Skandapurana 1.3.11: adhyāyaḥ 13

Lomaśa said: / Then, roaring and challenging the gods in battle, / those of great might and prowess [challenged] those headed by Indra (Śatakratu)—

Then the great-souled son of Virocana, mounting an aerial chariot with his entire army / and accompanied by diverse Daityas of great might, rushed upon the gods, inspiring great terror.

Displaying their own forms, they swooped down by thousands: / some mounted upon tigers, and others upon buffaloes;

some mounted upon horses, and others upon elephants; / others mounted lions, tigers, and sarabhas;

others upon peacocks, royal swans, and roosters; / some mounted upon steeds, camels, and even mules;

and others upon elephants and donkeys, as well as carts. / Many Daityas went on foot, holding swords, spears, and javelins in their hands,

armed with iron clubs, holding nooses, tridents, and maces in their hands, / some equipped with sword-edged arrows, armed with bhuśuṇḍis and iron clubs.

Other warriors mounted horses, elephants, and chariots; / and the leaders of Bali's forces mounted aerial chariots by the thousands.

Rivaling one another and roaring again and again, / Vṛṣaparvan then said this to Bali, the foremost of the Daityas:

“O mighty-armed one, you have made an alliance with Indra. / Yet no trust should ever be placed in an enemy.

Never should friendship be formed by an intelligent man / even with an inferior, trivial foe, since he turns away even in calamity.

One should never trust a former adversary. ‘Now we are conquered by you in strength,’ [they say]; / being chronically wicked, why would they not strive again today to hatch a plot?”

Thus spoke those unassailable ones, standing eager to fight. / With banners, parasols, and pennants, they adorned the battlefield.

With chowries the entire battlefield was overspread in all directions. / Likewise, all the gods there were eager to confront the Daityas.

Having drunk the nectar, the fortunate ones donned their armor and mounted their steeds. / The glorious Mahendra, thunderbolt in hand, was mounted on an elephant; / Sūrya mounted Uccaiḥśravas, and the moon mounted an antelope.

Surrounded by parasols and chowries, adorned with the splendor of victory, / all of them, led by Indra and desiring victory, bowed to Viṣṇu.

Permitted by Viṣṇu, they [marched] in wrath against the Asuras; / and the Asuras were huge-bodied, with fierce eyes and terrible prowess.

Between those gods and the Dānavas there occurred a terrible battle, / tumultuous, exceedingly dreadful, and inspiring terror in all living beings.

It was filled with showers of arrows and was utterly wondrous; / and then clashing sounds arose in all the ten directions.

Then in a mere moment they were covered with arrow-wounds; / struck by arrows, javelins, and iron shafts, they fell upon the earth.

As some were being pierced, they pierced others in the battle; / shattered by broad-headed shafts, they fell, cut to pieces by iron arrows.

Some Daityas, Dānavas, and Rākṣasas were struck by razor-faced arrows; / and slain by arrows, some Dānavas were broken.

Seeing the army of the Dānavas thus broken, the gods roared all around; / then, having assembled together in joy and gained victory in battle, they praised [themselves].

The three worlds were filled with the sound of conches and musical instruments. / Full of wrath against the gods, those mighty Dānavas,

all headed by Bali, rose up again in agitation, / accompanied by numerous aerial chariots resembling the sun.

A tumultuous single combat between the gods and the Dānavas / began once more, out of a desire to conquer one another.

Then Mahendra fought with Bali, the chief of the Dānavas; / likewise, the mighty-armed Yama clashed with Namuci.

Nirṛti [fought] with Praghasa, and the noose-bearer [Varuṇa] clashed with Kumbha; / the eternal enemy [Vāyu] waged a great battle with Nikuṃbha.

Rāhu waged a dreadful battle with Soma; / Rāhu then consumed the nectar arising from the body of the moon; / because of that contact with the nectar, Rāhu became as [immortal as] he was.

All those things were seen by Śambhu, the supreme lord: / “I am the refuge of all beings, of this there is no doubt; / and I am dear to all, both Asuras and gods.”

Thus addressed, Rāhu then bowed with his head to Śiva; / standing upon [Śiva's] crown, the moon then released nectar out of fear.

Because of that, numerous heads arose for him; / and making an attractive garland of them along a single cord, / Śambhu bound it upon his head as a crest-ornament.

From consuming the kālakūṭa poison he had then become blue-throated; / for accomplishing the purpose of the gods, a garland of skulls was thus made.

Maheśvara bore that garland of skulls upon his head.

With that garland shone the great-souled primordial God of gods, Hara, the destroyer of Tripura, / by whom the great Gajāsura was struck down, and by whom Andhaka was reduced to powder,

by whom the Gaṅgā was held in the midst of his head, and who, dispelling fear, placed the moon on his crest. / The Vedas, the Purāṇas, the Āgamas, the diverse revealed scriptures, and the treatises

speak through diverse distinctions of scriptures, and reflecting deeply, they become silent. / He is the sole friend of the universe, ascertained through diverse scriptures, worships, and doctrines,

Śiva, the eternal, the supreme soul and deity, known through the Vedas alone, the divine supreme self; / abandoning him, deluded and careless people do not know Śiva, whose form is the supreme self,

by whom indeed all was created, by whom sustained, by whom sheltered, and by whom made, / of whom indeed the universe is a part, the supreme soul Śiva, who is to be known through the Vedānta.

