Skandapurana 1.4.15

English (machine translation) 1.4.15

Language: English

1.4.15.1

Nārada said: / Then the clash of those two armies occurred, / like that of two agitated oceans when the end of an eon arrives.

1.4.15.2

In that most dread encounter between the gods and asuras, / a very great, tumultuous battle broke out between both armies.

1.4.15.3

With the roaring of gods and daityas, and the blast of conches and drums, / and with the noise of horns and the trumpeting of elephants,

1.4.15.4

with the neighing of troops of horses and the clatter of chariot wheels, / and with the sound of wind-instruments, it became like the end of an eon.

1.4.15.5

With limbs overcome by rage, having cast off thought of life, / they clashed with one another in turn, deeply smeared with blood.

1.4.15.6

Chariots locked with chariots, and elephants with great elephants, / foot soldiers with foot soldiers, and horses with great horses.

1.4.15.7

Then with barbed darts, thunderbolts, maces, slings, and battleaxes, / with spears, flat-swords, tridents, mallets, javelins, and iron balls,

1.4.15.8

and with discs, spears, lances, and elephant goads, / with barbed arrows, reed-arrows, iron arrows, calf-tooth arrows, and crescent-headed arrows,

1.4.15.9

with broad-headed arrows, reed-leaf shafts, and spotless parrot-beak blades, / the sky became filled as if by showers of wondrous shapes.

1.4.15.10

Covering all the directions, it became as if enveloped in darkness; / in that thick darkness they could not distinguish one another.

1.4.15.11

Becoming invisible in the darkness, they slashed at one another; / then, with arms, banners, parasols, and heads adorned with earrings,

1.4.15.12

with elephants, horses, and foot-soldiers falling and fallen, / the earth was strewn as if with lotuses fallen from the crest of the sky.

1.4.15.13

With broken tusks, split frontal globes, and severed long trunks, / mountain-like elephants fell upon the earth, pouring streams of blood.

1.4.15.14

Chariots fell with broken poles, broken axles, smashed to pieces; / foot-soldiers fell by the tens of millions, and horses by the thousands.

1.4.15.15

Then thousands of rivers of blood arose, / giving joy to flesh-eaters and bringing delight to vetālas.

1.4.15.16

In that sort of battle, the commander Grasana, the slayer of foes, / shook the army of the gods with a great rain of arrows.

1.4.15.17

Then, seeing Grasana, Yama, overcome with fury, / rained down a shower of arrows, especially brilliant with fire.

1.4.15.18

Pierced by many arrows, Grasana, endowed with immense prowess, / wishing to return blow for blow, bent his dreadful bow,

1.4.15.19

and struck with thousands and five hundred thousand arrows; / having warded off those arrows loosed by Grasana,

1.4.15.20

Yama harassed Grasana with fierce showers of arrows; / Grasana, lord of dānavas, sliced through the continuous lines of arrows advancing from Kṛtānta with a rain of arrows.

1.4.15.21

Seeing that line of his own arrows rendered fruitless, Yama / [turned his wrath toward him].

1.4.15.22

He hurled a blazing mallet toward Grasana's chariot; / seeing that mallet arriving, leaping up from his excellent chariot,

1.4.15.23

Grasana, the slayer of enemies, caught it playfully with his left hand; / then, with that very mallet, in anger, at Yama's buffalo

1.4.15.24

he struck with force, and it fell to the surface of the earth; / then Yama, springing up from that buffalo about to fall,

1.4.15.25

struck Grasana firmly in the face with a barbed dart; / he, struck by that blow, fell unconscious upon the ground.

1.4.15.26

Seeing Grasana fallen, Jambha of terrifying prowess / dealt a blow to Yama's chest with a sling.

1.4.15.27

From that blow, Yama discharged blood from his mouth; / afflicted by the exceedingly deep strike, Kṛtānta fell unconscious.

1.4.15.28

Seeing Kṛtānta tormented, the Lord of Wealth, mace in hand, / surrounded by tens of thousands of Yakṣas, advanced against Jambha in wrath.

1.4.15.29

Jambha, surrounded by his host of Dānavas, as he came in wrath, / grasped the words that were spoken affectionately by the king.

1.4.15.30

Then Grasana, having regained consciousness, hurled a mace at Yama, / adorned with jewels and gold, heavy, and crushing iron bars.

1.4.15.31

Seeing that mace hurtling toward him, he whose mount is the buffalo, / to thwart the mace, [loosed a rod] terrible as the fire of the universe,

1.4.15.32

In anger he loosed his rod, blazing with garlands of flames; / reaching the mace in the sky, it roared like a swollen cloud.

1.4.15.33

A collision occurred between the two, unbearable as that of two mountains; / with the crash of their impact, it stunned the quarters of the horizon.

1.4.15.34

The world fell into agitation out of fear of the arrival of dissolution; / in an instant the noise died down, [yet] filled with blazing meteors,

1.4.15.35

The terrible collision of the two took place in the sky. / Then, having struck down the mace, the rod [fell] onto Grasana's head;

1.4.15.36

It fell, striking down his human effort, just as previously earned destiny [strikes a man]. / From that blow, seeing the directions enveloped in darkness,

1.4.15.37

He fell to the ground unconscious, covered with the dust of the earth. / Then a dreadful cry of "Alas, alas!" arose from both armies.

1.4.15.38

Then in just a moment, Grasana regained consciousness / and saw his body shattered, his ornaments and garments disheveled.

1.4.15.39

He too reflected upon retaliation for the deed done: / "Fie on my prowess! How can I be the leader of my lord?

1.4.15.40

The troops depend on me; if I am defeated, they too are defeated. / A good man unburdened by expectations indeed rejoices in comfort;

1.4.15.41

But if an esteemed man proves incapable, neither this world nor the next belongs to him." / Thinking thus, the mighty warrior rose up with swiftness.

1.4.15.42

Taking up a club resembling a mountain, like the staff of Death, / Grasana, dreadful in his resolve, bit his lips.

1.4.15.43

Quickly mounted on his chariot, he went and approached Antaka in battle; / having approached Yama in battle, Grasana swung his club

1.4.15.44

And hurled the fierce [weapon] with great force at Yama's head. / Seeing the blazing club, Yama, his eyes wide in agitation,

1.4.15.45

That mighty one dodged the irresistible club. / When it had flown far away, it crushed ten thousand

1.4.15.46

Of Yama's attendants, who were fierce and performed terrible deeds. / Then, seeing that ten thousand slain, the army of attendants,

1.4.15.47

Numbering a billion, ran furiously against Grasana. / But Grasana, beholding that splendid host of attendants,

1.4.15.48

Thought them to be thousands of Yamas, for they were identical in form and strength. / Plunging toward Grasana, the army showered rains of arrows.

1.4.15.49

That great battle became dreadful, like the end of a cosmic cycle: / some tore [him] with rocks, some with straight-flying arrows,

1.4.15.50

Some crushed [him] with maces, some with showers of clubs, / and some haughtily struck him with thrusts of javelins.

1.4.15.51

Other attendants clung to his arms; / others struck him with stones, and others with lofty trees.

1.4.15.52

And others sank their teeth into his limbs; / other attendants pounded his back with their fists.

1.4.15.53

Thus attacked by them, Grasana, frantic with rage, / shook his body and crushed thousands onto the surface of the earth.

1.4.15.54

Rising up, he struck some attendants in battle with fists; / he pounded some with kicks of his feet, and running, pulverized others.

1.4.15.55

In a single moment he dispatched them to the realm of Yama, O Bhārata; / and by the fight with the attendants, he grew like fire with fuel.

1.4.15.56

Seeing him unwearied and his own men weary and slain, / Yama, whose mount is the buffalo, came forward, raising his rod.

1.4.15.57

Grasana struck him upon the chest with a mace as he approached; / Antaka, the slayer of foes, paid no heed to that deed of Grasana,

1.4.15.58

And struck down his tigers with his rod; [Grasana] fell from the chariot to the earth. / Then, rising in an instant and considering his dignity, proud,

1.4.15.59

He rushed suddenly with the speed of wind toward Yama's chariot; / on foot, mounting that chariot, he then

1.4.15.60

Engaged Yama, pulling him with both arms, he the best of the strong; / Yama too, casting aside his weapons, engaged in arm-to-arm combat.

1.4.15.61

Seizing Grasana by the waistcloth, Yama, vehement in strength, / whirled him around with speed as his mind became bewildered.

1.4.15.62

Then, freeing himself with difficulty, Yama gripped the Asura by the neck / and whirled him with both arms; he too freed himself.

1.4.15.63

Then the two mercilessly struck each other with fists; / because the Daitya lord possessed excessive strength, Yama became utterly exhausted.

1.4.15.64

Placing his face on the shoulder of the Daitya, he sought rest. / Perceiving him exhausted, the Daitya then ripped him up with his might

1.4.15.65

And crushed him upon the surface of the earth, striking him with heels and fists; / then copious blood flowed from Yama's mouth.

1.4.15.66

Seeing him lifeless, the Dānava then released him; / having attained victory, he let out a fierce roar, terrifying the deities,

1.4.15.67

And having returned to his own army, he stood immovable like a mountain.

1.4.15.68

At that roar of Grasana in the battle, all their limbs tormented by mighty weapons, / when Kṛtānta had fallen to the earth and lost his luster, those gods fled in all directions, trembling.

Thus ends the seventeenth chapter, named 'Description of the Battle between Yama and Grasana in the Midst of the Armies of Tāraka and the Gods', in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa of the first [section], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses].

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit