Skandapurana 1.3.15: adhyāyaḥ 17

Lomaśa said: / Then, seeing him gone to dissolution, all the hosts of gods / pondered: 'And how shall we proceed?' 17.1

Then, having summoned Surabhi, Śacī's husband [Indra] said: / 'Lick the body of Dadhīci at my command.' 17.2

And thinking, 'So be it,' at that very moment, that body / was immediately licked and made fleshless by that cow. 17.3

The gods took those bones and fashioned weapons: / the vajra arose from his backbone, and his skull [became] the Brahmaśiras weapon. 17.4

And the gods then took many other bones of that seer; / and the gods, filled with hostility towards the daityas, made nooses of his network of veins. 17.5

Having fashioned the weapons, all those gods of great strength and valor / departed in haste, intent upon slaying Vṛtra. 17.6

Then Suvarcas, the wife of Dadhīci who had been sent away so the gods' work might succeed, / returned, beheld everything there, and then saw her dead husband's body. 17.7

And learning all this act of the gods, the virtuous woman then became enraged; / extremely wrathful, that chaste woman, the wife of the best of seers, Suvarcas, then uttered a curse: 17.8

'Ah, all the gods are most wicked, and all are powerless and greedy; / therefore, let all the sky-dwellers be childless from this day forth!' she said. 17.9

Having thus given a curse to those gods, that ascetic woman / went to the base of a sacred fig tree and then tore open her own womb. 17.10

From her belly came forth the embryo of the noble Dadhīci, / Pippalāda of great splendor, a direct incarnation of Rudra. 17.11

Smiling, the mother, with furious eyes, said to that embryo, / to Pippalāda: 'Suvarcas [says]: Stay long in the proximity of this 17.12

sacred fig tree, O fortunate one! May you be fruitful for all!' / Speaking thus to her son, / that virtuous woman followed her husband through supreme samādhi. 17.13

Thus that wife of Dadhīci went to heaven with her husband. 17.14

Those gods, having fashioned their weapons and missiles, eager against the daityas, / came forth, headed by Indra, possessing great strength and valor. 17.15

Placing their Guru at their head, by his order, those many hosts of gods / then came down to the earth, to the middle region, and, equipped with supreme weapons, all shouted. 17.16

Advancing toward the gods who had assembled with Indra at their head, / the great daitya Vṛtra marched out, surrounded by a multitude of daityas. 17.17

Just as the summit of Mount Meru is seen fully filled, / so appeared that great one of immense radiance, the son of Viśvakarman. 17.18

Great Indra saw him, and the great Asura saw great Indra; / and wondrous indeed was the confrontation of the gods and the Dānavas.

Then, harboring deep enmity toward each other, the gods and Daityas, / furiously enraged against one another, roared most wondrously.

Frightful instruments of music were sounded on all sides; / deep notes were heard here at the clashing of gods and Asuras.

As the war drums were sounded, all of them, seized with haste, / struck one another with vigor using showers of various weapons.

Then, in that battle between gods and Asuras, the three worlds with all that moves and is still / were seized with great terror and became lifeless.

Some were cut down and split open, others cleft in two by weapons; / some were struck by iron arrows, and shattered to pieces by weapons and missiles.

Mutilated, some gods fell slain by spearheads; / weapons flashed in the sky like lightning rays born of clouds.

Countless heads fell down from the expanse of the sky, / like stars tumbling down, turbulent as during the great dissolution.

In the midst [of the battle] was waged a conflict bringing destruction to all beings; / then Namuci fought a battle with Śakra.

The king of the gods himself struck Namuci with his thunderbolt with great speed; / yet not a single hair of the Asura Namuci was broken.

At [the failure of] the thunderbolt itself, all the Asuras and gods / were seized with utmost astonishment, and great Indra was put to shame.

He struck Namuci with a mace, but that mace too was shattered into dust; / though it struck Namuci's body, it fell down upon the surface of the earth.

Then Puraṃdara struck him with a great trident; / hitting Namuci's body, that trident was smashed into a hundred pieces.

Thus the slayer of the foes of the gods struck him with diverse weapons; / laughing in mockery, Namuci did not [even] strike back at Puraṃdara.

Then Indra fell silent, filled with deep anxiety; / Indra did not know what was to be done or what was not to be done.

At that moment, in that great, terrifying battle, / a voice from the sky arose, quickly addressing Indra:

"Slay this Daitya today, O great Indra, who brings terrifying dread to the gods; / quickly [slay] the great lord of Asuras using foam, by the waters, invincible though he be.

Even when struck by any other weapon, he can never be killed; / therefore, O lord of the gods, make an effort to slay this evil-minded Namuci."

Hearing that divine voice fraught with supreme truth, ever joyful and auspicious, / the foremost among the resolute, endowed with infinite vigor, went to the shore of the ocean and made a supreme effort.

Seeing him arrive there, Namuci, faint with fury, / struck the lord of gods with a spear, and laughing, spoke these words:

"Why have you taken refuge on the ocean shore, O best of the gods, / abandoning the battlefield, and dropping your weapons?

What did your own thunderbolt do [to me], O dull-witted one?

So many other weapons and missiles were taken up by you before, O fool, / to slay me now!

Standing ready for battle, what will you do to slay me? / With what weapon, O fool, do you wish to fight in combat?

I will cause you to be slain this very day if you stand in battle; / if not, go! Released by me, live long and be happy."

Hearing this arrogant speech of the demon who shone in combat, / great Indra, provoked to wrath, took hold of the wondrous foam.

Seeing the foam in his hand, the Asuras then burst into laughter:

"His weapons have met their end, and Puraṃdara, / the noble-minded Śatakratu, wishes to kill me today with foam alone!"

Laughing thus, not recognizing Puraṃdara's [intent], / Namuci, the bull among the Daityas, stood before him with contempt.

Right then, Indra swiftly struck him down with the foam.

When Namuci was slain, all the gods were filled with joy; / and the seers honored him with cries of 'Well done! Well done!'

Having slain Namuci in combat, they all attained victory; / but those Daityas, furious with anger and eager to fight, were [yet] resolute.

The battle between the gods and the Dānavas commenced once more, / with various weapons and missiles released by those longing to kill each other.

When those Asuras were struck down repeatedly by the gods, / then Vṛtra of great splendor advanced toward Śatakratu.

Upon seeing Vṛtra, all the gods, Asuras, and mortals / were seized by great terror and lay fallen upon the ground.

When all the gods and Siddhas were thus terrified, / Indra, mounted upon Airāvata, thunderbolt in hand, full of majesty,

splendid with an umbrella held over him and a chowrie, / united with all the world-protectors, was scorched with distress.

Seeing Vṛtra, all those world-protectors and mighty lords, / terrified with fear, sought refuge in Śiva.

Mentally they all meditated on Śaṃkara, who brings welfare to the world; / and great Indra, desiring victory, duly worshipped the liṅga.

Instructed then by his Guru with supreme faith, / the noble-minded Bṛhaspati spoke to Śakra:

Bṛhaspati said: / "If the thirteenth lunar day in the bright fortnight of the month of Kārtika falls upon a Saturday, / complete [in duration], it brings attainment of everything, no doubt.

On that day, at the time of dusk (pradoṣa), Sadāśiva in the form of the liṅga / should be worshipped, O lord of the gods, for the fulfillment of all desires and purposes.

Having bathed at noon with sesame and myrobalan, / one should perform [worship] of Śiva with fragrances, flowers, fruits, and the like.

Afterward, at the hour of dusk (pradoṣa), one should worship an immovable liṅga, / whether self-manifest (svayambhu), installed, man-made, or unmade by man.

Whether in an inhabited place or an uninhabited place, in a forest or in a hermitage, / one should worship that liṅga with devotion, especially at dusk (pradoṣa)."

A liṅga situated outside a village yields a hundredfold the fruit of [one in] a village; / a wondrous liṅga in a forest yields a hundredfold the merit of a brahmin's [liṅga].

Worshipping [a liṅga] on a mountain yields a hundredfold the merit of a forest [liṅga]; / and from a mountain liṅga, the fruit is termed ten thousandfold; / or a liṅga worshipped in a hermitage yields great fruit.

Therefore, according to this division, the wise must skillfully / perform the worship and adoration of Śiva, and likewise ritual ablution in sacred fords.

A ritual ablution in a well should be done especially with drawn water, / [which is] splendid merely by bathing after removing five lumps [of earth].

In a pond, one should perform ritual ablution after removing ten lumps [of earth]; / ritual ablution in a river is superior, and especially so in a great river.

Ritual ablution in the Gaṅgā is distinguished above all sacred fords; / and equal to it is [ablution] in a divine pool; one should perform this praised ritual ablution.

