Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Skandapurana 7.9

English (machine translation) 7.9

Language
English

7.9.p1

Previous page (Chapters 71–80) | Next page (Chapters 91–100)

7.9.p2

469 / Sanatkumāra said: / Then, seeing the lord of the gods approaching in front, Hiraṇyākṣa / said to his charioteer, "Drive me toward Indra!"

7.9.p3

Urged by him, driving his horses, / he brought him to the lord of the gods, as fire [brings] an offered oblation.

7.9.p4

Standing within the range of an arrow-shot, that bull among the Asuras / spoke to the thousand-eyed god mounted upon the shoulder of his elephant, the lord of the gods:

7.9.p5

"O Śakra, display whatever strength you have; do not delay! / For we are the elder gods, and the entire triple world belongs to us,

7.9.p6

by succession of seniority and by right, O best of gods. / But you, having abandoned justice, and having slain my brother,

7.9.p7

having become deceitful through [our] trust, attained godhood afterwards. / We here are the elder gods, and you are not gods at all!

7.9.p8

As you fight today, I shall take the lives of you all! / Having slain you here today along with your followers, and having offered [you] as an oblation,

7.9.p9

I shall become free from debt to my brother who was killed by you through deceit!" / Having spoken thus, drawing his strong bow, the valiant one / pierced [Indra] on the forehead with five sharpened arrows, O Vyāsa.

7.9.p10

Pierced by him on the forehead with five arrows, the king of the gods / shone like Mount Meru surrounded by the rays of the sun.

7.9.p11

Then, as [Hiraṇyākṣa] was moving about, Śakra cut his bow, / and taking his thunderbolt, he struck him again.

7.9.p12

From that powerful blow, he saw the directions blazing. / Taking up another bow, he drew it once more.

7.9.p13

The king [Indra] cut that as well, and likewise another one again. / Then, seizing a spear, [Hiraṇyākṣa], enraged, hurled it. / As it flew toward him, blazing at its tip, terrible like the sister of Death, / the king cut it down with his thunderbolt; and that was like a wonder.

7.9.p14

Raising another splendid mace, Hiraṇyākṣa then / rushed forward with speed, like an enraged lion against an elephant. / As he was charging, the king quickly cut into many pieces his gold-adorned mace, / just as an unbeliever [destroys] righteousness and wealth. / Then Vipracitti, Śini, Bāṣkali, / Maya, Śambara, and the Dānava Asilomā,

7.9.p15

Tāra, Kāraka, and Indradamana, / Kālanemi, Ṣaṇḍa, Vipāka, Pāka, / Ilvala, Namuci, Vātāpi, and Kālamuñjika— / all these masters of great sorcery rushed against the lord of the gods.

7.9.p16

As they were charging, the Rudras and Ādityas, filled with wrath, / checked them, like powerful lions [checking] elephants in a desolate wilderness. / A most dreadful battle took place between them, / like that of rutting tuskers clashing with one another in a forest.

7.9.p17

There, the Āditya named Aṃśa, mounted on a chariot rumbling like a cloud, / drew his bow, O Vyāsa, and rushed toward the Dānavas. / He [struck] Vipracitti with ten [arrows], Śini with five, / Bāṣkali in battle with three, and Maya with five; / Śambara with twenty, and likewise Asilomā, / Tāra, Tāraka, Ilvala, and Namuci...

7.9.p18

[Vātāpi], Indradamana, Vipāka, and Pāka, / Kālanemi, Ṣaṇḍa, and likewise Amīsṛmuñjika— / each of these he pierced with ten arrows. / And as they drew [their bows] in battle, the swift-handed deity, the Āditya, / severed their bows all at once and let out a roar. / Then against their steeds, divine charioteers, and flags of victory, / as though laughing, O best of brahmins, he struck many blows with his arrows. / With their horses slain, those great archers, their drivers killed everywhere, / drew their swords and all rushed toward Aṃśa with speed. / As they were [rising] like mountains incarnate and roaring like thunderclouds, / the Āditya, unperturbed, filled them with arrows right up to their knees. / Their ankles and knees pierced with shafts, those Dānavas, / abandoning Aṃśa, then fled in haste toward another direction.

7.9.p19

Then the gods raised a great noise of musical instruments, / loud lion-roars, and plenty of arm-slapping sounds. / Lord Aṃśa, having drawn his bow that resembled the rainbow, / wrought a great slaughter among the Dānavas and Daityas.

7.9.p20

Aṃśa, the foremost among striking warriors, / felled the heads of the Dānava lords like a wind [shaking down] ripe fruits.

7.9.p21

Some, decapitated with arrows by Aṃśa, ran on; / having fled with speed from the battle, they fell lifeless to the ground.

7.9.p22

Others of great strength, their arms and thighs cut off, / fell down and groaned terribly like men dwelling in hell.

7.9.p23

Their entire limbs covered in arrows, bound in knots of arrows, / they wandered here and there like embodied souls in the cycle of existence (saṃsāra).

7.9.p24

[Apparatus readings]

7.9.p25

There was no mighty Daitya or Dānava there / whom the fierce shafts of the noble-souled Aṃśa did not pierce. / Just as a forest of bandhujīva trees or of aśoka and kiṃśuka trees appears ablaze in flower, / so shone the Daitya army [covered in red blood]. / 'This is Aṃśa! This is Aṃśa!' 'No, not this one—this one!' / Stricken with fear, the Daityas saw everything as consisting of Aṃśa alone. / He, his bow continuously drawn like the sun enveloped in a halo, / pierced each Daitya with winged arrows wherever he saw him. / Neither taking up [an arrow] nor setting it on the string, / nor drawing the bow was Aṃśa seen to do by the Daityas and Dānavas. / His great bow was seen only as a continuous circle; / he appeared in battle then like the midday sun. / Wielding a divine bow, swift-handed and mighty, his bow ever formed into a great circle, / he burned his enemies in battle like fire stirred by the wind [burns] a vast heap of dry fuel. / Thus ends the eighty-first chapter in the [battle narrative of the] Skandapurāṇa.

7.9.p26

Sanatkumāra said: / Seeing those Daitya lords being driven here and there in that manner by Aṃśa, / Bala of great magical power said this to his charioteer: / 'Take me to where this wicked Aṃśa is burning our army, / until with sharp arrows I send him to the abode of Yama.' / Even as he was rushing forward, Aṃśa, the foremost among striking warriors, / severed his flag with an arrow and then his horses one by one.

7.9.p27

And with a broad-headed arrow he swiftly brought down the driver's head from his body, / and struck Bala himself on the forehead with five arrows. / Those five arrows shone on the Daitya's forehead / like the rays of the sun emerging from within a dense cloud. / Then the Daitya, an archer, leaped into the sky in anger;

7.9.p28

O Vyāsa, that mighty one showered Aṃśa with many arrows. / As a cloud [showers] heavy rain, [and …] lightning, / as the sun [showers] rays, and as the moon [showers] dew, / so that Dānava, Bala, foremost among striking warriors, out of pride / showered Aṃśa with sharp, vital-piercing arrows. / And that lord of the Dānavas repeatedly severed his flag, / made his horses struck down with his speed, and left him without a charioteer, / and shattered his bow with many arrows […].

7.9.p29

Just as he did to Aṃśa, he did to other deities as well, / rendering them incapable of effort; that master of great illusion roared aloud. / In some places resembling Bṛhaspati (Gīṣpati), in some places like the sun, / in some places resembling the moon and fire, and in some places equal to planets and stars, / in some places like a mountain, and in some places assuming the form of a vulture, / in some places entering the sky, invisible, he loosed his arrows. / Their limbs crowded with arrows, cut, pierced, and torn open, / the entire army of the gods appeared stunned, as though dumb.

7.9.p30

Devoid of the sound of musical instruments, lacking the neighing of horses, / without the trumpeting of elephants, [filled only with] the fierce cries of exhausted warriors, / motionless, that army appeared as if depicted in a painting.

7.9.p31

Whichever god in that army looked upward, / the mighty Bala pierced his face with arrows […]. / […] / And they became devoid of motion, like those standing on the path to liberation.

7.9.p32

Seeing them all sinking thus in the great ocean of [the demon] Bala, / Vāyu, Jayanta, Pūṣan, and Bhaga, endowed with immense strength,

7.9.p33

roaring aloud, warded off those arrows of Bala. / O highly fortunate one, Vāyu [seized] his arrows rising like clouds,

7.9.p34

and the mighty one carried them off as he released them, was releasing them, and after they were shot. / Bhaga severed his divine bow as if smiling, / and likewise Pūṣan his armor, and Jayanta his two quivers; / […]

7.9.p35

The gods, resplendent as the sun, tormented him with sharp arrows. / Then, being oppressed by the gods, the mighty best of Dānavas,

7.9.p36

of fierce prowess, fought with trees born in the forest, O Vyāsa. / Those splendid trees thrown in many ways by Bala then,

7.9.p37

the chiefs of the deities sawed through with arrows. Thereupon he approached a mountain, / and seizing a huge peak, filled with deer, wild beasts, and Kinnaras,

7.9.p38

he hurled it, raising a tremendous, exceedingly dreadful roar. / As it was thus falling with speed, the powerful Wind forcibly

7.9.p39

carried off that peak, and it fell right upon the heads of the Asuras. / Then, one crore of the valiant Dānavas in battle

7.9.p40

that mountain peak, released by Bala with a loud roar, crushed. / Seeing those sons of Diti, the Dānavas, slain by that peak,

7.9.p41

and seeing those fierce gods, they broke in their thousands— / in chariots, on horses, on elephants, and likewise the foot soldiers. / Others, abandoning their mounts, desiring life at that moment, / uttering loud cries, fled in their thousands. / Approaching them as they fled then, that Dānava Hiraṇyākṣa, / and the Danuja Vipracitti, and the mighty Prahlāda,

7.9.p42

Maya, the Daitya Andhaka, and Tāraka, the tormentor of Śakra, / spoke to all the Dānavas and Daityas who were overwhelmed with fear:

7.9.p43

"Ho, ho, tigers among Dānavas and Daityas, enemies of the gods! / Why do you flee? Halt! Let there be no fear for you, Dānavas! / Where will you go, Dānavas, and will you find happiness or not? / These gods of great strength, not recognizing their strength formerly, / did not crush those abiding in Pātāla, nor the best of Asuras; / [now] will the lowest of their race destroy you without remainder, even in Pātāla?

7.9.p44

Do not go! Turn back! Strive to protect yourselves in every way / by fighting well, Daityas! Have no fear here for your life!

7.9.p45

Where has your Danuja-hood gone? Where has your Daitya nature gone? / And where has your enmity with the gods gone? Where has the seizing of the kingdom gone?

7.9.p46

That courage, that pride of yours, that lineage and noble birth of yours, / and whatever roaring was yours formerly—the time for that has now arrived!

7.9.p47

You said then, 'Daityas, we are not children! / We individually are capable even of destroying the gods!'

7.9.p48

The time for that has arrived today here! Why do you flee? / All that former roar of yours, I understand it well from this point on!

7.9.45

Like autumn clouds, Daityas, do not disperse here in vain out of fear! / Turn back, you who know unrighteousness, and fight, having made your resolve! / Behold the great deed of me and my son, you lowest of the race! / I am the illustrious Hiraṇyākṣa, son of Kaśyapa, O Dānavas! / And this Andhaka is my son, auspicious, granted a boon by Brahmā. / Whatever was the prowess of Hiraṇyakaśipu, O best of Asuras, / twice as much belongs to me; behold it without apprehension! / And today, behold all these gods slain by me, O Dānavas, / if all the gods stand before me in battle! / Today, when the enemies of the Asuras are slain, the three worlds untroubled, / free from distress, you will enjoy happiness along with me as Indra, O best of Asuras! / Let there be no fear for you here today; just as righteous men stand firm, / so stand watching me and my son in battle!"

7.9.45_49

Sanatkumāra said: / Addressed in this manner, O best of brahmins, like elephants prodded by goads, / they all turned back again, heavily covered with shame. / With their lotus faces concealed by umbrellas, their faces pale and filled with shame, / they could not stand before the face of that king, like small, distressed fish in water before a Timi whale. / Thus ends the eighty-second chapter, named 'The Rebuking of the Asuras,' in the battle [section] of the Skandapurāṇa.

