Skandapurana 7.16

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Sanatkumāra said: / As the battle with Andhaka was underway and the Gaṇas were fleeing, / the Grandfather [Brahmā] said to Śakra, the lord of the thirty [gods]:
“Look, may you be well, lord of the immortals, at the Pramathas turning away, / driven back in battle by the fierce Dānavas led by Andhaka!
As these Dānavas are repeatedly slain in battle by the Pramathas, / Śukra keeps reviving them, as a raincloud revives the crops.
With his bow fully drawn, resembling a cloud with a rainbow, / this Andhaka unleashes a shower of arrows, destroying his enemies.

Indeed, this tormenting of the Pramathas is harmful and brings dishonour. / Why do you stand by tolerating this defeat?
For having conquered all the Gaṇas, Andhaka, lord of the Dānavas, / will uproot even our roots.
Therefore, before he destroys the Pramathas with his arrows, / let us protect the rear of the wearer of animal skins [Śiva].

Thus your purpose will be accomplished, O lord of deities, / and a great service will be rendered to Rudra.”
Having heard the words of the Self-manifest [Brahmā], the slayer of Bala and Vṛtra, / saying “This is fitting,” addressed the gods:
“Taking up armour, weapons, and missiles, quick with swift prowess, / let us now give aid to the Gaṇas fighting in battle!”
Then Nārāyaṇa and Ananta, the two best of men, and the Moon, / the Self-manifest [Brahmā], Fire, Wind, the Sun, and Kubera,
Pūṣan, Aryaman, Bhaga, Mitra, and Yama the son of the Sun, / Aṃśa, Tvaṣṭṛ, Jaya, and Jayanta the son of Śakra,
the Maruts, the Vasus, the Sādhyas, and the Aśvins, Garuḍa, and the Uragas, / the Tuṣitas, the Lekhas, the Viśvedevas, and the Guhyakas,

the Gandharvas and the Yakṣas, and whoever else was on the side of the gods, / all of them descended into battle, eager to slay Andhaka.

Then drum-beats and terrible lion-roars / arose among the divine armies, bringing joy to the Pramathas.

Attacked by the descending gods, that army of the Dānavas was churned, / like a lake filled with fish whose waters have diminished is churned by royal swans.
Then an exceedingly terrifying clamor arose / in the agitated army of the Dānavas occupied by the gods.
As the water of the ocean [is disturbed] by whales, as the sky by clouds, / as the body by phlegm and bile, as serpents by garuḍas,
so that host of Andhaka was made by the power of the dwellers of heaven / in an instant to have its armor and banners shattered and rendered helpless.
On one side by the gods accompanied by Indra, and on the other by the lords of the Gaṇas, / the Dānava army was struck down, like a flock of goats by hundreds of wolves.

The god with the thunderbolt raised in his hand, the bull among the gods, / went before them, like the syllable Om before the Vedas.
With the fire of his thunderbolt weapon Indra burned the enemies in battle, / just as the fire of expiation burns all sins.

When his army was being slain by the gods and by the Pramathas, / Andhaka, the lord of the Dānavas, blinded by anger and passion, spoke to the Dānavas:

"Having engendered enmity with Rudra, the protector of all the worlds, / it is not possible for those who are dispirited to conquer the Pramathas along with the immortals.

And you must not fear death! Fight, Daityas and Dānavas! / For here stands Bhārgava, who will bring us back to life!

Therefore, having no pity for your lives, / ward off without hesitation the lords of the Gaṇas of the gods according to your strength and enthusiasm!
With many secret illusions, you who possess secret forms, / hold back in battle all these assembled gods!"
Having been thus addressed, […] / […] made terrible [sounds] like clouds at the end of an aeon.

Making bowstrings twang and uttering roarings like lions, / the Dānavas, incited by Andhaka, rushed toward the gods.

Drawing his great bow, roaring like an ocean and a raincloud, / the Dānava Andhaka advanced with speed aiming at Rudra.

That lord of the Dānavas, difficult to restrain, who was rushing […], / Śailādi warded off, as righteous thought wards off evil. / […]

With three arrows resembling blazing suns, / Andhaka pierced Nandī in fury, striking him between the arms.

Deeply pierced by that Dānava, the lord of the Gaṇas, / Nandī then swayed, like a tree shaken by the wind.

Reeling, Nandī, adorned with bright earrings, / shone like an aśoka tree rich with trembling sprouts and flowers.

