Skandapurana 7.15

English (machine translation) 7.15

Language: English

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Sanatkumāra said: / Having whirled Śaṃkukarṇa round and cast him down upon the ground, / Vṛtra trampled the army of the pramathas, as an intoxicated elephant tramples a forest.
He struck Nandin, Nandiṣeṇa, and Somanandin, / put them to flight, and roared like a raincloud.
Then, as he was roaring, Viṭpati, best of Rudras, / shot an arrow like the thunderbolt-fire, bringing ruin to enemies.
Shot by Viṭpati, that arrow, brilliant as the rays of the sun, / entered Vṛtra, piercing him, as a perfected being enters a cloud in the sky.
Raising his own hand, like an elephant raising its trunk, that Danu's son / rushed at Viṭpati in the fight, as a wind rushes at a cloud.
With a trident the huge-bodied Nandī [struck] him, with a thunderbolt [struck] the dānava; / Somanandī struck with an axe, and Nandiṣeṇa with his palm.
And Viṭpati, exceedingly enraged, pierced Vṛtra in battle / with a thousand arrows, and again with twenty-one more.
Tormented by the leaders of the gaṇa-hosts, that dānava, huge as a mountain, / as he was being struck down, cried aloud like a tree inhabited by a deity.

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Then Maya, Bala, Mūka, Tāra, Jambha, / the host of Namuci, Ilvala, Bāṇa, and the sons of Bāṇa, / holding various excellent arrows and weapons, stood firm, warding off that foremost hero among the gaṇa-lords.

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Radiant with the beauty of lovely golden necklaces, their bracelets and ornaments trembling, equal to great Indra, / the sons of Diti, exceedingly joyful in appearance, moved like Death incarnate among the hosts of the pramathas.

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Their faces torn open by clubs, ploughs, and arrows, their limbs crushed by mountain peaks, lightning, and thunderbolts, / [...] / the lords of the gaṇas, afflicted, fell to the ground like mountains struck by the thunderbolt.

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Sprinkled with drops and sprays of blood from wounds, their white necklaces, ornaments, and garlands fallen, / with terror-stricken faces, those hosts of pramathas fled, severely tormented by the foes.
As towering white clouds in the sky, free of dust, [release] rain of fresh water, / so the sons of Diti released an overwhelming rain of arrows, terrifying in its immense velocity.
Then, resembling elephants, mountains, and clouds, possessing splendor equal to fire and the sun, / unleashing a vast mesh of pure, sharp arrows, the principal daityas struck the pramatha hosts.
Then, with [weapons] resembling iron clubs, arrows, and swords, discharged from hundreds of prime mechanical contrivances in their hands, / the gaṇas, inspiring fear in the foes of the thirty [gods], marched forth, engaging in battle.
Excellent elephants resembling mountain peaks, swift-running [steeds], and numerous choice horses, / and terrifying chariots like the abodes of the gods fell shattered and consumed at the front of battle.
Firmly gouged by arrowheads, their fine garments soaked with blood from wounds, / their eyes rolling, their life-breath and vital strength departed, Danu's sons were crushed by the hundreds.
With fallen, excellent white necklaces, earrings, diadems, crowns, jewels, garlands, and garments, / the ground at the front of battle shone radiant like Urvaśī adorned with splendid, choice jewels.

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Like the great ocean when agitated, and like the vast sky in the rainy season, / so did the army of the hosts of asuras become, with its swift elephants, horses, and dānavas.

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[…]

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Yama, Varuṇa, the lord of wealth, and Vāsava, / the Bhagas, the Vasus, the sun, the moon, and the wind gods, / with delighted eyes and lotus faces, furious in crushing the host of enemies, held them back.
With mighty elephants roaming like rain clouds and winds rushing like galloping horses, / turbid with lightning strikes of arrows, the stormy gloom at the end of battle did not cease.
With eyes resembling lotus petals, faces shining like lotuses, the sun, and the moon, / the excellent faces of the sons of Danu made the earth shine forth as though covered with lotuses.
With the lords of the gaṇas and Dānavas crushed, smeared with the sprinkling of blood, fat, and marrow, / the battle was exceedingly terrible, dreadful, and watched by flocks of Garuḍas and Piśācas.
Thus ends the one hundred and forty-first chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the battle of the gaṇas.

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Sanatkumāra said:
While that battle was raging between the armies of the pramathas and the asuras, / the sound of bows was heard like clouds in the rainy season,
and the roar of mighty elephants, the neighing of horses, / and the cries of the gods and rakṣasas engrossed in the battle-gāndharva,
harsh to the ears, dreadful like the crash of a thunderbolt. / They are heard and indeed swell like the debts of debtors.
Then a Dānava named Kārtasvana, sounding like a cloud, / struck down the pramathas in battle like Death approaching mortals.
Mounted on his chariot, wielding a bow, holding arrows, armored, and wearing earrings, / he burned the army of the pramathas like fire burns dry grass.

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[…]

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The great golden arrows released from Kārtasvana's bow, / tearing through the pramathas without clinging, tore through the battleground,
like locusts tearing through fields, like misfortunes ruining men, / like birds tearing through ripe trees, or Garuḍa tearing through snakes.
So those broad arrows loosed from Kārtasvana's bow / threw the pramathas into turmoil, like fledglings in nesting trees.
[…]

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Showers of arrows fell upon the army of the gaṇas as if upon a mountain.
With the sound of musical instruments silenced, terrified by the impact of arrows, / the army of the gaṇa-lords became red like a forest of bandhujīva flowers.
Just as wind scatters clouds, as Garuḍa scatters serpents, / as a tiger scatters spotted deer, as the sun dispels masses of darkness,
so the enraged Kārtasvana, with exceedingly dreadful thunderbolt-like arrows, / burned the commanders of the gaṇas like the fire of cosmic dissolution burns the worlds.