Sadāśiva is to be illuminated with a thousand lamps, / or likewise with a hundred lamps, or with a row of thirty-two lamps.

One should light the lamps with ghee for the satisfaction of Śiva, / and likewise with fruits and lamps, food offerings, perfumes, and incenses.

Sadāśiva in the form of a liṅga should be worshipped / at the twilight hour by men with sixteen services to achieve all aims.

One should circumambulate one hundred and eight times, / and one should diligently make prostrations of the same number.

Sadāśiva should be worshipped with circumambulations and prostrations; / that Rudra is to be praised according to the rules with a hundred names:

"Homage to Rudra, to the terrible one, to the blue-throated one, to the creator, / to the matted-haired one, to the lord of gods, indeed homage to the sky-haired one!

Homage to the bull-bannered one, to Soma, indeed to the blue-throated one, / to the space-clad one, to the radiant one, to the matted-haired lover of Umā!

Homage indeed to the one composed of austerity, to the pervasive one, to the one clothed in rays, / homage to the lover of serpents, to the serpent, to the lord of serpents!

Homage to the supporter of the earth, to the tiger, to the lord of beasts, / to the lion who destroys the three cities, and to the one with the fierce roar of a tiger!

Homage to the fish, to the lord of fishes, to the perfected one, to the supreme ruler, / to the destroyer of desire, to the awakened one, to the lord of intellects!

Homage indeed to the dove, to the distinguished one, to the virtuous one, to the supreme self, / to the Veda, to the seed of the Veda, to the secret of the gods!

To the extensive one, to the vastly extensive one, to the worthy one of great reach, and to the feast, / homage to the foundation of the world, indeed homage to the one whose form is space!

To the destroyer of the elephant demon, and indeed to the piercer of the demon Andhaka, / to the dark-red and white one, and to the one beloved of Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa!

To the god dear to devotion, and to the imperishable knowledge of knowledge, / homage to you, the great lord, and to the destroyer, the Great God!

Homage, homage to the three-eyed one, to the three Vedas, to the limb of the Veda; / homage indeed to purpose, to the form of purpose, to the supreme purpose!

Homage indeed to the universal form, to the universe, to the lord of the universe; / and to Śaṃkara, to time, and to the one having the form of parts of time!

Homage indeed to the formless one, and to the subtle one, to the subtlest of the subtle; / homage to you, the dweller in the cremation ground, homage to you, the skin-clad one!

To the one with the crescent moon on his crest, and to Rudra, the refuge of all; / to the fortress, to the essence of the fortress, to the witness of the fortress's limbs!

Homage to the one whose form is the liṅga, to the liṅga, to the lord of liṅgas; / homage indeed to the form of the praṇava, to the meaning of the praṇava!

Homage, homage to you, the cause of causes, the conqueror of death, whose nature is self-existence! / O three-eyed one, O dark-throated one, O radiant one, O lord of Gaurī, homage to the cause of all auspiciousness!"

Bṛhaspati said: / "These hundred names of the great lord should then be recited by one observing the vow; / this should be performed diligently at twilight with the same number of circumambulations and prostrations / for the satisfaction of Śaṃkara.

Thus the vow has been declared to you, O wise Śakra; / perform it quickly, O fortunate one, and then wage war, O lord.

By the grace of Śambhu, everything such as victory will belong to you.

For formerly this Vṛtra, a Daiteya of great splendour, / pleased Śiva by austerity on Mount Gandhamādana.

There was a king named Citraratha; know, O Indra, / that this forest belonging to Citraratha is near the city of Śiva.

In which forest, O fortunate one, the six waves [of existence] do not exist; / therefore it is named Caitraratha, a most auspicious forest. / To that king a wondrous vehicle was given by Śiva himself,

moving at will, fitted with tinkling bells, served by Siddhas and Cāraṇas, / adorned by Gandharvas, apsarases, Yakṣas, and Kinnaras.

Then, roaming the earth formerly in that very vehicle, / and likewise the chief mountains and various continents,

once that great king named Citraratha, while roaming, / came to Kailāsa, and there he saw a supreme marvel:

the assembly hall of the great lord, adorned with his attendants, / and the Great Lord embellished by the Goddess clinging to half his body.

Seeing Sadāśiva accompanied by the Goddess, he spoke these words in her presence:

"We, O Śambhu, are attached to sense-objects, and our ministers and others are also conquered by women, / yet we ignorant ones do not indulge in women in the midst of people out of shame.

