Skandapurana 7.14

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Sanatkumāra said: / Then the Lord saw the leaders of the gaṇas who had arrived, / fully equipped with their own numerous forces, eager for battle: / Diṇḍin, Bhārabhūti, and Somaśarman, / Karika, Meghanāda, and Udaremaṇi, / Āsatti, Dhūtapāpa, and Candramaulin, / the valorous Ādityamāla, and Sukeśa of great might, / Tālaketu, Jvara, and mighty Daṇḍapāṇi, / these and other renowned and hidden leaders of the gaṇas, / and Mahāgaṇapati, and Khoṭhāmudgara. / Having honored them all and gratified them again and again, / […]

[…] / he spoke with a voice rumbling like a cloud, resounding like a hundred kettledrums: / "You, O best of beings, are fit to fight with the Dānavas for me. / You alone, leaders of the gaṇas, are sufficient to oppress them. / Therefore, O beings of great vigor, along with your hosts and your followers, / march forth for their destruction; I am pleased [with you], O beings of great might!"

Thus addressed by the God, bowing with their heads to Hara, / the great-souled ones departed, and the God also set forth. / Then a roar arose like an ocean being cleft open, / as the army of the asura Andhaka approached Mandara. / Hearing the roar of the Dānavas, which intensely strained the ears, / the Pramathas roared dreadfully like clouds at the end of an age. / Those two oceanic armies, stirred up by each other's might, / became like two great oceans stirred and cleft open at the end of dissolution.

The God of gods said: / "Offer oblations for the destruction of the enemies, O priest, and for our victory! / And you too, Nandin, preserve [him], surrounded by all these gaṇas! / And those who stand in the sky roaring like clouds, / let them strike down these Dānavas, enemies who move in the sky!" / Sanatkumāra said: / Thus addressed, the two began to carry out the Lord's command; / Bṛhaspati offered oblations into the fire, and Nandin guarded him.

With the mighty Pramathas struggling, Mount Mandara / appeared as if setting out, its elephants and lions shaken loose. / Then, seeing the haughty army of Andhaka climbing swiftly / like an army of lions, they shook it as if it were a mountain. / […]

Then a tumult of halahalā cries arose from the Pramathas / who checked the Daityas in battle with arrows of trees and stones.

The Dānavas, though checked by the Pramathas who seemed victorious, / broke through the Pramatha army and then quickly climbed up.

The Pramathas, having resolved that battle must be fought without attachment, / slashed, pierced, and split the enemies of the gods. / "Seize! Release! Stand! What will you do standing there?"— / thus words arose between the armies of Pramathas and asuras. / With excellent trees, roots and all, and with mountains complete with trees, / the merciless Pramathas and asuras crushed one another.

Then, by the sons of Dākṣāyaṇī, the destroyers of Dakṣa's sacrifice, / unwavering in their devotion, could not be turned back. / Sanatkumāra said: / Perceiving that the enemies, defeated, were unable / to climb the summit of the mountain, the God restrained the Pramathas completely. / The God of gods said: / "Let the sons of Danu climb Mandara with its lovely caves. / For my sport, O lords of the gaṇas, fight together with them!" / They saw [the mountain] where a terrible roar was uttered by the king of beasts standing in many lovely bowers, / whose ground was strewn with the flowers of trees broken by the charges of herds of roaming elephants, / where the darkness of lovely rock caverns was dispelled by the lamps of the crest jewels of serpent kings, / and whose clefts were seen among networks of great rocks split by the speed of cool, clear torrent water.

where in some places the rays of the morning sun were blocked by the tips of fresh copper-colored sprouts; / where in some places distinct, beautiful leaf-patterns were drawn on the moon-like faces of celestial beauties;