Whether rich or poor, highest or lowest, / one who is ever devoted to Śiva is Śiva himself, without a doubt.

Or whoever, seeing an exquisite worship performed by another unto Śiva, / experiences joy, attains a reward equal to that [worship].

Those who, endowed with faith, offer rows of lamps on the full moon of Kārttika, / for as long as those lamps burn before the liṅga, / for that many thousands of yugas the giver is honoured in heaven.

Those who offer lamps filled with safflower oil in an abode of Śiva, / those givers also rejoice in Kailāsa in the presence of Śiva.

Those who offer lamps filled with linseed oil in an abode of Śiva, / they go to Śiva together with a hundred generations of their families.

Indeed, they become possessors of knowledge by the fruit of offering lamps.

Those who offer lamps filled with sesame oil in an abode of Śiva, / they go to Śiva together with a hundred generations of their families.

Those by whom lamps anointed with ghee are prepared and lit in an abode of Śiva, / they go to the supreme abode accompanied by a hundred thousand generations of their families.

Those who constantly worship Śiva with incense of camphor and agallochum, / and those who day by day perform the wave-offering of lights with camphor, / they attain union with him; no doubt should be entertained here.

Those who unwearied perform the worship of the liṅga / once, twice, or thrice a day, they are Rudras; of this there is no doubt.

And those who unwearied wear rudrākṣa beads in the worship of Śiva, / during gift-giving, austerity, at a sacred ford, and on auspicious festive days, / whatever meritorious deed they perform becomes endless, O twice-born.

Hear, O best of the twice-born, of the rudrākṣas spoken of by Śiva, / beginning with the one-faced up to sixteen-faced ones. / Among these, two are to be known as the best for carrying one across [the ocean of existence], O twice-born:

The five-faced among rudrākṣas, and the one-faced is likewise declared. / Those men who wear a one-faced rudrākṣa day and night, / they go to the world of Rudra and rejoice in the presence of Rudra.

Recitation, austerity, ritual action, yoga, ritual ablution, gift-giving, worship, and the rest— / whatever auspicious rite is performed becomes indeed endless through the wearing of rudrākṣa beads.

Even if a rudrākṣa is tied around the neck of a dog, / even that [creature] is saved by it; no doubt should be entertained here.

Likewise, through connection with a rudrākṣa, even sin is destroyed. / Knowing this, one should perform auspicious action after binding on a rudrākṣa.

Those who wear the three-line mark of ashes consecrated by mantras, / they will become Rudras in the world of Rudra; of this there is no doubt.

Having taken cow dung from a brown cow, caught as it falls through the air, / and dried it, it should be burnt for sacred ash by those dear to Śiva.

The sacred ash is declared to be the destroyer of all sins. / First, a line with the thumb should be applied with effort on the forehead,

leaving out the middle finger, and using two fingers [as well]. / One who is seen with three lines thus on his forehead / is to be known as a Śaiva, like Śiva himself, destroying sin merely by being seen.

And those Śaivas who wear matted locks—seven, five, or nine— / who maintain matted locks according to the Śaiva rule,

they attain Śiva here; no doubt should be entertained here. / The wearing of rudrākṣas must especially be observed by the devotees of Śiva.

Whether worshipped poorly or richly, Sadāśiva / delivers ten million generations of one's family, and one rejoices with Śiva.

Therefore there is nothing higher than Śiva, O best of the twice-born. / Whatever is spoken in the sacred treatises has Śiva as its sole cause.

Śiva alone is the giver to all the worlds, the creator, and the approver. / Know, O best of the twice-born, that the universe consists of Śiva and Śakti.

The two-syllable name 'Śiva' delivers from great fear. / Therefore let Śiva be meditated upon and remembered, O best of the twice-born.

The seers said: / The māhātmya of Somanātha has been understood through his grace, / [and how] all were protected by the Supreme Lord from the fear of Rāhu's head,

and the gods, Indra and others, in that terrible battle. / What did all the gods do after this? Let it be told.

The entire greatness of Śiva has been heard coming from your mouth. / Now let the account of the battle be related according to reality.

Lomaśa said: / When the gods were defeated by the Daityas, they all took refuge with Śambhu; / the best of the gods instantly bowed to Śiva and then set their minds upon battle.

Likewise, the Daityas also, fighting with enthusiasm and exceedingly strong, / having gathered against the gods, waged battle again and again equipped with supreme missiles.

Thus all the Asuras and gods, striving for victory, filled with fury against one another / like lions facing a mountain lioness, unyielding, / with spears, javelins, tridents, clubs, and battle-axes, / the Asuras, struck down then by the gods with various supreme missile attacks, fell.

They made the entire earth muddy with flesh and blood— / the earth with its trees and mountains, together with its oceans, forests, and mines.

[There lay] heads and headless trunks, and great coats of mail, / banners, chariots, flags, and the heads of elephants and horses.