Having heard this statement, the great lord, as if smiling, / spoke with reason while all were listening:

'All have fear of public reproach, and not otherwise; / the kālakūṭa poison, indomitable to all, was swallowed [by me].

Nevertheless, an insufferable mockery of me has been made by the king.' / Calling that Citraratha, the mountain-born Goddess spoke [these] words:

Girijā said: / 'O evil-minded one, how have you, an ignorant fool, mocked Śaṃkara / together with me? O dull-witted one, you shall see the fruit of your deed!

Whoever makes a mockery of virtuous ones of equanimous mind, / whether a god or a mortal, is to be known as the lowest of the low.'

These lords of sages of great majesty, and these seers who bear the Vedas within them, / and likewise all those such as Sanaka—are all these ignorant because they worship Śiva?

Ah, fool! Among all people only you are knowledgeable today, and no others! / Therefore I shall make you a knowledgeable Daitya, cast out by the gods and by the twice-born!

Having been thus cursed by the goddess Bhavānī, that best of kings, / King Citraratha, immediately fell headlong from heaven.

Entering a demonic womb, he then became [the demon] named Vṛtra. / By supreme austerity, he was gradually joined [in purpose] by Tvaṣṭṛ.

Because of that great austerity, Vṛtra was called invincible. / Therefore, having properly worshipped Śambhu at dusk now,

slay the great Daitya Vṛtra for the accomplishment of the purpose of the gods!' / Hearing that word of his teacher, Śatakratu said: / 'Tell me now the rule for the closing ceremony of the dusk [observance].'

Bṛhaspati said: / 'When the month of Kārtika arrives, on a thirteenth [lunar day] falling on a Saturday, / the completion should be performed there for the perfection of the complete observance.

A bull should be made of silver, with a fine seat upon its back. / Upon it one should place the three-eyed god, beloved of Umā,

five-faced, ten-armed, with the virtuous daughter of the mountain on half his body. / In this way the wise person should cause Umā and Maheśa to be fashioned of gold.

Having installed them with the bull upon a copper plate veiled with cloth, / together with Umā and accompanied by manifold offerings,

one should properly keep vigil at night, endowed with faith. / In the beginning, a ceremonial bath should be carefully performed with the five nectars:

'O Lord of gods, a ritual ablution with cow's milk has been performed by me with cow's milk. / Accept the ceremonial bath, O Lord of the gods of gods, O Supreme Lord!

And now, O God, a ceremonial bath is performed by me with curd. / Accept what is given by me, and be very pleased today!

And now, O God, a ceremonial bath is performed by me with ghee. / Accept what is given with faith, solely for your pleasure!

This honey is given by me solely for your pleasure. / Receive it, O Lord of gods, and be the bestower of peace upon me!

Now, O Lord of the gods of gods, a ceremonial bath is performed with white sugar. / Accept what is given with faith, and be very pleased, O Lord!'

Thus the bull-bannered god should be bathed with the five nectars. / Then water for honouring should be offered with a copper vessel by the wise person, / with this very mantra for the satisfaction of Umā's beloved:

'You are worthy of water for honouring, O beloved of Umā! With this water for honouring, O Lord, / accept what has been given by me, and be pleased, O Śaṃkara!

And foot-washing water accompanied by flowers and fragrances has been given to you by me. / Accept it, O Lord of the gods of gods, and being pleased, be the granter of boons!

And a seat of sacred grass has been offered by me with a grass mat, O Lord. / For your satisfaction, O Lord of gods, be ever the granter of boons to me!

Sipping water has been given to you by me, O Lord, ruler of the universe. / Accept it, O Supreme Sovereign, and be pleased with me today!

Endowed with the knot of Brahmā, prompting Vedic rites, / a golden sacred thread has been given to you by me, O Lord.

And fragrant sandalwood, O God, has been given by me, O Lord. / With supreme devotion by me, O Śambhu, make me fragrant, O Bhava!

A supreme lamp, O Śambhu, kindled with ghee, / has been given by me; accept it, O Lord of gods, and be the bestower of knowledge upon me!

A supreme, special lamp, blooming with all medicinal herbs, / accept, O Supreme Sovereign, solely for my peace!

Accept the row of lamps given by me, O Supreme Lord! / By the offering of the waving of lights, be the bestower of splendour upon me!'

In the order of fruits, lamps, food-offerings, betel, and so on, / he should be worshipped diligently that night by those who know the ritual procedure.