Then, recovering after a long time, the highly renowned husband of Suyaśā, / lifting a powerful thunderbolt, hurled it at Andhaka.

That mighty thunderbolt arriving like fire and the sun, / Andhaka stopped with floods of arrows and laughed aloud.

As he laughed, from his fine-browed eyes drops of tears / flowed down, like rays from the sun's blazing orb.

Then the king of spirits, uprooting a tree with agitated foliage, / said, 'You are slain, O Andhaka!' and hurled it and roared.

Fanned by the wind of the tree rushing through the sky, / bees followed it, like friends following a friend overtaken by misfortune.

Andhaka also cut down that [tree] with his arrows adorned with beautiful gold, / as the slayer of Ahi, the supporter of the worlds, [cut down] Diti's embryo.

When the tree was destroyed, Nandī then tore up the peak of Mandara / filled with deer, wild beasts, and serpents, and ran toward Andhaka in battle.
Nandī, whose home is in the forests on mountain peaks, / brought down that mountain peak onto his chariot, like the slayer of Ahi hurling a thunderbolt onto the Vindhya.
Struck forcefully by Nandī with that peak, / that chariot, along with its wheels, yoke-pole, and horses, turned to dust.
Then, seeing Andhaka's chariot crushed along with its wheels and axles, / the gods with the Gandharvas and the Pramathas with the Guhyakas roared.
Then Andhaka, roaring like a storm-cloud of dissolution, struck Nandī / with a trident, as a lord of elephants strikes a tree.
Struck with the trident, the favorite of the Trident-bearer, / Nandī, his limbs trembling in distress, shook like the moon reflected in water.
As Nandīśvara was reeling, severely afflicted by the blow, / a chorus of lion-roars arose repeatedly in the army of the Asuras.
Roused by that lion-roar of the enemies, / Nandī, the kinsman of the spirits, struck Andhaka with an axe.
Struck by the axe, the Dānava Andhaka shed blood, / as a sandalwood tree struck by an elephant's tusk sheds red sap.

Seeing Andhaka deprived of his chariot, the foes of the gods protected him, / just as the gods, stationed in the directions, protect this world. / Then Bāṇa, son of Bali, brilliant as the bāṇa flower, / that Dānava provided Andhaka with chariot transport. / Then Andhaka, lord of the Dānavas, mounted that chariot, / as the blessed sun, with full disc, mounts the mountain of dawn.

Then battle was joined again by the gods and Dānavas wishing to wage dreadful combat; / fanned by tridents, vajras, thunderbolts, and arrows in the fray, the blazing fire shone exceedingly.

Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-first chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the duel between Andhaka and Nandī.

Sanatkumāra said: / When Viṣṇu, crusher of Dānavas, was crushing the Dānavas, / the Dānava Jambha rushed forward, roaring like a cloud. / Seeing Jambha rushing forward with a voice like a thundercloud, / the god was not perturbed, like a lion seeing an elephant. / Kujambha and Jambha, the younger mountain-like Dānavas, / checked the endless end of enemies, and roared. / Vṛtra, resembling a mountain of collyrium, looking like the fire of cosmic dissolution, / wishing to seize Indra, advanced, roaring like a rain-cloud. / That Dānava who was running and roaring, the hundred-eyed Purandara / struck in the cavernous cleft, looking like a mountain. / […] a mace-fighter, wishing to fight with Vāyu of a hundred lives in the battle, / rushed forward swiftly, roared, and laughed. / Tuhuṇḍa and Huṇḍa, two great Asuras, fought with the two Aśvins; / Bhaga fought with Prahlāda, and Virocana with Aṃśa; / Vilva and Kelvala fought with Aryaman and Yama; / and those great Asuras who were foremost in Bali's army, headed by Vipracitti,

[Variant readings:] 1 viṣṇuṃ. 2 pinākadhṛk. 3 nardamānaḥ. 4 girisaṃkāśe. 5 rarāsa. 6 aryamantaṃ, ārya. 7 yamañcaiva. 8 yudhyetāmita? kelvalau. grāma. […]

fought against the lords of Gaṇas and the gods by the thousands. / But Andhaka, the bull among Dānavas, encountering Nandī, / pierced him with calf-toothed arrows loosed from his bow. / He, deeply pierced by Andhaka with arrows tearing the vitals,

Nandī grew furious, and in wrath advanced against Andhaka in the great battle. / Raising his hand equipped with a vajra, brilliant as the rays of the sun, / Nandī roared, infuriated, like a cloud at the destruction of the world. / With that hundred-edged vajra, the lord of Gaṇas

crushed the horses, the charioteer, and the chariot of Andhaka. / Then at the base of Andhaka's ear, adorned with earrings and forelocks,

the boon-giver [Nandī], wearing handsome earrings, struck with a deep cloud-like roar. / Turning his arm away, [an arm] resembling an elephant's trunk, [Andhaka] then

brought it down upon Nandī's chest, like an elephant in combat. / Struck by that backhand blow of the Dānava, the lord of Gaṇas / stepped back eight paces, and having fallen there, rose again. / 'Well done! Well done!' the Daityas then cried out to Andhaka.

Infuriated at the Dānava by that violent blow, / summoning intense anger, he rushed forward against him. / Approaching, with his hundred-edged vajra he cut to pieces / his variegated bow and his splendid armor.

And binding him with the noose of his arms, the lord of spirits himself / sought to crush him on the ground, but Andhaka broke free. / Having freed himself and resorting to illusory magic, / he rushed toward the son of Śilāda [Nandī], crying: 'Halt, halt!'

Seeing him rushing with speed, the elders among the lords of Gaṇas, / all with enraged minds, with various weapons in hand— / Nandiṣeṇa, Somanandī, Śaṅkukarṇa, Mahodara, / Ghaṇṭākarṇa, Vīrabhadra, and the god Prabhāmaya— / guarding their master, the foremost of their attendants / fought Andhaka, like lions against Indra's elephant.

Nandiṣeṇa with a pike, Somanandī with a fist, / Vīrabhadra with an arrow, and Ghaṇṭākarṇa with a sword, / Śaṅkukarṇa with a mountain peak, Prabhāmaya with a tree— / the gods cut into Andhaka like Dramiḍas into sandalwood. / Nandīśvara, the leader of the Gaṇas, struck Andhaka, the lord of Dānavas, / on the head when he had been turned back by the Gaṇa leaders. / Seeing the lord of Asuras assailed by the gods and Gaṇa leaders, / a cry arose in the army of the Asuras: 'Run! Seize!' / Then the Asuras, led by Prahlāda, rushed forward quickly; / Viṣṇu alone held back all of them who had arrived to fight. / But seeing him thus, holding a discus, valiant in the vanguard of the battle, / Andhaka, overwhelmed with rage, made a mighty rush. / Exerting himself, whether stationary, running, or roaring, / whomever and wherever he saw, him he pierced with arrows.

Broad, yellow, sharpened, feathered with eagle plumage, / inexhaustible arrows of Andhaka shot fiercely from his bow. / Pierced by Andhaka in their faces, gums, bellies, and trunks, / elephants of immense rut shed their rutting-juice. / Others took refuge with the lord of gods, others with Indra the king of gods, / others with the god Nārāyaṇa, and other retinues with Nandin.

Others took refuge with Śākha and Viśākha, and others with Kumāra; / taking refuge, the gods stood like birds upon trees. / Just as mortals [tremble] in fear of thunderbolts, as deer in fear of a lion, / and as serpents ever [tremble] before the serpent-devouring Garuḍa, / so the gods, standing in battle, trembled before Andhaka, the enemy of deities; / afflicted by the shower of arrows, they wandered as if bewildered. / Just as a forest of bandhujīva shines, laden with blossoms, / so that attendant army shone, its limbs bathed in blood from wounds. / Just as trees tremble in forests, stirred by the wind, / so the gods were terrified on the battlefield from fear of Andhaka. / Then the mighty Nārāyaṇa, Ananta, and Indra, / the two Aśvins, the eight Vasus, and the twelve Ādityas, / Nandin, Viśākha, Śākha, Vīrabhadra, Prabhāmaya, / Viṭpati, Śaṅkukarṇa, Somanandin, and Vināyaka— / as their army was being struck down by Andhaka with waves of force, / these gods, taking up their weapons, ran toward that lord of the dānava host. / Surrounding his excellent chariot, which resembled a city of the Gandharvas, / they smashed it and roared like rain-clouds.

Andhaka's great chariot, being broken by the gods, / was like a desire set upon unrighteousness [broken] by obstacles. / The Dānava [struck] the Discus-armed one with a discus, Indra with a thunderbolt, / Ananta with a single shaft, and Vināyaka with a trident;

and Nandin with his fist, Prabhāmaya with a paṭṭiśa, / Pūṣan with a broad-headed arrow, and Yama with a mace. / Having swiftly struck all his enemies in battle, Andhaka / leaped up into the sky and bellowed like a cloud drunk with water. / That deceptive fighter, who resembled a mountain, released mountain-peaks, / filled with trees, bushes, and serpents, and roared aloud. / That terrible rain of mountain-summits, along with trees, bears, and great serpents, / fell upon the armies of the gods, like cold frost upon lotuses. / Without pause, without rest, without breath, bewildered by terror, / […] / with noses, eyes, teeth, and lips severed, legs, hips, and arms broken, / terrified, bewildered, and trembling, the Pramathas and immortals were seen. / Raining palace-peaks, stones, and weapons, repeatedly casting them down, the Asura shone in the sky; / […] / […] sound, / a great lotus covered in smoke, and great fiery dust like fireflies. / With a roar like an overflowing, swollen ocean, situated in the sky, that enemy of the hosts of deities / repeatedly poured down a great torrent of water, just as a rain-cloud pours a fierce shower at the end of time. / Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-second chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in [the section of] the battle with Andhaka. / Sanatkumāra said: / Then Andhaka, standing in the sky like a mass of great clouds, / ceased that rain of stones just as a cloud [stops] its rain.

Seizing once more a bow resembling the great bow of Indra, / he unleashed a storm of arrows, and a deep tempest arose. / Then, [arrows] winged with eagle feathers, adorned with eagle plumes, / flying like eagles, with points sharp as an eagle's beak, / a hundred body-piercing arrows, feeding on the marrow of bodies, / the lord of Dānavas discharged, and he roared in pride.

Sped from the fully drawn bow, encompassing [the sky] as they moved in battle, / guiding their own paths, in speed equal to the mind and wind, / those great arrows of Andhaka fell upon the deities, / just as rays cast by the sun fall upon great mountains. / Elephants were struck by the arrows, horses were struck by the arrows, / and deities and leaders of the Gaṇas were struck on all sides. / With entrails and blood protruding, their garlands and ornaments scattered, / their hair-bindings loosed, they fell in deep agony.

Standing, moving, risen, running, or leaping— / whatever horse, elephant, or god he saw anywhere, / Andhaka forcibly struck down that enemy / with arrows that were the very form of the sun's foe, and bellowed like a cloud at the coming of the rains.

Filled with the cries of the wounded, its horses wandering astray, / with the sound of musical instruments silenced, the army appeared like a river.

Scattered, severed, torn, burnt, devoured, and tossed about, / [it was] like a forest whose trees were destroyed by an elephant blinded by rut. / Some were struck in the face, and others in the eyes; / others were struck in the chest and belly, and likewise in the back.

Just as spiked clubs are set closely together, so the hosts of the Maruts were pierced with arrows; / and the gaṇas of terrible valor, when struck, did not reach the ground.

Then a river carrying the water of wounds was set in motion by the gods and asuras, / crowded with alligator-like lordly elephants, with chariot-wheels for beautiful tortoises, / with severed elephant-trunks for serpents, bows and banner-poles for excellent trees, / crests of diadems for frogs, and bowstrings for its moss.

With scattered pearl necklaces for gravel, and white garments for immense foam, / set in motion by the gods and asuras, it was exceedingly hard for gods and asuras to cross.

Then piśācas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas, having the luster of collyrium and grinning with lightning-like smiles, / intensely tormented by thirst, / drank that blood just as gods drink excellent nectar. / Then once more there arose a tumultuous and wondrous battle, / as Nandī was pierced by Andhaka with a great arrow.

Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-third chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the description of the battlefield.

Sanatkumāra said: / When that army was being slain by the gods together with the lords of the Pramathas, / the twenty-four terrible and proud dānavas became enraged: / Prahrāda, Anuhrāda, Saṃhrāda, Śini, Bāṣkala, / Jambha, Virocana, Vṛtra, Bali, Bāṇa, Aviniñjaya, / likewise Tuhuṇḍa, Huṇḍa, Śambhu, Kārtasvana, Kubha, / Śambara, Vipracitti, Ilvaka, Pilvaka, / Maya, Tāra, Tārakākṣa, Vidyunmālī, and Pramohana. / These twenty-four dānavas, overcome with fury, / rushed toward the armed divine Nandī who stood ready. / They, resembling mountains of collyrium, struck Nandī, who resembled a mountain of gold, / with tridents, spears, pikes, and paṭṭiśas. / Thus struck and hemmed in by those enemies with weapons, / Nandī was not shaken then, nor did he experience pain or suffering. / Then the lord, drawing his large drawn bow, / quickly pierced all the foremost dānavas with three arrows each. / Flowing with blood from the wounds made by arrows, those dānavas / shone like lordly mountains pouring forth streams of melted gold. / Then Nandī, puffed up with rage, with terrible arrows dispatched Kārttasvana, / who had been revived by Śukra, to the abode of Yama. / Reaching the end of his life, that great mountain of a dānava / fell down swiftly like a mountain struck by a thunderbolt, its stones shattered. / As he fell to the earth, killed, struck by Nandī's arrows, / Bali, having torn up a mountain peak, hurled it aiming at Nandī.

That slope of the mountain, complete with minerals, deer, predatory beasts, bears, and trees, / and filled with whirled-about stones and trees, rushed toward the lord of the gaṇas. / The beasts of prey and others swiftly departed from that peak thrown by Bali, / like relatives departing from a man overcome by misfortune. / That falling mountain peak the valiant Nandī / split with an arrow and roared, like a great wind scattering clouds. / Having split that mountain peak, the dweller on the mountain peak, / powerful, pierced Bali with an arrow as if [piercing] an arising obstacle. / Struck by the lord of the gaṇas, that son of Prahlāda, helpless, / fell suddenly to the earth like a tree struck down by the wind. / Then, when Bali fell, struck by Nandī's excellent arrow, / the dānavas, tormented by arrows, abandoned the battle from afar. / Then Andhaka, whose form resembled a rain-cloud, descended from the sky to the earth / toward those [demons] who resembled dispersed clouds, and spoke these words to the dānavas: / 'O sons of Diti, listen today to my words, / and carry out what is beneficial as spoken by me, if you approve. / You were born in noble families, heroic, and determined in the use of all weapons; / why do you flee, agitated by sharp iron arrows? / Where is that boasting of yours and what was spoken in the assembly? / Where is that excessive enmity of yours against the deities now? / Defeated by Nandī alone by hundreds and thousands, / how does shame not arise in you who boast in your domestic courtyards? / Turn back, you who know not unrighteousness! Fight! What is the use of fleeing? / There is no place where death does not come to us.'

"Stand aside as arbiters, free from enmity and jealousy,
and witness now this single combat with Nandī!"
Hearing these words of Andhaka, all those Dānavas in battle
turned back once more to fight, seizing their excellent weapons.
Then mounting another chariot, a full nalva in size and adorned with banners,
Andhaka advanced against Nandī along with the foremost Dānavas.
Fierce, tipped with sharp gold, broad and fair to behold,
great arrows shot from Andhaka’s bow flew forth,
like locusts over fields, like bees upon trees,
like clouds around mountain lords, or like monsters in the ocean.
By the great arrows released, equal in splendor to serpents and the sun,
the gods were made by Andhaka like broken […]
Just as winds cannot be hindered, as death and old age cannot be stayed,
and as the blessings of brahmins, rightly uttered, are ever irresistible,
so those sharp, terrible great arrows of Andhaka,
like raised staffs of Brahmā, were unstoppable and unfailing.
Wherever all the Asuras and Andhaka, their foe in battle, moved,
from there the Pramathas fled in pieces along with the gods.
With his bow constantly drawn, like the sun encircled with a halo,
he poured forth multitudes of arrows as the sun pours down rays.

Stricken by the pain of his arrows, like trees upon a riverbank,
all the leaders of the Gaṇas sank down, and so did the gods along with Indra.
Piercing Viṣṇu with a single arrow, Ananta with two, and Indra with three,
and tearing Yama, Soma, the lord of waters, and the Vasus, he roared terribly.
Having pierced the two Aśvins with two arrows, as well as Bhaga, Aṃśa, Aryaman, Candra, and Pūṣan,
then the doer of terrible deeds also mangled Nandīśvara and the Gaṇa leaders with his arrows.
Thus the violent Andhaka burned them, just as the blessed fire burns moths;
checked and torn by arrows then by Andhaka, those foremost warriors of the immortals
could neither move nor look upon Andhaka in battle, like men looking at the sun in the sky.
Then, abandoning their blazing glory, the gods, together with Nārāyaṇa and the guardians of the deities,
afflicted by arrows and exhausted from being pierced by the Dānava, fled before the wildfire of Andhaka.
Viṣṇu, the Grandfather [Brahmā], Ananta, and then Indra
were broken in battle by Andhaka with arrows resembling tongues of fire.
The Ādityas, Vasus, Sādhyas, and the two Aśvins, best of gods,
were broken in battle by Andhaka like birds by thunderbolts.
The Tuṣitas, the Viśvedevas, and the gods who partake of the ancestral offering
were broken by Andhaka with arrows, like trees by the wind.
The blessed Moon, Fire, the lord of wealth [Kubera], and the Rākṣasa [Nirṛti]
were broken in battle by Andhaka with arrows like venomous serpents.
Gandharvas, Guhyakas, serpents, Garuḍas, and great Nāgas
were broken in battle by Andhaka, pierced with arrows resembling fire.

Viṭpati, Śaṅkukarṇa, Somanandī, Prabhāmaya,
Piṅgala, Nandiṣeṇa, Ghaṇṭākarṇa, Mahodara,
Vidyutkeśa, Sukeśa, and the god Vināyaka,
and other heroic Pramathas, headed by Vīrabhadra,
were broken in battle by Andhaka by the hundreds and thousands.
The entire threefold world, together with all moving and unmoving things, aroused to war
with Nārāyaṇa and the lord of gods, was routed in battle by Andhaka.
In that army of the gods, leaving aside the one god, the lord of the Gaṇas [Nandī],
whose crown bore a great crest-jewel, not a single one stood his ground.
Then in the Asura army arose a terrible, mighty lion-roar
raised by every creature, wondrous with the sound of musical instruments.
Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-fourth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, on the victory of Andhaka.
Sanatkumāra said:
Meanwhile all the gods, headed by Indra,
accompanied by Brahmā, went to the trident-bearing refuge [Śiva].
Bowing down to Mahādeva, afflicted with fear, they said:
"We have all been utterly conquered! Why do you overlook Andhaka?"
The God of gods then replied to the gods headed by Brahmā:
"Because a boon was granted by me, therefore you were conquered.
And solely for sport was he ignored by me in the battle.
Now, for your sake, I shall destroy Andhaka."
Then the god, smiling, looked upon the trident standing by his side.
Knowing the true intention of the god, the trident blazed up in that very instant;
and advancing swiftly upon Andhaka, who vaunted his victory,
moving with power in battle, it suddenly pierced him through the chest.

Then, having pierced that mighty Andhaka, that trident / brought the huge-bodied lord of the Dānavas near to Śaṅkara. // 7
The drops of blood that flowed from him as he was pierced by the trident, / having fallen, became men who also fought, unbearable [in battle]. // 8
Possessing forms equal to his, and prowess equal to his, / wielding various weapons and strikes, they too fought against the lords of the gaṇas. // 9
[…] with raised hands, / some struck down the very gaṇas as they fled, those [demons] of mighty strength. // 10
None among the lords of the gaṇas stood firm as they fought; / out of fear of the lords of the Dānavas, all fled in battle. // 11

Seeing all the gaṇas, along with the lords of the gods, fleeing, / Mahādeva created […] // 12
[…] then […], / […] addressed [him]: ‘You ought to give us an order.’ // 13
Then the God of gods said to all those [goddesses] ready with weapons: / ‘Consume the great asuras born from the drops of blood!’ // 14
Thus addressed, all those Yogeśvarīs of mighty strength, / continually slaying the asuras in battle, ate [them] […]. // 15
The God also, the slayer of Andhaka, spoke to the blazing trident: / ‘Cook Andhaka in the fire of the sun for a hundred thousand autumns.’ // 16
Indeed, as Andhaka was being cooked at the tip of the trident by the sun’s radiance, / when a thousand years were completed, he attained a sattvic state. // 17
Having attained a sattvic state, with passion and darkness shaken off, / he understood the God, the cause of the worlds, whose banner bears the bull. // 18
Having recognized him then with devotion, with a purified inner self, / reduced to mere sinews and bones, he praised the God whose crest is the crescent moon. // 19
Andhaka said: / ‘He who is the creator of this entire universe, moving and unmoving, and likewise the dispenser of pleasure and pain for what has been done, / who is also the cause of destruction at the time of the end—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 20
Whom yogins, free from delusion, darkness, and passion, their minds singularly intent through devotion, their desires vanished, / meditate upon with resolute intellect, whose divine nature is boundless—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 21
Who lovingly bears upon his head the spotless crescent moon with blossoming beams […] / and who gave half his body to the daughter of the king of mountains—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 22 //’