लिखितपाथकः ।
अनर्थज्ञोऽल्पकण्ठश्च षडेतेपाठकाधमाः ॥ -Pāṇinīya Sikşā 32
Those who recite the mantras in a singsong manner, (too) quickly, with a nodding of the head, use a written text at the time of recitation, do not know the meaning of passages read, and have a low voice, are six kinds of bad reciters
Lalita Sahasranama shouldn’t be chanted like a song or too much musical (1.Geeti). We shouldn’t boast that “I had to go to the office or catch the train, hence I completed the entire Lalita Sahasranama in just 5 minutes!”. (2.Sheeghri) One shouldn’t unnecessarily shake the head or look here and there while chanting Lalita Sahasranama. We can see sometime people chanting while having a sip of tea. (3.Shirahkambi) It is considered the lowest grade of an act to read a book. The mantras should be recited from memory (4.Likhitha Patakah). In India, there was a custom of staying in a temple for a longer period of time to do spiritual practices. One used to live according to the temple rules and have only the prasad. Lalita Sahasranama was an integral part of such practices. Ayurveda physicians and other practitioners also considered Lalita Sahasranama as a path of worship. Hence all of them had memorized the mantras and chanted flawlessly. It is also not good to chant the mantras without understanding the meaning as well (5.Anartho). It should not be chanted in a feeble voice that the listeners are not able to hear. (6.Alpakanta ) . These are the 6 ways one should not chant Lalita Sahasranama. Then how to chant? Just do the opposite of what is mentioned above.
माधुर्यमक्षरव्यक्तिः पदच्छेदस्तुसुस्वरः ।
धैर्यं लयसमर्थं च षडेतेपाठका गुणाः ॥ – Pāṇinīya Sikşā 33
Sweetness, clearness, separation of words, right accent, patience and ability to observe time are six merits in a reciter
When one chants Lalita Sahasranama, it should be soothing and the voice should be sweet. Each syllable should be chanted perfectly. utmost care should be taken on how to split the phrases. Lalita Sahasranama should be chanted in the best of the note we can. When one chants understanding the meaning of each word and in the right sense, the listeners understand how seriously that person has taken up this task of chanting. One’s mind should merge with the chanting.
The chief pontiff of Sringeri Sarada Peetham, Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati was once chanting Lalita Sahasranama, while he was chanting the mantra Om tat pada lakṣyārthāyai namaḥ, he remembered the lotus feet of the Mother. He went into Samadhi instantly for 2-3 hours and could continue chanting only after that. This is known as laya. Hence chanting by understanding the essence will benefit us immensely.