Then a vigil should be kept in the house or in a temple of the deity, / having erected a canopy pavilion adorned with various wonders; / Sadāśiva is to be worshipped with song, musical instruments, and dancing.

According to this very procedure, the rule for the closing ceremony of dusk [observance] / must be performed, O Śakra, by one observing the rites, for the accomplishment of all aims.'

Śatakratu performed everything that had been spoken by his teacher. / With that very assistance, Indra, intent upon battle,

fought against Vṛtra together with the gods. / A tumultuous battle took place between the gods and the Dānavas.

In that intense, exceedingly tumultuous [battle] causing the destruction of gods and Daityas, / a fierce single combat occurred, boundlessly dreadful.

Vyoma fought with Yama, and the fiercely wrathful one with Agni; / Mahādaṃṣṭra fought with Varuṇa, and the mighty one with Vāyu.

All were engaged in single combat, seeking to test one another's strength.

Likewise those excellent gods, mighty-armed heroes of battle, were victorious then; / and all the excellent Daityas then met with utter defeat on all sides.

Seeing the excellent Daityas defeated by the gods, fleeing and panicked in all directions, / then the mighty Vṛtra spoke this word in supreme wrath:

Vṛtra said: / 'O Daityas, deeply distressed, why are you stricken with fear / and all intent on fleeing, abandoning the wondrous battle?

Resolve yourselves on fighting, O heroes, and each show your own valour! / Slaughter the hosts of gods, O mighty ones,

with clubs, flat-bladed spears, swords, javelins, iron bars, and hammers, / with blades, slings, nooses, spears, and fists!'

Then the gods fought with weapons born from the bones of Dadhīca, / and with supreme missiles they tore the Asuras to pieces.

Again the Daityas were struck down by the gods, and they too suffered defeat; / yet once more they were urged against the gods by that Vṛtra.

Indeed, when those foremost Daityas, being struck down by the lords of gods, fled in all directions, / some of those Dānavas, seeing this, were then terrified with fear and gradually became like eunuchs.

The foremost Daityas were thus rebuked by the furious Vṛtra: / 'O highly fortunate Puloman, O Vṛṣaparvan, salutation to you!

O Dhūmrākṣa, O Mahākāla, O great Daitya Vṛkāsura! / O Sthūlākṣa, O great Daitya, O Sthūladaṃṣṭra, salutation to you!

Abandoning the very gateway to heaven for noble Kṣatriyas, / why do you flee from this supreme battlefield?

Those whose death occurs in battle go to the supreme state; / wherever it may be, a wise man should desire death in battle.

Those who abandon battle surely go to hell.

Men with weapons in hand who wage battle for the sake of brahmins, / for the sake of servants, or for their own sake, even if they are great sinners,

if struck down by weapon-blows or dying in battle, / go to the supreme abode; no doubt should be entertained here.

Those whose bodies are severed by weapons for the sake of cows or their master's cause, / dying or wounded in battle, go to the supreme goal.

Therefore, even sinners who are heroes, slain facing the front in battle, / attain the supreme abode, difficult to obtain even for the wise.

Or rather, pilgrimage to sacred fords, study of the Vedas, / worship of deities, sacrifices, and various other meritorious deeds—

all these together are not worth a sixteenth part [of the merit] / of those fallen in battle; such is the rule in all scriptures.

Therefore, valor in battle must be displayed without hesitation / by you; you must not act otherwise, according to the authority of divine speech.

All of you are endowed with heroic conduct, noble lineage, and character, possessing great dignity; / fleeing from the battlefield, taking those very [retreating] steps, they become unheroic.

Indeed, all of them surely go to worlds of sin, according to the words of the traditional scriptures.

The most sinful who stand in unrighteousness, killers of brahmins, and violators of the teacher's bed / go to painful hell, and just so do those who flee from battle.

Therefore, you must fight, capable of bearing the burden of your master's business.' / When thus addressed by that high-souled Vṛtra,

the Asuras followed his word against the gods; / they fought a very tumultuous battle that caused fear to all the worlds.

When that tumultuous, intense [battle] had begun, Vṛtra alone, the lord of the great Daityas, / spoke with extraordinary wrath to Indra, who was accompanied by the foremost gods.

Vṛtra said: / 'Listen to the beneficial words spoken by me, endowed with righteousness and purpose: / being the lord of the gods, you do not know what is beneficial and what is harmful.

Intent on what source of strength was Viśvarūpa slain by you? / Today indeed, O Indra, the fruit of that action has arrived!