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Seeing the army of the gaṇa-lords burned, consumed, and afflicted with pain, / the enraged god Viṭpati then spoke to Kārtasvana.
Standing firm against the fall of arrows, Rudra of rudra-like valor, / being enraged, drew an arrow from his quiver against the Dānava chief:

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“Kārtasvana, your might, valor, and majesty are supreme! / Why do you strike down these powerless gaṇa-lords, O lord of Dānavas?
Come if you have the power, or if you possess strength! / Engage in combat with me, O proud one; behold my strength!
Today I shall strike down your head adorned with earrings / and decorated with pointed fangs, O daitya, like the wind blows fruit from a palm tree!

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Even if the Dānavas along with Andhaka protect you today in battle, / I will still take your life, O defiler of the asuras!”
As Viṭpati was roaring thus, the Dānava, shouting, / shot an arrow, and having released it, roared like a cloud.
That flaming arrow, like fire fed with ghee, / resplendent like the summer sun, rushed toward Viṭpati.

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The sun became lusterless there by the radiance of that winged shaft; / at Kārtasvana's roar birds fell down to the earth.
That blazing arrow, like the fire of cosmic dissolution, / sank into Viṭpati's armor like an evil-doer into hell.

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Then, having pulled out that very arrow shot by the Dānava, / Viṭpati hurled it at Kārtasvana and roared aloud.
That arrow released by Viṭpati, bringing destruction to Dānavas, / carried off the head of the Dānava’s charioteer ten arrow-lengths away.
When his charioteer was killed, his swift and dappled horses in battle / ran amok, carrying off the chariot like hawks seizing meat.
“Kārtasvana’s chariot is fleeing! Why do you sit idle? Seize it!” / Thus arose a great uproar among the chiefs of the Dānavas.
That best of chariots, wandering across the vast slope of Mount Mandara, / shone like the sun's excellent chariot drawn by seven horses wandering upon Mount Meru.

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Then, leaping down from that excellent chariot with swift horses, / bow in hand, Kārtasvana rushed toward Viṭpati.
Then a roar of "Well done! Well done!" arose from both armies, / as Kārtasvana wished to fight once more with Viṭpati.

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[Apparatus readings for verses 17–31]

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759 / He covered Viṭpati with numerous sharp arrows resembling thunderbolts, / just as a cloud [covers] a mountain with torrents of showers.
Though being covered by the flood of Kārtasvana's arrows like the ocean by masses of clouds, / Viṭpati did not feel any distress at that time.
Drawing his bow back to his ear with force, the mighty one then / split the Daitya chief's arrows into two and into three pieces each.

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Having cut down those arrows, with a thousand feathered shafts / that consume life-breath, he pierced Kārtasvana and roared.

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With those arrows whose heads appeared at his back, the dānava shone / like a mountain with excellent serpents half-emerged from fissures.

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Then the enraged Rudra cut down his bow, sword, / and the quivers into five parts; and the powerful one tormented him.

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Then Viṭpati, having noble might, loosed a straight-flying arrow, / equal to Indra's thunderbolt, raging like a hissing lord of serpents, afflicting the son of Diti.

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That king of arrows, shot by the excellent Rudra, emitting a trail of smoke on the battlefield, / forcibly severed the face of the asura in battle, just as a noble-minded sage plucks a lotus.

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Then an uproar was raised with dread roars by the deities, / the best sages, and the pramathas, / seeing the enemy's head taken off in battle by the subduer of the fire of the mare's mouth.

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That Viṭpati, commander of the host of pramathas, having approached, / was honored for a long time by the lord of spirits—he who was skilled in acts of war, the subduer who tamed the lion-like foes of the gods.

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Thus ends the one hundred and forty-second chapter in the battle of the gaṇas in the Skandapurāṇa.
[Apparatus readings for verses 32–46]

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760

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760 / Sanatkumāra said: / Having killed his enemy Kārtasvana with a great golden shaft, / Viṭpati burned the daityas as fire burns moths.
With drawn bow, the god, wearing handsome golden earrings, / roared, discharging arrows among the dānavas like the sun releasing rays.
Equipped with golden feathers made of Garuḍa's plumage, / those arrows fell upon the dānavas like misfortunes sent by fate.

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With severed faces, severed hands, severed feet, bellies, and thighs, / dānavas fell by the hundreds upon the earth like mountains.

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Some were struck on their backs, others were torn open in the sides; / others, pierced in the eyes, wandered about like blind men;
and as a tiger [destroys] deer, or Garuḍa serpents, / or an ungrateful man good deeds, or the maker of the day darkness,
so did the god Viṭpati, afflicter of Pāvaka, / destroy those asuras with sharp-pointed arrows whose faces were like thunderbolt and fire.
With their chariots destroyed, their elephants felled, and their horses afflicted by arrows, / the terrified dānavas fled, agitated by Viṭpati's arrows.

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Then, seeing the asura army, its weapons dropped and its armor of fame lost, / broken in battle by Viṭpati as a forest by an elephant,
whichever demon enemies were prominent there and fierce in might / were pursued by Viṭpati like other beasts by a lion:

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Prahrāda, Anuhrāda, Saṃhrāda, Śini, and Bāṣkala, / Jambha, Virocana, Bāṇa, and the dānava Bali;
[Apparatus readings for verses 1–17]

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761 / Ajaka, Namuci, Vyaṃsa, Ilvaka, and Vilvaka, / Vipracitti, Tuhuṇḍa, Huṇḍa, and the dānava Vakra;
Maya, Tāra, Tārakākṣa, Vidyunmālin, and Prabhañjana; / Ariṣṭa, Riṣṭa, Añjana, Rūśabha, and Kubha;
Kāla, Kālanemi, Kālakāmukha, / Saṃpāti, Ilvala, Bala, and Naraka;
and the sons of Madhu and Kaiṭabha, Dhundhu, and the dānava Mūka.