7.9.45_50

Sanatkumāra said:
Then, O Vyāsa, those Dānavas, turning back at the front of battle,
created an irresistible rush, like rivers into the ocean. (1)

7.9.45_51

Prahrāda and Anuhrāda, Śini and Bāṣkala,
Virocana, Bali, Bāṇa, and another Bali, the tormentor of the gods; (2)

7.9.45_52

Vipracitti and Ṣaṇḍa, Hrada and Śatodara,
the Asura Yama, Vyaṃsa, Śatāvarta, and Hutodara; (3)

7.9.45_53

Keśin, Namuci, and the Asura Indradamana,
Maya, Mura, Tārakākṣa, Vidyunmālin, and Prabhākara; (4)

7.9.45_54

Tāra, Tāraka, Baka, and the renowned Āṭi,
Mūka, Kubha, and Kārtasvana and Mahārava; (5)

7.9.45_55

Vātāpi and Ilvala, as well as Ilvaka and Balvala,
Ketu and Śataketu, and Rāhu and Svarbhānu; (6)

7.9.45_56

Śambara and Namuci, and Kālaśambara,
Dundubhi, Mahiṣa, and Śatadundubhi; (7)

7.9.45_57

Kālanemi, Vipāka, Pāka, and Duryodhana,
Hastin, Sunda and Nisunda, Śarabha, and Kāla; (8)

7.9.45_58

Vṛṣaparvan, Śatākranda, Śatāvarta, and then Dhenuka,
Pralamba, Baka, Gaja, and Hālāhala; (9)

7.9.45_59

and the renowned Saiṃhikeyas, the Paulomas, the sons of Kālakā,
the Nivātakavacas, and the hosts of Bāleya; (10)

7.9.45_60

all the sons of Bāṇa, the renowned Kālakhañjas,
Vṛtra, Vṛtta with his host, and other exceedingly mighty ones. (11)

7.9.45_61

O best of brahmins, the surge of that roaring army then appeared
like the great surge of the lord of the ocean rushing towards the shore. (12)

7.9.45_62

Mingled with the sound of musical instruments and abundant lion-roars,
along with the rumbling of chariot rims and horses, and the trumpeting of elephants,
that tumultuous noise, O Vyāsa, filled the three worlds.
Even the gods, fully prepared, stood ready with all their exertion. (13–14)

7.9.45_63

Their long eyes red with rage, they faced those Daityas.
[— — —] (15)
With falling swords and iron clubs [thrown] on every side,
the sky then became wondrous, as if filled with meteors. (16)
Heads split and severed by arrows and swords indeed fell onto the earth,
like ripe fruits from palm trees, O best of sages. (17)
With crowns, necklaces, armlets, and lustrous girdles,
with gold coins, silken garments, bracelets, rings, and earrings, (18)

7.9.45_64

with breastplates, combs, and curved swords of the elephants,
with fans, flywhisks, umbrellas, and gems, (19)

7.9.45_65

and with divine golden diadems, and armours of great splendor,
with heads, feet, hands, and faces of immense radiance, (20)

7.9.45_66

and with goads, elephant-blankets, and yokes bright with gold—
the battlefield shone in the night like a second sky with its stars. (21)

7.9.45_67

“Halt, halt! Where will you go from me? Today there is no escape for you.
I stand here; strike! I have no fear; stand before me! (22)
Why do you thunder in vain, like autumn clouds in the sky?
Quickly show [it] by your deeds; today your roaring is fruitless! (23)
One does not strike like this, fool! Do not look away; be firm!
Halt, halt! Where will you go, having slain my beloved son? (24)

7.9.45_68

Here I stand; today I will send you to Yama's abode!
Today, all of your unbearable […] O lowest of gods! (25)

7.9.45_69

My arrows will destroy you! Halt, halt before me!
I am a god, O lowest of Dānavas; I am not afraid in battle!” (26)

7.9.45_70

Speaking thus, thousands of warriors intent on slaying one another
fought there like rutting great elephants. (27)
Addressing one another thus, they dispatched [each other] to Yama's abode.
Siddhas and Cāraṇas, all stationed in the sky, (28)
acclaimed them, made merry, and roared like clouds:
“This Dānava slain in battle has been appointed my husband! (29)
This god is your husband; do not set your mind on another’s!
Why are you filled with greed, examining the best of the best? (30)
There is no self-selection here; read the written decree, do not hurry!
Why is your mind discontented? Be satisfied, O beautiful one! (31)
This share is allotted to you by the gods; take him and go home!”
Thus the apsarases there spoke and laughed, (32)
and they quarrelled when a warrior was slain in battle.
Listening repeatedly to that sweet chatter of theirs,
mingled with the clinking of their girdles and bangles, those warriors fought without fear,
and they made all directions resound with prancing and loud slaps. (33–34)
Resounding with musical instruments, elephant trumpeting, prancing, and furious lion-roars,
that battle shone forth, causing terror between gods and Dānavas and bringing an end to life. (35)
Thus ends the eighty-third chapter, on the battle, in the Skandapurāṇa.

7.9.45_71

Sanatkumāra said:
That foremost battle-sacrifice then took place for the sake of sovereignty.
There, the illustrious thousand-eyed god himself was the sacrificer. (1)

7.9.45_72

Along with the gods, the lord of the gods [was the sacrificer]; his arrows were considered the kuśa grass. / The diverse weapons were the sruva-ladles with which the oblation was offered.
The vital breaths were declared to be the oblation; the great-splendored fire was death. / The divine missiles were the mantras, and the heads were the sacrificial cakes.
Soma there was victory, and the Rudras were the adhvaryu priests; / the Ādityas were the ṛgvedic reciters, and the hotṛ-office was performed by the Vasus.

7.9.45_73

The god Bṛhaspati himself was the brahmā priest there, / and the two Aśvins were the slaughterers of the victim; thus did that sacrifice proceed.

7.9.45_74

The sacrificial victim there was the daitya Hiraṇyākṣa along with his followers. / Thus then did that sacrifice shine forth, the lord of coolness […] of the daityas.

7.9.45_75

Hiraṇyākṣa, the leader of the daityas and dānavas, was the sacrificer; / Vipracitti was the hotṛ, and the dānavas were the prasthātṛs.

7.9.45_76

Prahlāda was the udgātṛ, and the dutiful Śukra was the brahmā; / Indra of a thousand eyes was the victim: thus did that imperishable one sacrifice.
While that great and terrifying sacrifice was taking place, / Indra confronted the mighty daitya Hiraṇyākṣa.

7.9.45_77

The mighty Vāyu swiftly rushed against Vipracitti; / Aṃśa was engaged with Saṃvara, and Bhaga with Bala;
Pūṣan [fought] with Virocana, and then Mitra engaged with Bali; / Varuṇa [fought] together with Bāṇa, and Yama together with Andhaka;
Ilvala [fought] together with Jayanta, and the Moon together with Maya; / Rāhu [fought] with Ahirbudhnya, and Kāpālī with Śataketu;

7.9.45_78

Ajaikapāt [fought] Kālanemi, and Jvara [fought] with Kārtasvana; / Aryaman together with Prahlāda, and Dhara indeed with Anuhlāda;

7.9.45_79

Dhruva was joined in battle with Hrada, and other mighty warriors with others. / Then Hiraṇyākṣa, drawing tight his bow,
that mighty one pierced the elephant with one arrow in the frontal globe; / he struck the king of the gods with five arrows in the collarbone,
pierced the elephant with six in the forehead, and again with seven. / Struck by those arrows and shedding blood, that elephant shone
like the white king of mountains pouring forth streams of red-chalk water.