726 / where in some places the forest tracts were adorned with clusters of lovely flowers shaken by the wind; / where troops of monkeys sitting on slabs of crystal stones gazed at their own bodies; / where hosts of Siddhas were awakened to the pleasant sound of the calls of peacocks residing near the young celestial women; / charming with the soft chirping of Kalahaṃsa swans staying in water fragrant with the pollen of lotus petals; / where the gold mineral was melted by fire that poured forth from sunstones heated by the rays of the sun; / where the waters of mountain streams flowed and scattered, issuing from moonstones struck by fallen moonbeams; / with its broad slopes adorned in some places with pearl-heaps from the shattered frontal globes of great elephants, broken by the thunderbolt-blows of the paws of great lions, as if scattered with heaps of white flowers; / with its interior filled with a loud roar emanating from the terrifying boisterous laughter of the joyful Gaṇas;

delightful with the dancing of joyful Siddha wives hidden within the arbor-interiors of thick trees and creepers; / where rutting elephants roamed along many ridges, and the water of waterfalls was drunk by many fawns; / with many rugged slopes, precipices, and bowers, and various kinds of shrubs, creepers, canopies, and trees; / where the summits of trees were variegated with the luster of emeralds and ruby peaks; / with its lovely woodland depths resounding abundantly with the chirping of cuckoos and the buzzing of swarms of bees; / where, ever rejoicing, having overcome death and grief, / accomplished in the treasures of gorocanā, añjana, and śilājatu, / the Siddhas, ever joyous with their women companions,

abide wearing beautiful necklaces resembling rays of the moon; / where Vidyādharas, bound in love to their beloveds, / on their plump, elevated breasts resembling high slopes, / paint various floral ornaments / with heaps of minerals of green, red, and yellowish hues; / where apsarases, their slender bodies ever wearied by sexual union, / their lotus-hands placed in the fore-hands of their lovers,

greatly delighted, enjoy the arriving breeze / exceedingly cool from its contact with the water of the mountain torrents; / -------------------------------------------------------------

727 / where swans were awakened by the tinkling of anklets; where lotuses were brushed by the swan-feathers; / where the pure water was reddened by lotus pollen; where the golden peaks were adorned by the water;

where sandalwood trees rose upon the peaks; where flocks of cuckoos perched upon the trees; / where trumpeting was uttered by herds of great elephants; where bears and hyenas were frightened by that roar;

where bears and hyenas lurked in bowers; where lions emerged from the mouths of cave-bowers; / where the frontal lobes of elephants were torn by lions; where pearls and jewels came forth from the frontal lobes; / where the ridges were illuminated by the rays of the gems; where the feet of Śaṅkara rested upon the ridges; / where groves of trees grew from the foot [of the mountain]; where pathways were covered with masses of flowers from clusters of creepers;

where every path was adorned with gemmed archways; where the lintels of the archways were fashioned of diverse precious stones; / where flowers were arranged upon every lintel; where every flower was kissed by bees; / whose slopes were variegated with various minerals; charming with diverse flower-bower dwellings; / resounding with the cries of diverse intoxicated birds; with Siddhas dwelling on its diverse peaks;

That Mount Mandara, delightful with various assemblies of Cāraṇas and Siddhas, where the Three-eyed Lord himself had made his dwelling— / all those Daityas, granted entrance by the Lord and desiring victory for themselves, then climbed it.

Then, being let through by the Pramathas, the sons of Diti climbed up, / thinking that the Pramathas, terrified, had quickly retreated. / Then on the top of Mandara, thick with various trees, / the Daityas stood, massed together, possessing the radiance of the sun.

Mount Mandara, with its terrible rocks, stones, and trees, its grown tigers, hyenas, and elephants, / was violently overwhelmed by the great Asuras with their proud steeds and elephants, like a cloud by the winds.

In some places they hurled stones resembling white clouds; tearing up trees, they roared like clouds; / when opposed, they crushed the Pramathas, as lions [crush] the leaders of herds of deer in the forests.

Then, covered with the elephants, chariots, horses, and Dānavas, [the mountain] resembled an agitated great ocean; / protected by the arms of the sons of Diti, it shone like a forest protected by the paws of the lord of beasts. / Thus ends the one hundred and thirty-first chapter, entitled “Description of Mandara at the Outset of the War with Andhaka,” in the Skandapurāṇa.