Streams and rivers flowed, terrifying to the faint-hearted, / unfathomable with blood for their waters; crossing them, brahmarākṣasas / crossed over with other spirits, ghosts, pramathas, and rākṣasas.

Hosts of śākinīs and ḍākinīs, and yakṣiṇīs by the thousands, / engaged in various sports, filled with mutual delight.

As those spirits, pramathas, and rākṣasas were sporting thus / in that dreadfully fierce battle, in the clash of gods and Asuras,

the king of the gods of wondrous prowess fought with Bali; / the wrathful son of Virocana struck the king of the gods with a javelin.

The swift-striding Mahendra dodged that spear; / he then forcefully struck Bali, the king of the Daityas, with his supreme [weapon].

With his sharp-edged vajra the valorous one severed his arm; / lifeless, [Bali] fell to the ground from his sun-like aerial chariot.

Seeing Bali fallen, Vṛṣaparvan, filled with anger, / rained showers of arrows [upon Indra], as a rain-cloud [showers] a mountain.

Mahendra along with his elephant, enduring the sharp arrows— / then a dreadful battle took place between Mahendra and Vṛṣaparvan.

Having struck down Vṛṣaparvan, Indra, the crusher of enemy forces, [fought on].

Then with his great thunderbolt he slew the Dānavas in battle; / some were decapitated at the head, and some were struck down by the neck.

Some were thrown into bewilderment by the enraged Indra; / likewise, [others] were slain by Yama, by Vāyu, and by Varuṇa.

Others were killed by Kubera, and others likewise by Nairṛta; / some were slain by Agni, and [others] torn apart by Īśa himself.

Thus the very mighty and valiant great Asuras were slain by them then; / struck down at that time by all the gods together with the world-protectors, by the grace of Śiva.

Then that best of great Daityas, the evil-minded Kālanemi, equipped with supreme weapons, / that single one of ever-cruel mind, went forth at that time to slay those foremost of the gods.

Mounted on a lion, clad in armor, and equipped with a trident, / surrounded by a hundred million Daityas mounted on lions.

All those lions were armored, possessing great strength and prowess; / and mounted upon those lions were great Daityas equal to them.

Seeing that entire army of Daityas approaching, adorned with lions / and joined with Kālanemi, the gods, led by Indra, / were overcome with incomparable fear, and then became absorbed in meditation:

"What shall all of us do today? How shall we conquer this wondrous, / innumerable army surrounded by lions?"

While they were thus pondering, Nārada arrived there; / and by Nārada the entire great past history was related.

And the power of Kālanemi's austerity was told to Mahendra, / as well as his invincibility in battle through the power of a boon granted [to him]:

"Without Viṣṇu, O gods, we are unable to conquer him on the battlefield; / therefore let Viṣṇu, the supreme Lord, dark as a tamāla tree and the granter of boons, / be remembered by all who desire victory."

Hearing Nārada's words, the gods, filled with haste, / remembering through meditation Mahāviṣṇu, the crusher of the enemy's army, / the supreme Self, spoke thus to that all-pervading Lord:

The gods said: / "Obeisance to you, the Blessed One! Obeisance to you, the auspiciousness of the universe! / O Sriniketa, obeisance to you! O Lord of Śrī, obeisance, obeisance to you!

Today, you should protect us who are terrified of fear, tormented by fear of Kālanemi, / from the Daitya, O granter of fearlessness to the gods!"

Thus meditated upon and remembered, Hari then manifested, / dark-hued, mounted upon Garuḍa, the granter of fearlessness to the worlds.

Holding the discus in hand, he arrived then for the victory of the gods; / they beheld Mahāviṣṇu standing in the sky, seated upon Garuḍa, / the unassailable abode of Śrī, eager to fight.

Seeing him thus, Kālanemi, laughing derisively with extreme wrath, endowed with strength, [said]: / "Who are you, O fortunate one of choice form, dark, youthful, with the prowess of a rutting elephant? / Why is a sharp discus of great splendor held in your hand? Tell me, O lord!"

The Blessed Lord said: / "I have come here for battle, to accomplish the purpose of the gods. / Stand firm, O dullard! I will burn you today without a doubt."

Hearing the words of the Blessed Lord, the powerful Kālanemi, / becoming furious, spoke to the Blessed Lord Adhokṣaja:

"You are indeed the root of the gods, O Blessed One, arrogant in battle; / fight with me now if you are a hero!"

Laughing, the Blessed Lord Viṣṇu of great splendor said this: / "Be in the sky, for I shall indeed be on the earth.

Act in such a way, O mighty-armed one, whether in the sky or on the earth's surface, / so that the battle does not become unpraiseworthy and unequal."

Agreeing to this, that mighty one, accompanied by Daityas numbering a hundred million, / mounted on lions, noble, exceedingly powerful and fierce at that time,

the great-souled one, accompanied by the host of Asuras, slowly entered the sky, wishing to slay the Universal-Formed One; / holding an extremely fierce trident, his face deformed with teeth [bared] in menacing action, he desired to fight Hari.

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter, named 'Description of the Battle between the Gods and the Asuras', in the narrative of the Churning of the Ocean, in the first [part], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, of the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.