Those fools and dullards who see far ahead, cast out from righteousness, / who are incapable of accomplishing their purpose and whose actions are fruitless— / know all of that, O lord of gods; let it be carefully considered in your mind.

Therefore, intent on righteousness and free from defilement, fight! / You are the slayer of my brother, O Indra, and therefore I shall slay you.

Do not run away; stand firm, surrounded by the gods!' / Being thus addressed by Vṛtra, Śakra, filled with intense anger,

mounted Airāvata and advanced with the desire to slay Vṛtra. / Seeing Indra approaching, Vṛtra, the best of the mighty,

laughed and spoke these words while everyone listened: / 'Strike me first, and then I shall slay you!'

Thus addressed, the lord of the gods forcefully struck with his mace / the mighty Vṛtra, foremost among the strong, upon the knee.

As it came flying, he caught it effortlessly with one hand; / with that very mace he swiftly struck the lord of heaven.

That mace struck down Purandara along with his thunderbolt. / Seeing Śakra fallen, Vṛtra said to the gods:

'Take your master, O gods, to your own city, Amarāvatī.'

Hearing this true word of the high-souled Vṛtra, / all the gods, anxious, did so from the battlefield for Indra's sake.

Having carried him off while he was on the elephant, surrounding him in fear, / all the gods abandoned the battle and went toward heaven.

Then, when the gods had gone, the great Asura danced; / Vṛtra laughed aloud, and by that the directions were filled.

The entire earth, along with its mountains, forests, and woods, trembled; / and then everything moving and unmoving was shaken.

Hearing that the lord of the gods had retreated, Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, / approached the lord of the gods and touched him with water from his water-pot; / at that very moment Purandara regained consciousness.

Seeing the grandfather before him, he was filled with shame then. / To Mahendra, who was overwhelmed with embarrassment, Brahmā the grandfather said:

Brahmā said: / 'Vṛtra is endowed with austerity and established in the vow of celibacy; / and this illustrious Vṛtra is endowed with the austerity of Tvaṣṭṛ.

He is unconquerable by severe austerity; therefore, conquer him through austerity! / Vṛtrāsura, the lord of the Daityas, O Śakra, is to be conquered by you only through supreme meditation.' / Hearing the word of the Supreme Lord, Indra then remembered the god whose banner bears the bull.

Then, praising him with a hymn of praise, the high-souled Purandara, urged by his preceptor, [said]:

Indra said: / 'Salutation to the god Bharga, O you who are very difficult for the gods to attain! / Grant a boon, O lord of gods, for the fulfillment of the gods' purpose!'

Being thus intent on praise, the husband of Śacī, though of broad intellect, / was clever in his own interest, dull-souled, and indeed delighted in worldly illusion.

Those fools who delight in worldly illusion, even if intent on devotion to Śiva, / do not attain that supreme state of the Lord, being attached to worldly things.

Those spotless people free from ego who worship / Mṛḍa, the granter of knowledge and Lord, the supreme Lord, Śambhu himself—

to them, the supreme ones, Śaṃkara is the granter of boons both here and in the hereafter. / Śarva was praised by Mahendra, who was indeed utterly impassioned.

For Śambhu is always hard to attain for the impassioned; there is no doubt about this. / Therefore, Sadāśiva is ever turned towards the dispassionate.

The king of the gods was indeed full of great passion, exceedingly skilled in accomplishing his own affairs; / therefore Śacī's lord was ever subjected to affliction, perpetually devoted to his own selfish desire.

The all-seeing beholder, Maheśa who has the form of a liṅga, / then, understanding [his intention], spoke to Indra who was praising him, on account of the importance of the task:

"Go, Indra, along with the gods against the demon Vṛtra. / He can only be overcome through tapas, to be conquered in battle, O Śatakratu."

Indra said: / "By what means can this great and foremost of Daityas, Vṛtra, be overcome? / Tell me quickly, O Śambhu, how I may obtain victory."

Rudra said: / "He cannot be killed in battle even by the foremost of the gods; / therefore today you must indeed perform a despised deed.

Formerly a curse was laid upon him by Pārvatī in my presence; / he was renowned by the name Citraratha in the three worlds.

Wandering about in an aerial chariot given by me, radiant, / through ridicule that foremost of Daityas arrived at this womb.

Therefore know him to be invincible in battle, O best of battle-knowers." / When Mahendra was thus addressed repeatedly by Śambhu, the yogin,