Sanatkumāra said:
Reaching the slopes of Mandara, Andhaka, the lord of the Dānavas,
with folded hands addressed Śukra, who possessed splendour like Indra and the sun: // 1
Andhaka said:
"O Lord, we have reached Mount Mandara with its lovely caves,
whose rocky surfaces are barred by frightful Pramathas. // 2
Moving through the air, masters of illusion, and yogins of great might,
these leaders of the gaṇas cannot be overcome by the Dānavas by brute force alone. // 3

Usually, even powerful good men proceed in their undertakings
first by means of strategy, and only later otherwise. // 4
Therefore, resorting to a strategy, particularly focused,
let us harass the Pramathas, or whatever pleases you. // 5

Desiring our victory and for the triumph of the Dānavas,
O divine one, form the mountain array that cleaves the enemy array. // 6
And who are these beings bearing the radiance, colour, and form of ten million suns,
who stand amidst the ranks of the Pramathas and gaze repeatedly at me?" // 7
Sanatkumāra said:
Then, hearing Andhaka's words, the priest of the Daityas became angry,
and spoke to the lord of the Daityas, as though pointing out Śiva, lord of the bull: // 8
Śukra said:
"He who has tawny eyes like honey, three eyes, and the moon as an ornament,
wearing a tiger-skin garment, is the god holding the Pināka bow. // 9

The one with the face of a monkey and a lion, clad in blue robes, having four arms,
shining like the morning sun, is Nandin, leader of the gaṇas. // 10
He who is slender, tall, resembling fire, and blazing like a flame,
is indeed Bṛhaspati of vast intellect, the lord of brahmins. // 11

He who stands not far off from the bull-bannered god, holding a trident,
he, O Andhaka, is the immense-bodied Mahāgaṇapati, the foremost. // 12

He who, having mounted a calling peacock with variegated plumage,
shines with the radiance of the morning sun, holding a spear in his hand, of great might, // 13
beneficent to brahmins, devoted to the sacred knowledge, a celibate observing his vows—
this is Skanda, the leader of the gods, O Dānavas, in battle. // 14
He who stands on a red-crested rooster, radiant like a red-crested mountain stone,
brandishing a spear, shines like a raincloud [brandishing] lightning, // 15
this one wearing youthful sidelocks, with a face resembling the full moon,
is named Viśākha, a youth observant of youthful celibacy. // 16

Youthful, possessed of fresh intelligence, like a tree endowed with branches,
this son of Svāhā, endowed with great splendour, is named Śākha. // 17
And the one who stands flanking his right side,
repeatedly pointing his forefinger at me and at you, // 18
mounted on a ram, a mighty child standing firm—
he is known as Naigameṣa, O Andhaka, the son of Hara. // 19

Surrounded by these four sons, the slayer of asuras is seen,
just as the Grandfather is joined by the four gods. // 20
Fight against that lord, the divine wielder of the great bow, preceded by Nandi's son,
O best of asuras, protected by my mantras. // 21
The Daityas slain by hundreds and thousands by the Pramathas,
I shall revive, just as a cloud revives crops." // 22

Sanatkumāra said:
Having spoken thus to the Dānava lord and the Dānavas, the descendant of Bhṛgu
then began to marshal that army into the mountain array. // 23

Having placed Andhaka's chariot at the base, along with Andhaka, his horses, and his charioteer,
he made its foothills out of many thousands of foot soldiers. // 24

Along those thousands of feet of the mountain array, the descendant of Bhṛgu
had heaps of trees, rocks, and boulders made by the Dānavas. // 25

With a hundred million of those high-souled Dānavas
with copper-coloured eyes, the lord of planets fashioned its slopes. // 26

Upon the slopes variegated by mineral streams, the descendant of Bhṛgu
stationed Dānavas like grass and shrubs. // 27

And with three hundred million of those enemies of the lord of the thirty gods,
he whose radiance equalled the sun fashioned the peaks of the mountain array. // 28

On those lofty peaks, the delight of the Bhṛgus designated
those armed Dānavas, saying: "These are the precipices." // 29

Those Daityas stationed on the precipices, possessing the splendour of dark clouds,
stood joyfully as though shedding streams of weapon-water. // 30

Those Daityas stationed in the ranks, endowed with swiftness, the thorns of the gods,
after circling like hawks, would lie concealed in the mountain passes. // 31

All the Nivātakavacas, bearing diverse weapons,
the divine descendant of Bhṛgu placed like the tablelands of the mountain array. // 32
Then Prahrāda, Saṃhrāda, Anuhrāda, and Śini,
Jambha, Kujambha, Tāra, Maya, and Namuci— // 33