7.9.45_80

Then Śakra, enraged at him, dealt a blow / with his hundred-jointed thunderbolt upon his cheek, O Vyāsa, and roared.
Regardlessly counting that thunderbolt-stroke as merely a stroke of flowers, / that mighty lord of daityas oppressed Śakra along with his elephant.

7.9.45_81

The elephant too, pierced by him, shone as it shed blood; / it flared up in anger like fire fed with clarified butter, and trumpeted.

7.9.45_82

Summoning immense momentum and urged by the goad, / it swiftly seized Hiraṇyākṣa's chariot by its chariot-pole.

7.9.45_83

Grasping it and lifting it up, that best of elephants hurled it, / like [a serpent] with white coils lifting a cloud-capped peak of Mount Meru.
Moving swiftly for an instant and falling, that excellent chariot looked / like the sun in his chariot of old when struck by Svarbhānu.
Then, as Hiraṇyākṣa's chariot came to rest properly upon the ground, / the elephant quickly came back, O best of sages, wishing to seize it again.
With outstretched trunk, stiffened gaze, ears, and tail, the tusker / charged with speed like Garuḍa against a serpent.
Seeing him rushing on with speed, that best of asuras / then whirled him around in the air, like Garuḍa [whirling] a serpent.

7.9.45_84

As he wheeled him in a circle, the elephant likewise / circled around, with stiffened gaze, ears, and tail, and outstretched trunk.

7.9.45_85

A cry of woe went up, and also cries of 'Bravo! Bravo!' / in both armies of the gods and daityas, and then they fell silent as mutes.

7.9.45_86

And there were cries from others: 'Well done, Daitya!' and 'Hiraṇyākṣa!' / Riding on the shoulder of the elephant, the whirling lord of the divine host shone,

7.9.45_87

as if a winged mountain mounted on a fierce buffalo. / And having whirled [the elephant] three times, the great asura, the lord of daityas Hiraṇyākṣa,

7.9.45_88

set the elephant down swiftly, as it were, and stood in his chariot, full of might. / Fighting on, the lord of daityas drew tight his bow,
and surrounded the king of gods on all sides with sharp arrows. / Then, O Vyāsa, struck by those arrows in vital joints,
[Indra] shattered his armor into a hundred pieces with the thunderbolt, / and severed all the harnesses of his horses.

7.9.45_89

The reins in the charioteer's hands and the golden whip, / the valiant Śakra cut into many pieces, smiling as it were.

7.9.45_90

With their harnesses severed, his horses galloped off at will. / Leaping down, Hiraṇyākṣa struck with his mace

7.9.45_91

the elephant and the lord of gods, and that great asura [struck] with his sword. / Stunned by that blow, that elephant abandoned that excellent chariot,

7.9.45_92

Discharging dung and urine, O Vyāsa, the mighty [elephant] then dashed away, / trampling and roaring, shaking the best of the gods.

7.9.45_93

Struck by the sword, the mighty king of the gods / did not feel distress in the battle, nor […]

7.9.45_94

[Critical apparatus and page break]
Unable to endure that, the mighty [god], having been battered in battle by Hiraṇyākṣa the tormentor, / departed on the elephant that had been struck by the lord of the Dānavas and reeked of flowing rutting-juice.
Thus ends the eighty-fourth chapter on the battle, in the Skandapurāṇa.

7.9.45_95

Sanatkumāra said: / The Dānavas’ son Vipracitti, of great illusions, showered Vāyu / with many swift arrows, just like a cloud bearing water with rain. / Covering [him] then, O Vyāsa, bending his bow into a circle, / he shot sharp-pointed arrows, as the ocean [sends forth] locusts. / As streams from a cloud, as moonlight from the moon, / as rays from the sun, as snow from the snow-mountain, / so those swarms of arrows shot forth from the circled bow / of Vipracitti […]. / As those arrows flew, covering the sun, the powerful / Lord Wind swiftly hurled them down upon the Asuras. / By those arrows of that Daitya, many Dānavas were slain; / and pierced, they wailed on the earth like men dwelling in hell. / Seeing them thus slain, the great Asura Vipracitti / leaped down from his chariot and fought Vāyu in close combat. / As he was engaged in the fight, Vāyu's strength increased, / and the gods thought that Diti's son was subdued. / Then, leaping up swiftly with his mace, the mighty Hiraṇyākṣa / struck Wind firmly upon the region of the cheek.

7.9.45_96

[Critical apparatus and page break]
From that powerful blow of Hiraṇyākṣa […] / […] nothing, and from that very spot, the mighty one, / having abandoned the Dānava, quickly went to another place. / Then between Aṃśa and Śaṃbara, O best of sages, / a very great and terrible fight took place, delighting the onlookers. / As Śaṃbara rushed up, the mighty Aṃśa, quickly / displaying full lightness of hand, cut down his golden standard, / and having split his bow into five pieces, sent his horses to the abode of Yama. / Then he brought the head of his charioteer down from the body to the ground; / again he pierced him with sixty-four arrows. / The Dānava, swiftly entering a terrible darkness of illusion, / with stones, with thunderbolts, with maces, and with iron bars, / with armours, with swords, with javelins, and with iron clubs, / struck the god Aṃśa along with his chariot on the battlefield, O Vyāsa. / Seeing that great danger falling upon him from all sides, / Aṃśa, bewildered, abandoned the battle and fled elsewhere out of fear.

7.9.45_97

Bhaga approached Bala in a chariot rumbling like a cloud; / saying to that Daitya, “Halt, halt!”, he pierced him with a feathered arrow. / Taking up an arrow, the great Asura car-warrior Bala / quickly pierced Bhaga through the palm of the hand and roared. / Then, approaching him as if laughing in illusion, / he struck him on the chest with his foot and returned again to his own chariot. / Seeing that agility, valour, composure, and courage of his, / all the gods and Asuras praised him, crying, “Well done! Well done!”

7.9.45_98

[Critical apparatus and page break]
Bhaga too, filled with shame at being struck by his foot, / then with a club reduced his horses, chariot, and charioteer / to nothing but a name, and roared like a cloud. / But Bala, having abandoned that crushed chariot together with the horses, / standing on the ground, the powerful one cut through Bhaga’s divine bow. / Then he struck him on the forehead with a reed-arrow, / and again, O Vyāsa, he pierced his hands with seven shafts. / And as he grasped [another] bow, Bala cut it away from his back. / Then Bhaga seized yet another and another; / [then] a club, root of death, destroying everything, blazing like fire. / Saying to him, “You are slain!”, he hurled it to destroy Bala. / As that club flew, Bala, the bull among Dānavas, / stopped it with arrows, as Nandī [subdued] his own death. / Then, seeing the club thwarted, that powerful Asura again / struck Bhaga on the head with the tip of his bow; / and seizing the chariot together with the charioteer by the pole again,

7.9.45_99

he hurled it to the south, like the wind [hurling] a mountain into the sea. / Enraged in the battle, the god Pūṣan pierced Virocana / with many swift arrows, and he struck back at him / with seven sharp shafts, arrows piercing the vitals. / Enraged, the mighty Pūṣan thus drew his great bow / […]

7.9.45_100

[and] released [an arrow], terrible, bringing an end to life, radiant as the sun at the end of an era, / aiming at the enemy, and spoke: “You are destroyed!”

7.9.45_101

[…]
Seeing it rushing forward, roaring manifoldly, illuminating all the directions,
vomiting meteors and sparks, swooping down swiftly upon the enemies,
that great lord of asuras, leaping down upon seeing it shining like the sun
and deeming it unendurable, abandoned his chariot, entered the sky, and stationed himself there.
Having swiftly turned his charioteer, the formidable chariot, and his excellent, all-traversing weapons into ash like fire,
that divine weapon of invisible form departed into the sky.
Thus ends the eighty-fifth chapter in the War in the Skandapurāṇa.

7.9.45_102

Sanatkumāra said:
Then that dānava Virocana, whose chariot had been burned, standing in the sky,
swiftly drew his sword and, full of valor, cut down all the sharp arrows
of Pūṣan as they flew toward him, and his bow as well;
and then he struck him once more on the head with his sword.
Under that severe blow, his head streaming with blood,
[Pūṣan] quickly fell into the chariot-box like a flagstaff after a festival.
Seeing him fallen, that mighty lord of daityas seized him swiftly
and hurled him at the king of the gods, roaring like a raincloud.
And Mitra pierced Bali in the collarbone region with three arrows;
with a single broad-headed shaft, Bali severed his bow.

7.9.45_103

Then with another he struck him in the heart;
stunned and as if dead, he sank down in the chariot-box.

7.9.45_104

Vyāsa, fearing death, his charioteer carried him away
as he lay despondent and fallen; then the daityas raised a shout of triumph.

7.9.45_105

[…]
Varuṇa pierced Bāṇa with a hundred arrows;
and the majestic Bāṇa, drawing five hundred bows
simultaneously in anger, shot as many arrows.
Varuṇa, swift of hand, as they were rushing toward him,
cut each one into five parts, and pierced Bāṇa with five [arrows].
Then, laughing, the mighty Varuṇa with sharp arrows
severed all his bows; that was wonderful indeed.
Then, his bows cut, the daitya hurled a club at him;
and seeing it cut down, the mighty one again discharged clubs behind it.
Fixated upon that one, he did not look out for the other clubs.

7.9.45_106

Unnoticed, all of them fell upon him;
one, crushing his crown, fell to the ground;

7.9.45_107

another knocked the terrible bow from his hands;
another hurled his firm, divine flagstaff to the ground;

7.9.45_108

another, striking the chariot, ground it into dust;
and other clubs fell on his chest, thighs, belly, and waist.

7.9.45_109

Falling, exceedingly terrible and fearsome, they caused him torment.
Thus deprived of his chariot by that wise [demon] with great effort,
Varuṇa left him and went to another battleground.
Yama approached Andhaka, who challenged him, saying, "Halt, halt!"
Then he hurled his rod against his chariot.
Having shattered his chariot into hundreds and thousands of pieces,

7.9.45_110

[…]
it returned once again to Yama's hand and stayed there just as before.
Andhaka too, abandoning his chariot, club in hand and of great strength,

7.9.45_111

charged at Yama, as if emitting fire from fury.
As he rushed forward with great speed, Yama himself, the king of the ancestors,

7.9.45_112

reduced the fierce club to ashes with his rod alone.
Then, laughing, Yama forcefully said to him:

7.9.45_113

"That which was your glory has been destroyed by me.
Now I shall also take you today to my own abode.

7.9.45_114

For I am the Lord, the cause of death for all the world.
Having incurred hostility with me, where in the end will you escape alive?

7.9.45_115

Today I will slay you; let the world be made completely firm!

7.9.45_116

Or else, having gone into captivity, go first to my city, O Andhaka!
Ahead, right there, you will see all these enemies of the gods."

7.9.45_117

Sanatkumāra said:
Then to him who was speaking thus, the fearless dānava Andhaka,
his eyes blazing like fire with rage, spoke in combat to the angered Yama:

7.9.45_118

"I am the proud Andhaka, son of Hiraṇyākṣa, destroyer of gods!
Endowed with the power of great yoga, I am no ordinary dānava.

7.9.45_119

By me, having sliced pieces of flesh of a karṣa's weight from my limbs,
the sacrificial fire was offered oblations for eight hundred and five years.

7.9.45_120

Brahmā, being pleased, granted me perpetual, auspicious immortality.
Such a one am I by name, of mighty nature, transcending death without a doubt.

7.9.45_121

You are not made to be my death, like a hare to a lion in the forest;
I, however, shall be your death—of this there is no doubt!"

7.9.45_122

[…] / "Today, having slain you, the evil-minded one who causes terror to all worlds, / I shall bring about the welfare of the three worlds—such is my resolve. // 30 // / And you, ever intent upon doing what is displeasing to the gods, ought to be slain. / Today, when you are killed, it will indeed be pleasing to them as well. // 31 // / While taking lives in the past, you never encountered / any great living being; therefore you are always fearless. // 32 // / Terrified by fear of you and therefore powerless to slay you, / the gods desire nectar and the like, and ever offer worship. // 33 // / Today, when you, the cruel one, are slain, they too will be free of adversity from the immortals' [foe]; / they will not take such delight in nectar—there is no doubt. // 34 // / Today your pride, arrogance, and the very greatness of your yoga, / I will utterly destroy along with your life-breaths at the end of your body!" // 35 // / Sanatkumāra said: / Thus rebuked by the lord of the asuras, the son of the Sun / struck the tiger among asuras upon the head with his staff. // 36 // / And Kāla struck him right upon the heart with his hand; / and Mṛtyu swiftly struck him directly upon the head with a thunderbolt. // 37 // / And Niyati threw a terrible noose around his neck; / Kṛtānta struck him upon the region of the cheek with an iron club. // 38

7.9.45_123

Struck by those unfailing [ministers] of Yama, the dānava Andhaka / felt no pain at all, just as if [struck] by a shower of flowers. // 39 // / Neither the nooses cling to him, nor the staff, nor the iron club; / and his other sharp [weapons] do not cause [him] distress. // 40

7.9.45_124

Then a roar went up from all the dānavas in every direction; / musical instruments were sounded, and Andhaka rejoiced greatly. // 41

7.9.45_125

Roused by the sound of their satisfaction and by intoxicated valour, / roaring like a cloud, O Vyāsa, he rushed straight at Yama. // 42

7.9.52

Advancing with speed, even though he was being struck by [Yama's] attendants, / he, possessing great velocity, struck Yama on the chest with his fist. // 43 // / And again he struck his buffalo upon the head with his foot. / Both of them, bewildered, having spun around for a short distance there, // 44 // / quickly abandoned Andhaka, O best of sages, and departed. / Jayanta, reaching Ilvala, pierced him with ten arrows. // 45 // / Ilvala quickly cut down his banner adorned with gems, / the harness of his horses, and his golden whip. // 46 // / Deprived of their harness, his haughty horses abandoned the chariot / and ran away neighing; Jayanta was left without a chariot. // 47 // / Abandoning his chariot, the lord, the son of Śakra, standing on the ground, / felled Ilvala's horses, charioteer, and banner. // 48 // / Then, both having lost their chariots and desiring victory over each other, / pierced each other with sharp arrows on their bows. // 49 // / Warding off the arrows loosed at each other, / warding off missiles with missiles, both roared like two oceans. // 50 // / Then the glorious son of Śakra, having found an opening against him, / cut his bow with a broad-headed arrow and roared again and again. // 51 // / That daitya, whose bow was severed, whirled a sword / radiant like blazing fire and hurled it; and he then cut that [sword] as well. // 52

7.9.53

Seizing another fallen mace adorned with gold, / having whirled it, he threw it, and it flew with great speed. // 53

7.9.58

As soon as the son of Diti cut that terrible mace with sharp-jointed arrows, / so soon did [Jayanta] cut his bow. // 54 // / Then, just as the son of Aditi took up a sword, / so soon did the daitya strike him on the chest with his left foot. // 55 // / That very foot of his the mighty Jayanta seized, / and whirled him around, roaring like a raincloud. // 56 // / Then a great cry of despair arose in the army of the asuras: / "Go, save the lord of the daityas, Ilvala, quickly!" // 57 // / And there were abundant lion-roars and sounds of conches of the gods; / musical instruments were sounded, and cries of "Well done! Well done!" arose. // 58

7.9.63

Jayanta too, like the powerful Dispenser of destiny with his discus, / whirled the lord of the daityas around, roaring like an end-of-the-aeon cloud. // 59 // / Then Hiraṇyākṣa himself, Andhaka, and Bali, / Bāṇa, Vipracitti, Śambara, and Virocana, // 60 // / and the daityas, the Kālakeyas, the Paulomas, the sons of Siṃhikā, / and the Nivātakavacas surrounded him on all sides. // 61 // / Struck violently by them with arrows, maces, / iron clubs of long pierce, and many other diverse weapons, // 62 // / being thus struck, the god Jayanta, son of Śakra, / flung him into Hiraṇyākṣa's path and rushed to where the deities were. // 63

7.9.63_126

Thus ends the eighty-sixth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the [Battle Section].

7.9.63_127

[…] / Sanatkumāra said: / Overcome with rage, Maya attacked the god Candramas / with arrows shaped like venomous serpents, roaring like a raincloud. / As he shot his arrows, Candramas, as if smiling, / split each into seven parts and pierced Maya with five. / Then with an arrow he struck him on the forehead, / and the god laughed again, inflicting shame upon him. / As he laughed, [Maya], greatly exerting himself, quickly pierced his forehead / with a heron-feathered shaft, as an obstacle [strikes] one observing a vow. / Then aiming at his banner, the god severed it while making a loud cry, / and with swords he dispatched the wheel-guards to the realm of Yama. / Seeing that dexterity of his, Maya, the foremost of Dānavas, / resorted to divine sorcery and then became Rāhu. / Becoming Rāhu, the lord of Daityas rushed upon the lord of gods, the hare-marked [Moon], / as Rāhu does, with a chariot roaring like a cloud. / Understanding that sorcery, the god born from nectar, / assailed him standing in the sky with three arrows, as if on an unordained conjunction. / But that Daitya, a master of great illusion, warding off those arrows by magic itself, / rushed at the cool-rayed [Moon], a mighty Asura. / Then, seizing by the yoke his divine chariot, radiant and steered by serpents, / the Daitya hurled it and roared aloud.

7.9.63_128

Approaching Rāhu, the eclipsing planet of the Moon, Ahirbudhnya / struck him with five arrows and brought down his banner.

7.9.63_129

[…] / Springing from his chariot, Rāhu, unchanging, crushed his bow, banner, / and horses with a club of dreadful form. / Greatly exerting himself, he seized a fiery thunderbolt adorned with a hundred bells, / like the daughter-in-law of Death, as Antaka seizes the noose of Death. / Having whirled that fierce weapon resembling Yama's rod with all his might, / he hurled it at Rāhu, as the king of clouds hurls lightning.

7.9.63_130

Blazing like a great meteor, dazzling like lightning from a cloud, / it fell upon Rāhu's head like a thunderbolt upon a mountain. / But he was not afflicted by that blow; / laughing loudly, the mighty Rāhu rushed forward with great speed, / enraged against Ahirbudhnya, as the king of birds [rushes] against serpents. / Seeing him rushing on, the lord, the foremost of gods, / stepped out of his path and went by another way, like a snake. / And the heroic Śataketu, in a chariot roaring like a cloud, / rushed at him in battle, enraged, saying, "Halt, halt!" / As he was charging, Kāpālī pierced his heart with heron-feathered arrows, / like a thunderbolt hurled at a lofty mountain peak. / His heart pierced by that Rudra, the foremost among planets / fell senseless upon his chariot, like a raised banner of Śakra. / Then a cry of "Alas, alas!" was raised by the Daityas, and cries of "Seize him, seize him!"

7.9.63_131

The gods roared like clouds, crying, "Well done, well done!" / Then Andhaka, Hiraṇyākṣa, Vipracitti, Virocana, / Śambara, Ilvala, Bāṇa, and Bali as well, / the Kālakeyas, together with the Paulomas, and the Nivātakavacas,

7.9.63_132

[…] / and many other Daityas surrounded that Rudra. / With arrows, clubs, iron bludgeons, and barbed darts, / they held back that god, threatening him again and again. / Struck by those many [foes], O best of sages, the god / swiftly retreated from the presence of the enemies of the gods. / Ajaikapād challenged the club-bearing Kālanemi, who was irresistible with his club, / the lord of Daityas, as Viṣṇu [challenged] mighty Madhu. / Those two mighty warriors, wielding clubs in their hands, skilful in combat, / moved in circular courses, intent on defeating each other, like two planets. / Then Kālanemi, enraged, [took up] his club adorned with gold, / loudly ringing with a hundred bells, wonderful as the tongue of Death.

7.9.63_133

Whirling it repeatedly, the Daitya, bellowing like a bull, / hurled it at Rudra, as Skanda hurled his spear at the mountain. / That Rudra of terrible prowess quickly dodged / [the weapon] coming like a thunderbolt hurled by Śakra upon a mountain / or like immensely powerful lightning, as Śveta [dodged] approaching Death. / And saying, "Halt, halt!", Rudra, the best of warriors, / whirled his dreadful club and brought it down upon the Daitya. / Struck on the head by that blazing club of dreadful form, / that Daitya saw all the quarters turn yellow.

7.9.63_134

Then the mighty Daitya, properly whirling his club again / and displaying manifold wheeling movements, / struck Ajaikapād with his club upon the shoulder.

7.9.63_135

And struck down by him like a mountain by a thunderbolt, / he sank into the earth, afflicted with pain; that was wondrous to behold.

7.9.63_136

And rising up with speed, that Rudra, furious and of great strength, / moving counter-clockwise while the Daitya moved clockwise in circular maneuvers,
having whirled his mace, hurled it once more upon the Daitya. / Whirled thrice by that blow, that Daitya of great strength,

7.9.63_137

steadying himself, struck Rudra once more in the belly with his mace. / Struck by that mace, like a mountain shaken by the wind,

7.9.63_138

he fell swiftly upon the ground, like Mount Śataśṛṅga in days of old. / Approaching the fallen [god], of firm vows, he seized him by the feet,

7.9.63_139

and, having swung him around, hurled him away; yet he remained immortal [and rose again]. / The fierce Rudra Jvara, foremost among warriors, struck Kārtasvana with ten sharp arrows squarely in the chest.
And Kārtasvana with an arrow cut in many pieces his blazing bow, / and pierced him again with winged shafts.
[...] Rudra also whirled his staff, which accomplishes all purposes, / and swiftly hurled it toward Kārtasvana's chariot.

7.9.63_140

As it resembled the fire at the end of an age, with the splendor of a hundred suns and fires, / [Kārtasvana] struck it with a volley of arrows, as a cloud [strikes] a mountain with rain.

7.9.63_141

Being struck by them, the staff, like a fire kindled with clarified butter, / blazed up all the more, and rushed forward swiftly.
Realizing that staff was unstoppable, the mighty Kārtasvana / abandoned his chariot with speed and stood in the sky.
And the staff, having reached the chariot with its horses, with its driver, / with its banner and pennant, reduced it to ashes and departed again.

7.9.63_142

Before the staff fell [upon the car] and reached him in his chariot, / the mighty Kārtasvana had rushed at Rudra with arrows.
Cutting down his banner and bow, and likewise the reins of the horses, / having deprived that Jvara of his chariot, he struck him on the head with his sword.
Overwhelmed by the blow of the sword, that Rudra left the enemy assembly / and quickly departed elsewhere on foot, O best of sages!
His mind bewildered by the sword blow, shining with the glow of red sandalwood paste, / leaving that enemy of foremost valor, he fled to where the army of the gods was.
Thus ends the eighty-seventh chapter, on the battle, in the Skandapurāṇa.

7.9.63_143

Sanatkumāra said: / Aryaman with many arrows struck Prahlāda, the bull among Daityas, / [and destroyed] his dread chariot, and felled his banner.
The heroic Prahlāda, abandoning that chariot, / rushed at Aryaman, just as Rāhu [rushes] at the dispenser of darkness in due season.

7.9.63_144

Aryaman struck with many arrows the enemy charging with speed and without weapons, / just as a cloud [strikes] a mountain with rain.
Paying no heed at all to the arrows, the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu, / out of wrath, pride, and arrogance, rushed forward with speed.

7.9.63_145

Seizing the pole of his gold-adorned chariot, / along with the charioteer Citra, he then roared with joy.
Anuhrāda, approaching Dhara, was pierced by him in the chest; / drawing his sword with speed, he approached Dhara's chariot.
Cutting down his banner, horses, charioteer, and bow, / and [striking] Dhara on the shoulder, he returned again to his own chariot.

7.9.63_146

By that act of the Daitya, Dhara was severely crushed. / In this way, other mighty gods were conquered / and threatened by other Daitya chiefs, yet they stood firm again for battle.
Then a chaotic battle arose between the gods and the Dānavas, / each wishing to conquer the other, bringing terror to the timid.
Then kettle-drums, conches, drums, bells, and trumpets, / jharjharas, pipes, hand-drums, and cow-horns, / were sounded in thousands within the armies of both sides, O Vyāsa.
Then flowed a river of blood, having pennants and banners for trees, / with elephants and horses for numerous crocodiles, with excellent chariots for tortoises,

7.9.63_147

with hair for abundant moss, bowstrings forming its threads, / clanging weapons for frogs, fine silk cloths and parasols for foam,

7.9.63_148

turbans for excellent swans, hands, feet, and heads for stepping stones, / necklaces and armlets for sand, and diadems for blooming lotuses,

7.9.63_149

with fat, blood, and phlegm for mud, destroying vital breath and life— / a dread river surged forth, carrying away elephants, horses, and chariots.
In it, rākṣasas bathed, drank, and took delight, / and various beings danced, striking terror into the faint-hearted.

7.9.63_150

Vultures, jackals, dogs, cats, and crows / rejoiced as they devoured eyes, hands, feet, and entrails.
"This elephant's foot is mine! This strip of fat is mine! / And this hand is mine, bright, and this arm dripping with blood!
This is mine, this is not yours! Seize it, look!"— / thus did those cruel flesh-eaters quarrel there.

7.9.63_151

[Variant readings]
498
And other great chariot-warriors, abandoning their slain bodies there, / departed in aerial chariots crowded with women to the assembly of Brahmā. // 20
Others of sinful deeds, being struck down by those blinded by wrath, / fell into terrible hell, wailing again and again. // 21
Some making a cry of distress, [...] tormented, / men died in the battle by hundreds, then by thousands. // 22
Some biting blades of grass, and others crying, “O brother! O son!”, / people terrified in their distress yielded up their lives. // 23
With lips bitten tight, some great chariot-warriors among gods and asuras, / their vital points collapsed by arrows, fell onto the earth like trees. // 24
Jackals howled inauspiciously, and rākṣasas uttered loud laughter, / and men let out cries of pain, as did elephants and horses. // 25
And there were lion-roars of the heroes, and abundant clappings of arms, / the twang of bows being drawn, and the sounds of musical instruments. // 26

7.9.63_152

Then Indra, the lord of wealth [Kubera], Yama, and powerful Kāla, / Varuṇa, the Maruts, and the Viśvedevas all together, // 27

7.9.63_153

Mitra, Jayanta, Bhaga, Pūṣan, Aryaman as well, / and the Rudra who is Kāpālin, and the Vasus of mighty strength, // 28

7.9.63_154

Nāsatya and Dasra [the Aśvins], and the Pṛśnis, the best among the gods— / these and other foremost deities endowed with strong arms, // 29
mighty as they were, launched an assault upon the force of the Dānavas, / roaring like oceans, like fires at the end of an eon, // 30
like untimely tempests, and like great mountains, / bellowing like bulls, like huge elephants, // 31

7.9.63_155

[Variant readings]
499
seizing like crocodiles, tearing like makaras, / raining down like clouds, and roaring like lions, / all resisted the army of the Dānavas with sheer momentum. // 32
Struck by the onrush of the gods, that striving army of the Danus and Dānavas / became supportless, overwhelmed, like grass caught in the mouth of fire. // 33
Thus ends the eighty-eighth chapter in the battle of the Skandapurāṇa.
Sanatkumāra said:
For the sake of protecting those who were driven back by that assault, broken, and again tormented, / Hiraṇyākṣa of exceedingly blazing eyes stepped forth. // 1
And Andhaka, possessor of great illusion, and his brothers equal to him, / a hundred thousand chariots belonging to all those who never fled, // 2
and Prahlāda with his brothers, the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu, / Vipracitti with his brothers, and together with the Saiṃhikeyas— // 3

7.9.63_156

roaring 'Seize them! Seize them!', they then advanced against the gods. / Between them and the gods a most terrible battle took place, // 4
like that of crocodiles in the water, or of elephants in the forest. / Indra, Tvaṣṭṛ, and Pūṣan checked Hiraṇyākṣa. // 5
Joining together, they struck all his vital points with sharp arrows. / But as those heaven-dwellers discharged them, their wondrous bows // 6
the glorious lord of daityas paralyzed through the power of his illusion. / Paralyzed then by the daitya through illusion, // 7
they did not bend as before; thereupon they were perturbed. / That daitya too, of great illusion, roaring with the sound of a cloud, // 8

7.9.63_157

[Variant readings]

7.9.63_158

500
bound their limbs on all sides through the illusion of his weapons. / And seeing them bound and rendered helpless, though of mighty strength, // 9

7.9.63_159

the charioteers quickly carried them away from that field of battle with their mounts. / Then Kāla, Yama, the lord of wealth [Kubera], and Mitra, // 10

7.9.63_160

Varuṇa, all the Vasus, and the two Aśvins of mighty strength, / grasping their weapons, enraged, shouting 'Halt! Halt!', // 11

7.9.63_161

rushed with speed against Hiraṇyākṣa, the great asura. / As they attacked in battle, that daitya, maddened by anger, // 12

7.9.63_162

pierced the armors of all of them in the fight with sharp arrows. / All of them, their armors pierced, their faces blazing with wrath, // 13

7.9.63_163

then unleashed foremost, irresistible weapons.

7.9.63_164

Yama hurled his staff against him, and likewise Kāla [...] // 14

7.9.63_165

the lord of wealth his terrible thunderbolt, and Varuṇa his noose, / Bhaga his terrible club, and other immortals [hurled] others. // 15

7.9.63_166

Laughing, that undaunted daitya paralyzed them / with arrows piercing the vital points, as Bhava [Śiva] paralyzed the arm of Śakra [Indra]. // 16

7.9.63_167

Then, delighted, the great chariot-warriors among the Dānavas, / honoring the great asura Hiraṇyākṣa, raised cries of praise in unison: // 17

7.9.63_168

Others said: 'This is no wonder for the son of Diti in battle, / begotten by Kaśyapa, our king and master!' // 18

7.9.63_169

Others let out lion-roars and abundant clappings of arms, / and rejoiced, playing all manner of instruments. // 19

7.9.63_170

Thus, while the Dānavas rejoiced in the great battle, / O son of Parāśara [Vyāsa], many words of praise [...] were heard. // 20

7.9.63_171

[…] / Aware thus of their great exultation and of that defeat of the gods at that time, / Vāyu, who moves within all living beings, charged against the asuras. (21)

7.9.63_172

With a chariot measuring a thousand nalvas, / furnished with flagstaffs all around and garlanded with hundreds of banners, (22) / noisy, [driven] at speed by charioteers restrained with effort, / filling all the directions, the Shatterer suddenly appeared. (23)

7.9.63_173

Then, unperturbed, drawing [his bow], with five sharp arrows / he quickly launched [them] against the king of the daityas from a distance of a yojana from that place. (24) / And having pierced Andhaka with sixty [arrows], Vipracitti with seven, / Maya with fifty, and again with seven each (25) / daityas and dānavas, he instantly pierced them all; / then also the sons of Pulomā and the Nivātakavacas. (26) / Pierced by him with many arrows, those foremost of asuras / were cast into all directions and remained separated by yojanas. (27)

7.9.63_174

And whatever maces, clubs, and paṭṭiśas they hurled, / the lord Vāyu caused all of them to fall back upon the dānavas. (28) / Struck down and heavily beaten by the weapons they themselves had released, / uttering cries of distress, they fled in all directions. (29) / That Vāyu too, moving with tremendous speed, smashed their excellent chariots, / and moreover filled their eyes with a shower of dust. (30) / Then, terrified with fear, they did not release arrows at that time, / nor other weapons, and they stood together [helpless]. (31)

First 179 of 209 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)