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Hastin, Vipāka, Pāka, Vikarṇa, and Śambhu, / raising many weapons blazing like falling meteors, / rushed furiously against Viṭpati, roaring like lions. / With spears, stones, clubs, and thunderous arrows, / they struck him with dreadful roars, like rainclouds against a mountain. / Just as clouds, impelled by the wind, unleash a shower of water, / so the Dānavas discharged a shower of arrows upon the god. / But he who crushes hosts of enemies,

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Viṭpati, swiftly severed that shower of enemy weapons, as a quarrel [severs] affection. / Then those sons of Danu and Diti, standing in the sky, / roaring like rainclouds, hurled a shower of mountains at Viṭpati. / And others, stationed on the peak of Mount Mandara like a garland of Mandāra trees, / loosed śāla, pine, and deodar trees upon Viṭpati. / Severely battered by the Dānavas positioned in the sky and on earth, / Viṭpati turned away, like a fire quenched by water. / Seeing Viṭpati turned away, covered with mountains by the Dānavas,

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the renowned leaders of the gaṇas, endowed with terrible might, would not endure it.

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Somanandin, Nandin, the attendant Nandiṣeṇa, / Prabhāmaya, Vīrabhadra, Sūryāpyāyana, / Pañcākṣa, Kopapāla, Trinetra, Piṅgalekṣaṇa, / Rākṣasa, Piṅgala, who roars from his abode in the cremation grounds, / Ghaṇṭākarṇa, Śaṅkukarṇa, the mighty Kuṇḍodara, / Airāvatamukha, Annapāla, Kapāladhṛk, / and Vināyaka himself with his long, stout trunk— / these and other gaṇa leaders, called forth in the hundreds by the hosts, / entered to burn the Dānavas, as fires burn dry trees. / Surrounding Viṭpati, all roaring like young lordly elephants, / with tridents, discus-weapons, arrows, and bhuśuṇḍi guns in hand, the leaders of the gaṇas, minded for battle, advanced. / Then between them there arose close combat, fierce in battle, / like that of rut-maddened bull elephants gathered with cow elephants in the forests. / Beholding that great battle of the Dānavas with the gaṇa leaders, the gods / moved through the sky in celestial aerial chariots, uttering lion-roars and clapping their hands.
Thus ends the one hundred and forty-third chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, on the battle of the gaṇas.

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Sanatkumāra said: / Filled with extreme fury and arrogance, the Pramathas and Asuras, / having wronged one another, fought in close combat. / With his hand brandishing a spear, Kumāra [fought] Avaniñjaya, / while Kālanemi, like Death himself, fought Viśākha.

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He who in pride of strength had stolen the wheel from the chariot of the Sun, / Vipracitti, eager for battle, clashed with Śākha.

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Naigameṣa, born of Agni, fought Hayagrīva and Sugrīva, / the lords of the Dānavas, as the slayer of Madhu fought Madhu. / Jambha fought with Nandin, Tuhuṇḍa with Somanandin, / and the Dānava Huṇḍa fought the heroic Vināyaka.

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Mahākāya fought with Kāla, Namuci with Ghana, / and Ilvaka and Pilvaka with the two Piṅgala gaṇa leaders. / Hrāda clashed with Śaṅkukarṇa, and Viṭpati with Anuhrāda; / the Rudra Ādityāpyāyana met with Saṃhrāda. / Kuṇḍodara, the lord of Yakṣas, and the attendant Ghaṇṭākarṇa / clashed with Bala and Ilvala, like two lions with two elephants. / Bali clashed with Pañcākṣa, a Rudra resplendent as the sun, / and the Dānava who fathered Bali fought with Vīrabhadra.

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Maya clashed with Sumukha, Tāra approached Durmukha; / the peacock went against Vajraroman, the rooster against Mura. / The remaining leaders of the gaṇas met with the remaining Daityas, / clashing with one another in battle like lions with elephants. / Like the crackling sound of bamboos burning in a desolate forest from fire, / there arose the clattering of falling weapons.

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Shouting "Do not run! Run! Stand! Look! Look!", / the gaṇas and Dānavas struck down one another in close combat. / Their limbs smeared with marrow and fat, their faces, arms, and thighs severed, / smeared with weapons, the Dānavas and Pramathas charged,

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with faces, thighs, feet, hands, teeth, and eyes, / and with scattered necklaces, armlets, garlands, garments, and ornaments.

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With the housings and coverings of lordly elephants, blankets, and weapons,
that battleground shone like the sky with stars and planets. / 16
With varied drops of blood shed from the tips of claws and teeth,
the earth shone forth like a woman whose limbs are smeared with red sandalwood. / 17
Shooting an arrow radiant as the sun at Vināyaka,
Tuhuṇḍa laughed loudly, provoking his wrath. / 18
And as he was laughing, that Vināyaka, with a sharp-edged sword,
cut off his face adorned with large ear-rings. / 19
Seeing Tuhuṇḍa slain, Huṇḍa, distraught over his brother's slaughter,
hurled a spear at the elephant-faced god, as Indra hurls a thunderbolt at a mountain. / 20
That spear, adorned with hundreds of jewels, fell upon Vināyaka's gem,
and drank blood from his chest, resembling a blazing tongue of fire. / 21

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Sticking in Vināyaka's chest, that spear shone
like a streak of gold on a sapphire gem. / 22

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Drawing out Huṇḍa's spear, which was like a sunbeam, with the tip of his trunk, the god
suddenly slew Huṇḍa with that very [spear], as his younger brother [slew] Mount Krauñca. / 23
Seeing Tuhuṇḍa and Huṇḍa destroyed by Vināyaka, the destroyer of foes,
the entire army of the leaders of the gaṇas became like the frenzied Gaṅgā. / 24
Thus ends the one hundred and forty-fourth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the battle of the gaṇas.