[Apparatus readings for verses 25–36]

731 / [And he deployed] Virocana, Bali, Bāṇa, Vāta, Kārtasvana, Kuśa, / and Śambhu, Bhāvayatya, Ilvaka, and Vilvaka,

Vita, Vṛtta, Tuhuṇḍa, Huṇḍa, and the Dānava Daṇḍa, / Añjana, Ruṣaṇa, Rāhu, Svarbhānu, Ajaka, Gaja,

Hasti and Duryodhana, and Pāka and the Dānava Dhundhu— / these and other mighty Daityas, thorns to the gods—

‘Protect the battle-array! Fight!’ so spoke the lord of the Asuras. / Like Himavān, the king of mountains, or the Vindhya with its wondrous caverns,

that mountain-array shone forth, its trees bristling with weapons, / like darkness gathered into one place, like a mass of clouds. / Seeing again and again the mountain-array, the Pramathas were astonished, / looking upon the mountain-array while stationed in their own mountain-array.

Those tigers among the Asuras roared like clouds at the destruction of the world, / and they said: ‘This [array] cannot be broken even by the gods together with Indra!

What will the Pramathas do, having little vigor and prowess? / Śukra will revive us even if we are slain, of this there is no doubt. / Fight, best of Dānavas, with hearts free of doubt!’ / Sanatkumāra said: / Then, seeing the mountain-array devised by the best of Bhṛgus’ lineage, / the divine Kapardin said this to Bṛhaspati of vast intellect:

‘O Vācaspati, behold the mountain-array fashioned by Śukra, / having peaks and caverns like the Himavān mountain. / It would swallow the worlds together with the waters, Pātāla, / Viṣṇu, and Brahmā the grandfather, if neglect is shown.

732 / Neither gods nor Gandharvas, neither Nāgas nor mountains, / could break it though striving, without these lords of the Gaṇas. / O best of brahmins, I see no other means of breaking this mountain-array / except the thunderbolt-array, O wise one, which shatters all arrays. / Therefore, O best of knowers of brahman, tear open the mountain-array: / form today the thunderbolt-array, surrounded by ten thousand Pramathas.’ / Thus addressed by Śambhu, Bṛhaspati, chief of brahmins,

then deployed against that new array with a thunderbolt-array. / Many thousands of kṣatriyas and devoted lords of the Gaṇas, / the wise one stationed in the center of the thunderbolt-array. / With Kumāra's heroic attendants, destroyers of gods and Asuras, / he formed a thousand joints for that thunderbolt-array. / A crore of foremost champions among the striking Pramathas / the brahmin stationed along all the edges of the thunderbolt. / Kumāra, Viśākha, Śākha, and Chāgamukha—

the divine descendant of Aṅgiras made them the bud of the thunderbolt-array. / At the tip of the bud, four-armed, with the face of a king of monkeys, / standing with a thunderbolt raised in hand, was Nandī, radiant as the sun. / Kuṇḍodara, Nandiṣeṇa, Ghaṇṭākarṇa, and Mahodara: / he stationed them as a bud in the rear half of that thunderbolt. / Before him, Somanandī, tiger-faced lord of the Gaṇas, / looking like ten thousand suns and moons, stood armed with a paṭṭiśa. / The doorkeepers of the Rudras, the Rudras, and the sons of Rudra who were there,

were arrayed here and there to protect the thunderbolt-array.

( 733 ) / In the center of the thunderbolt-array, standing in a magnificent chariot, / stood the Lord, Bhava, Śarva, Kapardin, Nīlalohita.

His great white banner shone like Indra’s banner, / like the Mandara mountain whose peak is embraced by the orb of the moon.

With a hundred edges, many joints, and a beautifully adorned bud, / the thunderbolt-array seemed eager to shatter the mountain-array.

Seeing that battle-array devised, the gods, Gandharvas, and Guhyakas

shouted ‘Bravo! Bravo!’, their eyes wide with wonder.

Then among the forces of the lord of Gaṇas, lion-roars arose, / mingled with the sounds of paṇavas, mṛdaṅgas, and conches,

bringing terror to the sons of Diti, / like the roar of clouds over an agitated ocean.

Thus ends the one hundred and thirty-second chapter, titled ‘The Formation of Battle-Arrays,’ in the Slaying of Andhaka in the Skandapurāṇa.

Sanatkumāra said: / Having seen those two arrays devised by the Pramathas and the Asuras, the gods / swiftly blocked the sky on all sides with crores of aerial chariots.

The entire vault of heaven, strewn with radiance, shone / like the lovely peak-forest of Meru being consumed by fire.

Filled with the sound of celestial drums, crowded with hundreds of divine women, / that assembly of gods shone forth just like the solar disc.

Strewn with divine blossoms, perfumed with celestial scents, / and filled with onlookers by the hundreds, the heavenly expanse of the sky shone brightly.

[Critical apparatus]

734 / Musical instruments were played, and celestial singers sang; / Rambhā and other heavenly nymphs of lovely sidelong glances danced. / Then the two battle arrays, the Vajra and the Giri, eager for mutual victory, / met with mighty roars like two oceans tossed by the wind. / "Do not rush!" thus commanded by the very noble Śukra, / the warriors, though restrained, engaged in loose combat. / Then conches and kettle-drums, paṇavas and cow-horns, / āḍambaras and ḍiṇḍimas, and maṇḍūkas and paṇavas,

kettle-drums, dundubhis, mṛdaṅgas, and kiṃkhara drums / were loudly sounded by thousands in both armies. / Then the hosts of gods, together with gandharvas and cāraṇas, / hearing the blast of musical instruments in the pramatha and asura armies, raised loud shouts. / By the sound of instruments from both armies and the roar of celestial lions, / lions, tigers, and elephants howled terribly on Mount Mandara. / With their prowess aroused by the rumbling sound of musical instruments, / the pramathas and asuras fought without breaking their own ranks. / At the first collision of those high-minded warriors in battle, / there was a dreadful roar like the trumpeting of elephants. / The gods and asuras, desirous of slaying each other, / excelled in the battle by means of weapons in their hands by the thousands. / With exceeding joy born of strong, excessive blows of spears, thunderbolts, stones, trees, and arrows, / the fight between the attendants and the asuras grew terribly dreadful, like the Tiṣya age. / Thus ends the one hundred and thirty-third chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, on the battle of the Gaṇas. / [Critical apparatus]

735 / Sanatkumāra said: / As the confused clash of the pramatha and asura armies raged, / the twang of bows and terrible lion-roars were heard. / With snapped fingers, the gods, cāraṇas, serpents, and guhyakas / cheered, fluttering the edges of their garments, making shouts of joy in battle. / With their prowess inflamed by the loud shouts of the heroes, / the haughty pramathas and asuras performed intolerable deeds. / Struck down by drawn swords, their chests split open by spears, / their vitals severed by arrows, the pramathas and asuras fell. / Piles of severed heads falling along with thighs / were seen there in the clash of the pramathas and asuras. / Broken-wheeled, flagless, stripped of protective sides and poles, / chariots were seen by the hundreds, their horses gone, their charioteers slain.

With banners, with armlets, with armors, weapons, and standards, / their pestle-like tusks pulled out, excellent elephants fell. / Their limbs mangled by strikes of arrows, resplendent with chowries and crests, / horses resembling the steeds of the sun were struck down along with their riders. / With agitated horses, terrified dānavas, and chariots, / that frenzied host appeared like an ocean of swimming sea-monsters. / With garments, parasols, diadems, and jeweled earrings, / with necklaces, half-necklaces, armlets, finger-rings, and exquisite garlands, / and with severed hands, faces, and fallen feet, / the battlefield, thus covered, shone like the sky filled with risen stars. / Clad in garments of flowing blood, adorned with manifold ornaments, / the earth, with limbs covered in red garments, appeared like Death itself. / [Critical apparatus]

736 / Then a terrible river carrying water of blood from hordes of horses and elephants / surged forth, flowing toward the abode of Yama. / Crowded with deer, elephants, donkeys, horses, camels, and large aquatic monsters, / with mud of flesh, fat, and liver, and trees of hundreds of bows and banners,

with hundreds of severed heads for stones, hands and animal-faces for serpents, / covered with moss of hair, with hundreds of bowstrings for threads, / with the joy of white garments [for swans], crowded with multitudes of diadems, / filled with kettle-drums for turtles, and choice ornaments for frogs, / teeming with fish of arrows, hard to approach with alligators of swords, / with great crocodilian monsters of chariot-wheels, stirred up by water-beasts of maces, / with sand of scattered necklaces, foaming with phlegm, / it was like a garland of red lotuses, a saffron wreath cast down by garland-wearers.

Like the tongue of the serpent king, wondrous like the command of Yama, / bringing fear to timid warriors and increasing the joy of the brave, / that river carrying beings to heaven flowed on with waters of blood. // 19
With its smoke intensified by the enraged Daitya chiefs, its interior ablaze with the fire of Nandīśvara, / the army roared like the ocean, destructive like the universe at the time of dissolution. // 8.134.20
Thus ends the one hundred and thirty-fourth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the battle of the Gaṇas.
Sanatkumāra said:
As that battle between the attendants and the Asuras grew fiercer, / the foremost Dānavas, standing upon the precipitous mountain-formation, became enraged. // 1
In their fury, unwearied, they showered javelins, spears, rṣṭis, / and a rain of maces upon the army of the Pramathas, like clouds pouring down rain. // 2

Struck repeatedly by the falling hail of weapons, / they disregarded it all and set their minds solely on battle. // 3
Just as clouds [strike] the crops, or elephants trees, / as tigers [strike] spotted deer, as śarabhas strike elephants, // 4
as thunderbolts strike mountains, as envoys of Yama strike mortals, / as rites for peace [strike] obstacles, as good guidance strikes ill conduct, // 5
as states of mind strike other states, and as faults strike other faults, / so the valiant Pramathas by hundreds and thousands // 6
slew the Nivātakavacas with showers of javelins, spears, and ṛṣṭis. / With chests ripped open by tridents, with heads shattered by bludgeons, // 7
their bodies withered by the impact of thunderbolts, the Dānavas fell to the ground. / Terrifying roars of those roaring beings were heard, / like the sounds of dissolutive clouds roaring on all sides. // 8
Pierced in many ways by arrows, their sacra and spines broken, // 9
the Asuras writhed on the earth like snakes with broken backs. // 9
Then, beholding that immense slaughter, the valiant great Asuras there / turned back by the hundreds, their eyes blood-red with rage. // 8.135.10
Severely pierced by them, those Pramathas too, O Vyāsa, felt overwhelmed; / like bulls closing their eyes against falling rain, // 11
the Pramathas endured that downpour unleashed by the Dānavas. / Having fought a tumultuous battle, distressed in the end, // 12

broken, they turned their backs, the joints of their limbs torn and mangled. / When that army of Pramathas was thus broken, the foremost of the Pramathas, // 13
ten of them, equal to a thousand elephants, unleashed a tremendous onslaught: / the mighty Śaṅkukarṇa and the valorous Ghaṇṭākarṇa, // 14

Mahākāla, who resembles the black cloud of death, and renowned Nandiṣeṇa; / Piṅgala, Lohitākṣa, and valorous Somanandī; // 15
Vināyaka and […] Nandī and […], / Chāga, Kuṇḍodara, and Skanda mounted upon his excellent peacock. // 16
Together they roared out like water-laden clouds, / and plunged into the Asura army like makaras into the sea. // 17

The Daityas were slain by Śaṅkukarṇa and torn apart by Ghaṇṭākarṇa, / harassed by the arrows of Nandiṣeṇa and driven off by Mahākāla. // 18
With their weapons and ornaments pulverized by the force of Kuṇḍodara's mace, / churned up by Piṅgala and ripped through by Skanda's spear, they perished. // 19
With their faces shattered by punches, their heads struck by palms, / and flung here and there by blows from backhands, // 8.135.20
stripped of weapons, garments, and armor, their topknots disheveled, / the Dānavas were thoroughly routed, and swiftly their array was broken. // 21
That broken mountain-formation appeared dreadful to behold, / just like the great mountain Vindhya in former times when struck by Indra's thunderbolt. // 22