7.15.5

Sanatkumāra said:
When Huṇḍa and Tuhuṇḍa were slain by Vināyaka,
that battle between the lords of the gaṇas and the asuras became tumultuous. / 1
Roaring like clouds filled with water at the coming of the rains,
they quickly destroyed one another as they fought. / 2
Their limbs drenched in flowing streams of blood, their lips bitten by teeth,
they struck one another with tridents, spears, rṣṭis, and paṭṭiśas. / 3
Hearing the ear-rending sounds of spears being thrown, swords falling,
names being proclaimed, and bows twanging, / 4
Jambha, foremost among the mighty, enraged by the slaughter of his brothers,
entered the Pramatha host. / 5

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Piercing the Gaṇa-lord Vyāghra[mukha] with a trident,
Jambha roared like the lord of the forest in the woods after killing a buffalo. / 6
Then, as he was roaring, the foremost [gaṇa] named Maga
struck his head with a spear and rushed at the remaining daityas. / 7

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Then the famous lords of the gaṇas, renowned for their valor, fame, and sacred learning,
confronted the asuras in battle, as śarabhas [confront] elephants. / 8
Then a great clash occurred between the lords of the asuras and the gaṇas,
like the collision of thunderbolts with golden mountains. / 9

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Virocana and Andhaka, furious and agitated,
poured down showers of arrows, like two clouds pouring showers of water. / 10
Discharging a rain of arrows, those two daityas, afflicted by superior shafts,
were turned back at the forefront of battle by Svayaṃprabha. / 11
Svayaṃprabha dried up the ocean of the dānava army with countless arrows sped from the bow-machine,
just as the sun, with his blazing ring of rays, dries up the ocean at the dissolution of the world. / 12

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Then Andhaka, the leader of the dānava folk, his eyes rolling, said to his charioteer:
‘Charioteer, take me to Śukra; he is our guru and ever removes our sorrow.’ / 13
Saying, ‘So be it,’ he drove that chariot yoked with excellent horses,
mounted by the leader of the dānava hosts and rumbling like a rain-cloud, / to where Śukra was, O twice-born, the best among planets. / 14
Thus ends the one hundred and forty-fifth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the battle of the gaṇas.

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Sanatkumāra said:
Withdrawing then from the battle, Andhaka, the foremost of the asuras,
approached Śukra and, with bowed head, spoke these words: / 1
‘O lord, having taken refuge in you, we count the gods together with their followers
as equal to blades of grass; I speak the truth always. / 2
As elephants [fear] lions, or serpents [fear] Garuḍas,
the gods are always afraid of us through your grace. / 3
Protected by you, the daityas entered without fear
the gods' impenetrable battle array, like those afflicted by heat [entering] a lake. / 4
Taking refuge in you, standing firm like unshakeable stones,
we strike Indra in battle without hesitation, O best of brahmins. / 5
And in times of distress, together with our wives and sons,
we serve day and night your feet that bestow happiness. / 6
Do you ever protect us who have come to you for refuge
in times of danger, like another Nārāyaṇa [protects] the gods! / 7
Look at Huṇḍa, Tuhuṇḍa, Kujambha, and Jambha,
Pāka, Kārtasvana, and the great asura Vipāka! / 8

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And that heroic Indradamana, who felled heroic gods, / crushed by the terrible prowess of the Pramathas, who have overcome the torment of death, etc.,

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slain and fallen like sandalwood trees by deer. / That excellent lore acquired from Hara of old, having consumed smoke and grain for a thousand autumns— / the time for it has now arrived.

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Now, let the Pramathas and all the worlds behold with wide-open eyes / that fruit of your lore in bringing the Dānavas back to life.

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Seeing the Dānavas revived by you in battle, / all the Dānavas, casting aside fear of death, will fight together with the Pramathas.

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[…] / Indeed, that lore [was acquired] by you, seeking the benefit of the Dānavas,

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obtained after propitiating the God; display it, homage to you!" / Having heard these words of Andhaka, the sage Bhārgava of steady intellect,

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then smiling slightly, spoke to the lord of the Dānavas: / "O lord of Dānavas, true are the words you have addressed to me.

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For indeed, this acquisition of lore was undertaken by me for the sake of the Dānavas, / having inhaled the most unbearable smoke and grain for a thousand years.

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This lore bringing happiness to my kinsmen was obtained by me. / With this lore, I shall raise up these Daityas who were slain by their foes,

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just as a cloud [raises up] withered crops, / free from wounds, free from disease, hale, as if awakened having merely slept. / In this very instant, O lord of Dānavas, you shall see the Dānavas. / Seeing the Dānavas raised, who were slain in battle by the Gaṇa lords,

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[Critical apparatus]

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out of wonder and out of fear indeed the Gaṇa lords will flee." / Having spoken thus to the lord of Dānavas at that time, / the wise Bhārgava recited the lore addressing each Daitya one by one. / As the lore was being repeated there by the brahmin, / the Dānavas arose, like those sleeping [arising] from bed after slumber, / like studied Vedic meanings [arising in the mind], and like clouds at the proper season, / or like comets arriving at the time of dissolution. / In this way those Daityas, thoroughly slaughtered by the Pramathas, / being raised up by Śukra, shone forth like hale men of old. / Seeing those Dānavas revived by Śukra, the Gaṇa lords / said to one another: "This is a wonder, O chiefs of the gods!" / And seeing those great Asuras, Tuhuṇḍa and the rest, revived, / the ancient gods [the Daityas] roared like clouds intoxicated with water. / Seeing them arisen by the thousands, others, with axes, thunderbolts, lightning-bolts, and spears in hand, / rushed against the army of Śaṅkara’s servants, which resembled an agitated great ocean. / There occurred once more a clash of Gaṇas and Asuras of exceedingly terrifying sound, / like the upheaval of oceans stirred by wind at the end of an era. / Thus ends the one hundred and forty-sixth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, on the battle of the Gaṇas, [entitled] "The Revival of the Daityas."

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Sanatkumāra said: / When the Daityas were raised up by Bhārgava of fierce deeds, / the gods together with the Gandharvas, and the Dānavas together with Andhaka, roared. / Then there arose conch-sounds mingled with the sounds of māḍuka and ānaka drums, / and lion-roars along with the noise of chariots and elephants.

7.15.12

Huṇḍa, Tuhuṇḍa, Jambha, and the great Asura Kujambha, / those enemies of the gods, fought with blows of rocks, spears, and stones. / And those two, Pāka and Indradamana, and the mighty Kārtasvana, / crushed the Pramatha host out of a desire to exact vengeance. / Having checked their speed, the Pramathas too, haughty, / holding rocks and trees in their hands, all rushed against the Dānavas. / But of the Gaṇa lords and the gods in that exceedingly terrifying battle, / the sounds of bows and the frightful sounds of chariots were heard. / Some intent on the victory of the Pramathas, and likewise others [intent on that] of the Dānavas, / made a dreadful tumult and partisan shouts in the sky. / The sound of the armies roaring and charging was / like that of oceans roaring and rushing at the dissolution. / And Siddhas, Gandharvas, and Cāraṇas, intoxicated by the excellence of the battle, / shouted and cast down various heaps of flowers. / Various kinds of flowers falling shone forth / when released by the Siddhas and Cāraṇas, like stars at the dissolution. / The musical instruments of the gods and Gandharvas sounded repeatedly, / and ceased again and again as their minds were riveted upon the battle. / But Jambha, remembering in the battle his defeat by Vināyaka, / charged angrily at him, like an elephant against another elephant.

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Seeing that Dānava Jambha charging in battle, / Vināyaka blocked him, as an angry lion blocks an elephant. / Raising his trunk, which resembled the trunk of Airāvata, / Vināyaka, who has an elephant-like face, struck the Dānava in battle.

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Then Jambha, that elephant among Dānavas, with an excellent arrow, / pierced him between his two frontal globes, just as a Siddha [pierces] the solar disc.

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That arrow sank deep between his two frontal lobes, / like a lightning-bearing cloud between the twin peaks of the king of mountains. / With his mind enraged by the arrow, shaking his trunk and head, / bending down and striking the great Daitya with the tip of his trunk, he roared.

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Trembling from being struck by Vināyaka's trunk, / Jambha, enraged, covered Vināyaka with fierce arrows. / Like locusts entering a field, or bees entering a tree, / Jambha's arrows then entered the god Vināyaka.

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Dripping blood, with their points cleaving [his body], / the arrows shone on Vināyaka like serpents clinging to Mount Meru.

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With his limbs severely pierced by Jambha's arrows, his red eyes bathed in the blood streaming from his frontal lobes, / the god shook his trunk-tip and head, and rushed at Jambha as a thirsty man rushes to water. / Repeatedly striking him hard with his strong trunk-tip and repeatedly roaring, / the mighty one then seized the chariot in the battle and hurled it away along with its horses, banner, weapons, and wheels.

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With its shattered banner and flag blown away, with its swords, spears, javelins, and thousands of arrows falling out, / the chariot of the son of Asura fell, like the ardent desire of a penniless man. / Leaving the chariot that was about to fall, the son of Prahrāda, having the power of Indra and the storm clouds, / stood shining in the sky bearing a lance, just like the Lance-bearer [Skanda] standing in the sky.

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Equipped with a bell, pure as gold, blazing like a streak of fire, / that lance the son of the Asura king, of heightened might, hurled at Vināyaka.

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Falling from the sky like a female serpent, that weapon-maiden with a blazing face, / struck by an arrow of the lord of the Vaiśyas, fell, just as the supreme power [fails] in a man who has lost hope. / While that wondrous sacrificial battle of the Pramathas and Asuras was proceeding thus, / the son of Śilāda [Nandi], seeing the action of the descendant of Bhṛgu, became indignant and approached Maheśa. / Saying, "Victory!", Nandī, radiant like gold, spoke to the fierce source of victory: / "O God, the deed in battle done by the lords of the Gaṇas, which is difficult even for the gods along with Indra to achieve, / has today been rendered futile by the descendant of Bhṛgu through the revival of the Danava lords. / Indeed, these leaders of the Dānava hosts have returned today from the abode of Yama.

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Routing the Pramathas, they roam proudly in battle like śarabhas attacking elephants. / If he thus continually revives the slain Daitya leaders, / whence will victory come, O Maheśa, and whence peace for the lords of the Gaṇas? / Furthermore, Śukra stands crookedly, and being a non-combatant, O rider of the bull, he is not to be slain.

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He cannot be destroyed on account of your favor, and you grant favor even to him who is slain. / If it pleases you, O Īśāna, he should be slain, so that your victory in battle may be continuous. / Act accordingly, O you who are awakened with supreme intellect; no one is your equal in intellect, O Maheśāna."

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Sanatkumāra said: / Addressed thus by the lord of the Pramathas, Nandīśvara, the god who is the supreme deity of the gods, / laughing softly, then said to Nandin, the leader of all the Gaṇa lords:

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"Nandin, go forth with extreme haste; from their midst / pluck out that best of the twice-born, the kinsman of the sons of Diti, and bring him here like a wealthy man bringing an offering."

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Addressed thus by the bull-bannered [Śiva], he who also bears the bull banner and roars like a bull and a lion, / quickly entered the army and went to where the light of the Bhṛgu lineage was.

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[Apparatus / variant readings]

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Agitating the Daityas, that bull-king Nandin seized Śukra, who was being protected by those sons of Diti armed with nooses, swords, trees, stones, and spears, just as a śarabha seizes an elephant. / His garment slipping down, his ornaments fallen off, his hair disheveled, held fast by the enemy, the enemies of the gods rushed forward roaring like lions as if about to release him. / Those lords of the Dānavas poured down upon Nandīśvara a shower of thunderbolts, tridents, arrows, battle-axes, and trembling weapons accompanied by discs, staves, and rocks, like fierce rain-clouds. / Having reached the descendant of Bhṛgu, that foremost leader of the gaṇas, having incinerated hundreds of weapons with the fire of his mouth, Nandīśvara departed, holding in his hand Śukra, the protector of the host of Dānavas. / Then between them there ensued a great battle, causing deep satisfaction to the minds of the gods, with fearful falls of discharged missiles and weapons, as they shouted, 'Slay!' and 'Seize!' / Meanwhile, having approached Bhava's side, Nandīśvara, his eyes discolored with rage, quickly announced to Bhava, 'Lord, here is that Śukra!' / And that god of gods accepted Śukra as an offering given by a pure person; without saying anything, the guardian of beings swallowed Śukra, his enemy, who stood in his mouth. / Then his leaders of gaṇas once again smote the army of the Dānavas and Daityas. / Thus ends the one hundred and forty-seventh chapter, on the abduction of the descendant of Bhṛgu during the battle of the gaṇas, in the Skandapurāṇa.

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Sanatkumāra said: / When Śukra was swallowed by the lord of Śukra as if by a serpent, all the Dānavas became inactive, like impoverished men. / They were like living beings without bodies, Garuḍas without speed, elephants without trunks, and bulls without horns; / like king-serpents without venom, twice-born men without knowledge, oceans without water, and winds without force;

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like rain-clouds without sound, fires without flames, days devoid of festivities, and trees devoid of blossoms;

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like deer terrified, birds stripped of wings, planets whose light has been extinguished, and aquatic monsters dragged out of the water. / Śukra having been carried off by Nandin and swallowed by Kapardin, those heroic Dānavas became base in pride and prowess.

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Overcome by deep despondency, Andhaka, the kindler of battle among the Dānavas, thundering like a cloud while standing in the conflict, spoke:

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"By Nandin courageously carrying off Śukra, the best of leaders, the lives of us all have surely been stolen away today. / Who will revive again the Daityas slain by the Pramathas? Without that descendant of Bhṛgu, Śukra, who else will sustain us? / Resolution, valor, splendor, vitality, vigor, strength, and constancy—everything has been stolen by the enemies when the divine Śukra was carried away. / Since the divine descendant of Bhṛgu has been abducted, my mind too is afflicted; yet I shall not abandon the conflict when assailed by the Pramathas. / Steady yourselves, do not fear, fight with the enemies! I shall destroy all the Pramathas along with Nandin! / Today, having rendered them helpless and having slain the thirty gods as well, I shall liberate the descendant of Bhṛgu like a lion trapped in a cage. / And he, an ascetic, if the master himself should emerge from his body by means of yoga, shall be protected by the rest of us!" / Hearing these words of Andhaka, the Dānavas, roaring like clouds, tormented the Pramathas, having made their resolve to die.

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There, tearing one another to pieces with showers of whetted swords and thunderbolts, and with jagged rocks and stones, they wrought a great slaughter. / As bows were drawn, arrows released, and swords brought down, a exceedingly dread noise arose.

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With flags and banners shattered, their weapons depleted, variegate with streams of blood, and blooming with wounds, / thirsty, exhausted, with their horses and elephants slain, the armies on all sides appeared like the sky and the sea.

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Then again Jambha, a tiger among Dānavas, charged at Nandin upon a roaring, four-tusked lord of elephants resembling Mount Añjana and endowed with the luster of an Añjana elephant, / adorned with quivers and flags, excited by the goad. / Mounted upon the elephant's shoulder, with a lance in hand, the Daitya Jambha shone like a cloud accompanied by cranes perched upon the peak of a black mountain. / With its tail, eyes, and ears rigid, its great trunk extended, driven by the lord of the Dānavas, the great elephant charged. / Just as the speed of the wind at the end of an aeon is incomparable, so the speed of that running elephant was incomparable. / The horses, the elephants, the Pramathas, and the Dānavas moved out of its path like men fleeing from Death.

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Stepping forth, the mighty Vināyaka held back that rutting elephant as it ran, trumpeting like a cloud.

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That best of gods, the tusked one, struck that mountain-like elephant / right in the face with the outstretched tip of his trunk. / [Footnotes]

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Struck by Vināyaka, that leader of all elephants / was bewildered for a moment, shaken by severe pain.

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Then, having caught his breath, resting, and coiling his trunk, the elephant / roared and struck Vināyaka on the chest. / Struck by that elephant resembling a peak of the Vindhya, / Vināyaka, endowed with great fortitude, did not stir a step.

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Vināyaka, with a mountain-like body, seized that elephant of the Dānava / by the trunk with his trunk, dragged him, and threw him down. / Thrown down like a lion by a lion in the middle of a forest, / the elephant wailed as he quivered, like a cloud driven by the wind.

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As he threw down that elephant, the elephant-faced god quickly pierced / the blood-flowing [beast] with a javelin, as the sun [pierces] a cloud with his ray. / Then Vināyaka struck the foremost Dānava, / who was disentangling his feet at the neck, with that very javelin. / Struck with a heavy blow by the elephant-faced god, that Dānava, / Jambha, gushed blood like a mountain [gushes] cascade-water.

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Desiring his death, the powerful one took up a sword once more; / and as his sword was raised, roaring and wishing to cut off Jambha's neck,

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Kujambha cut his sword in two, as Garuḍa [cuts] a serpent; / and then with a blood-stained arm, with a well-drawn arrow, / Kujambha struck him on the arm, like Indra [striking] a mountain with his thunderbolt. / Hard hit by him, he staggered like a sāla tree.

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He rushed at Kujambha like a lion at an elephant; / the god, with trunk raised up, rushing at that Dānava,

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[Footnotes]

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Vināyaka, exuberant in strength, shone like Airāvata. / But Vyaṃsa barred him as he rushed, eager to slay Kujambha; / he approached with his shoulder and cast him down upon the ground. / Having struck Vyaṃsa down with his shoulder, the mighty elephant-faced god / reached the presence of Kujambha like a śarabha [approaching] a lion. / But Kujambha, having pierced his raised trunk with an arrow,

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struck his head with a mace and his chest with a mallet. / Covered in blood from the three blows, Vināyaka shone / like a three-stream rutting elephant possessed of the might of tens of thousands of elephants.

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Then the mighty Vināyaka seized Kujambha by the trunk on the ground / and hurled him away, as a man [casts off] an offering to spirits. / When Kujambha, who resembled Mount Mandara, was hurled by Vināyaka’s arm, / all the Dānavas grew enraged and assailed Vināyaka.

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Assailed by hundreds of Dānavas and wounded by various weapons, / the god moved among the Daityas like a lion among deer. / Furious, with tusks, feet, and his outstretched trunk, / he crushed the Dānavas like an elephant [crushing] reed-beds. / Then, seeing Vināyaka pierced by hundreds of weapons by the Dānavas, / the lords of the Gaṇas, taking up arms, possessed of the valor of elephants and lions, uttered roars and rushed forth by the hundreds.

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Then again a great battle took place between the Gaṇas and the Asuras, / excited by thousands of weapons, unbearable with the descent of arrows, swords, spears, and lances, / destroying life, with horses and elephants slain. / Thus ends the one hundred and forty-eighth chapter, on the battle of the Gaṇas, in the Skandapurāṇa. / [Footnotes]

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Vyāsa said: / Once that brahmin, Bhārgava, was swallowed by the bearer of the crescent moon, / what did he do while staying within the belly of that god of gods? / And how did that twice-born, best among the austere, a yogin endowed with great tapas, / not emerge from the god's body by the power of yoga? / And how did Andhaka, the foremost of the Asuras, surrounded by the lords of the Gaṇas, / offer battle at that time without Bhārgava?

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Tell me all this in full, O best among the knowers of the entire Veda; / there is no satiety for me as I listen to the deeds of the Lord. / Sūta said: / When Vyāsa asked in this manner, Sanatkumāra, best among sages, / recounted the deeds of Śukra. / Sanatkumāra said: / When Bhārgava was swallowed by that friend of Umā and the gods, / Andhaka lost his luster, like the sun blocked by a cloud.

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Seeing his army repeatedly broken by the pramathas, / Andhaka himself mounted his chariot and rushed at the gaṇas. / Under those blows of thunderbolt-like arrows, like mountains struck by thunderbolts, / the pramathas fell on the earth like clouds drained of water. / In their chests, thighs, cheeks, / backs, arms, and bellies, / pierced by arrows, the pramathas wailed like elephants. / Going, coming, not yet arrived, arrived, or standing far off— / whatever he saw, wherever he saw it, he pierced it deeply with arrows.

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He pierced a hundred with one [arrow], and again a hundred with a hundred, / a thousand with a thousand, and likewise a crore with a crore.

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Banners, standards, parasols, / victory flags, goads, housing-cloths, / fly-whisks, diadems, / earrings, and garments—

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whatever in the pramathas' army trembled or ran, / the Dānava Andhaka swiftly cut all that down with arrows.

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Just as fire [releases] sparks, as a cloud [releases] torrents of rain, / as the ocean [releases] surges, as the sun [releases] rays,

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as lions [release] roars in the forest, as elephants [release] spray, / he discharged sharp-pointed arrows that crushed the enemy army.

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When Andhaka, the foremost Asura, fought with resolve, / the Asuras too fought with resolve following Andhaka. / Those Nivātakavacas, who closely resembled one another, / in great numbers engaged in battle together with many Rudras.

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Sixty thousand Kāleyas, great Asuras resembling Death, / fought together with sixty thousand pramathas born from [his] arms.

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Prahrāda, Anuhrāda, Saṃhrāda, Śini, Bāṣkala, / Virocana, Bali, Bāṇa, then Kujambha and Avaniñjaya,

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Añjaka, Kālanemi, Namuci, and Vyaṃsa— / these eleven renowned [demons] possessed the brilliance of eleven suns.

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Eager for conflict, they tormented eleven pramathas: / Prabhāmaya, Vīrabhadra, Viṭpati, and Piṅgala,

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Vegapa, Pavanāda, and both Somāpyāyana and Arkāpyāyana, / Saṃvartakānala, and also Pāvakāpyāyana, / and the mighty Yakṣonnada, and the Rākṣasa Vidyutkeśa. / Together with these Dānavas led by Prahrāda, the foremost gods, / surrounded by weapons and armor and covered with hundreds of arms, / the gatekeepers of the Rudras and the sons of the Rudras, / the attendants of Skanda and the lords of the Śakti host— / those fond of strife, resembling Death, fought a battle / against the sons of Danu and the descendants of Danu's sons.

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While the battle was thus taking place, with necklaces, ornaments, garlands, and weapons shattered, / their garments cast aside and their lovely eyes wide open, the gods and the hosts of Siddhas standing in the sky shouted aloud.

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Thus ends the one hundred and forty-ninth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, on the battle of the gaṇas.

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Vyāsa said: / The illusory power and the strength of Andhaka, enemy of the gods, / had been created fully by the Blessed One, caused by [his] divine form. / When the sage Bhārgava was swallowed into his body by the god, / what did he do there inside the body of the God of gods? / And how did that twice-born son of Bhṛgu emerge, / by the power of austerity and the power of yoga, like the moon from a white cloud? / This curiosity has arisen in me today, O best of sages: / recount the deeds of Īśāna and of the wise Bhārgava. / Sūta said: / Thus addressed by Vyāsa, the lord Sanatkumāra, son of the lotus-born [Brahmā], / related the emergence of Śukra from Śiva. / Inside the body of Śambhu at that time, Śukra, stripped of his luster, / wandering about seeking an opening, was homeless like the wind.

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Inside the body of Rudra he saw worlds glowing with the color of fire, / filled with hundreds of crores of Rudras, / frequented by the daughters of Rudra. / Having the color of jasmine, the moon, and conches, possessed of fangs and claws, / endowed with long tails, full of pride and possessed of forbearance,

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with manes shining like fire, bearing nandyāvarta markings, / with tongues shining like kiṃśuka flowers, their stature like Mount Kailāsa, / bound with bonds of fire, fearsome in form— / Bhārgava saw a thousand lions inside the body of the God of gods. / Remaining within Hara's body, he also saw the gods along with Indra and the Ādityas, / together with the hosts of apsarases and mortals, and the battle between the lords of gaṇas and the Asuras.

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Wandering inside the belly of Bhava for a hundred years, / he found no opening, just as the Kali age finds no flaw in a pure man. / The Great God also stripped away his yoga / along with its sovereign power and qualities such as animan, though his mind and speech were restrained. / Then a great sound arose from the armies of the pramathas and the asuras; / hearing that sound, the Bhārgava became alarmed and was aroused. / Being inside the husband of Umā, that brahmin, strengthened by austerity, / praised the god Soma, adorned with the crescent moon, with beloved hymns of praise. / To him who had fallen into distress, the trident-bearing god / bestowed the dawn of his favor, saying: 'Go forth through my liṅga!'

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Then assuming a subtle form, that Śukra, best among sages, / issued forth like semen (śukra) from the liṅga of the wise God of gods.

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Because the son of Bhṛgu came forth like semen from the phallus, / for that reason he, foremost of the wise, became renowned as Śukra.

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And as he was bowing down, he was addressed by him whose banner bears the lord of clouds: / 'Because you came forth like semen from my body today, O descendant of Bhṛgu, / by that act you are Śukra, and my son; now go!' / Thus addressed by the god, Śukra, whose splendor was like the sun, / entered the army of the dānavas, as the moon enters a mass of clouds. / Seeing him resembling the moon, with an appearance like moonrise, / the enemies of the gods felt joy, just as humans do at the rising of the moon. / Seeing Śukra, whose brilliance was equal to the moon, those Dānava-Daiteyas

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all uttered lion-roars, overjoyed and eager to fight. / Those dānavas who had been struck down by the victorious pramathas / were regarded by them as returned from the mouth of death due to the arrival of the Bhārgava. / The great asuras bowed to him, rejoiced, and were pleased.

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That great ocean of dānavas obtained joy at the rising of Śukra, / just as the ocean, accompanied by rākṣasas, ever rejoices at the rising of the moon.

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Then Śākha, Viśākha, the goat-faced one, Caturmukha, / Nandī, Somanandī, the heroic Nandiṣeṇa, / Ghaṇṭākarṇa, Śaṅkukarṇa, Kuṇḍodara, Mahodara, / Viṭpati, Vīrabhadra, and that deity full of splendor, / the Aurva fire of cosmic dissolution, the radiance-illumined Vibhākara, / Vegapa, Śikhaṇḍin, the rooster with a copper comb, / Annada, the yakṣa Piṅgala, the clever young ascetic Piṅgala, / Vidyutkeśa and Sukeśa, the two invincible rākṣasas— / these and other leaders of the gaṇas, equal in luster to the world-guardians, / entered the army of the dānavas, which was haughty at the rise of Śukra.

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Then the fierce sounds of musical instruments, along with lion-roars, / shook all beings across both armies.

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Then with dreadful weapons and with slaps delivered with snouts and palms, / they encountered one another and struck one another down. / Placing Nandīśvara and the six-faced Kārttikeya in front, / the pramathas crushed the daityas in battle, as Garuḍa crushes serpents.

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With their extremities severed by sword strokes and their heads smashed by clubs, / the dānavas lay upon the ground like mountains shattered by the thunderbolt.

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Pierced and broken by arrows, with thighs and arms fractured, / the daityas crawled in battle like serpents tormented by Garuḍa. / With sacrum, thighs, and hips broken, tormented by dense volleys of arrows, / the suffering daityas groaned aloud like clouds filled with water.

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In that exceedingly terrible crushing of the gaṇa-leaders and daityas, / the earth became filled with daityas, like the sky with clouds,

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with diadems, crowns, necklaces, bracelets, ornaments, and armlets, / with anklets, armbands, waistbands, and earrings,

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with helmets, gleaming jewels, and radiant necklets, / with garlands of lovely flowers, fine garments, and arms adorned with jeweled tips,

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with missiles, weapons, robes, and parasols lustrous as the moon. / With limbs variegated with blood and saffron, adorned with various ornaments,

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the battlefield shone in various places like a wealthy woman. / Like that of proud lions, or of elephants,

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the zeal of the lord gaṇas crushed the dānavas. / Being slain and having no shelter, terrified, seeking refuge,

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and pursued by the pramathas, the dānavas fled to the ocean. / Seeing that army routed by the dānavas tormented by the pramathas,

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And when the Daityas entered the ocean, the abode of sea monsters, / the descendant of Bhṛgu, endowed with immense radiance, flared up like a fire.
Enraged, he cursed the Daityas who had made the ocean their abode: / “Because, abandoning your allies and me, who wished your welfare like a father,
you, powerless, have entered the reservoir of waters to save your lives, / therefore, right there, shameless ones, struck by my curse,

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you shall attain the state of fish, born again and again. / As long as worlds, mountains, and oceans exist,
so long shall you become fish, creatures of the water, dwelling in the sea. / Eating human flesh, sinful ones, you shall be eaten by humans.
You shall spend a hundred crore years under my curse!” / Having thus cursed the rest into dwelling in the waters of the ocean,
Śukra of great splendour, brilliant as the moon, fell silent.
Sanatkumāra said: / Then those Asuras, struck by the curse of their guru, were seen
in the waters of the ocean, armed, armoured, and mail-clad.

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Then Śukra, touching Andhaka with his hand as he trembled in fear of the enemy of the Asuras, / spoke to him, reviving him, as it were, with his words:
“Do not fear, best of Dānavas! Fight back against the enemies! / I shall sustain you, as food sustains life.”
Addressed thus by Śukra, Andhaka, the lord of the Dānavas, / saying “So be it,” checked the Pramathas in battle.

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Then, as the Asuras entered the ocean and were slain by the followers of Śaṅkara, / Andhaka held back all the Pramathas, as an ocean of abundant waters checks rivers.
Then Andhaka pierced Nandin with twelve [arrows], and the fire-born [Skanda] with five; / the Dānava struck Viśākha and Śākha with ten, and Naigameṣa with a hundred.
He pierced Vīrabhadra and Viṭpati, and the radiant Piṅgala, best of Yakṣas, / with arrows adorned with gold, just as an elephant driver goads an elephant with the points of an ankuśa.
There was no one, whether in front or behind, neither horse nor elephant nor any other Pramatha, / who did not receive the arrows shot by Andhaka, resembling blazing cosmic fire and the sun.
Pierced repeatedly like sandalwood trees on their arms, bellies, chests, and heads, / the delighters of their foes stood motionless, like elephants trapped in a cage.
Then lion-roars were raised by the Asuras, fierce with the sounds of conches, hundreds of kettle-drums, and dundubhis; / and again a terrifying battle broke out between the lords of the Gaṇas and the lords of the Dānavas.
Thus ends the one hundred and fiftieth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the battle of the Gaṇas, on the curse of the Asuras.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit