Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.210

c8.210

4) Devāsura Yuddha. It was a dreadful war. Mahiṣa himself appeared on the scene of battle. He struck at Indra with his mighty club. Before he received the blow, Indra broke the club with his Thunderbolt. The Asura named Andhaka encountered Mahāviṣṇu. The five arrows of that Asura were broken to pieces by Mahāviṣṇu in the sky itself. Then they started a terrible fight with various weapons such as sword, spear, axe, discus etc. It lasted for about 50 days without a break. Bāṣkala fought against Indra, Mahiṣa against Rudra, Trinetra against Yamadharma, Mahāhanu against Śrīda, and Asilomā against Pracetas. In the course of the battle, Andhaka, struck a blow at Garuḍa with his cudgel. Garuḍa, the vehicle of Viṣṇu was stunned by the blow, but Viṣṇu restored his energy by stroking him gently with his right hand. After that he took up his bow Śārṅga and tried to kill Andhaka with a shower of arrows. But the Daitya warrior countered all of them with 50 arrows which he shot at Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu smashed all of them and sent his destructive weapon “Sudarśana Cakra” against Andhaka. Without the slightest fear, Andhaka stopped it with his own Cakra weapon and kept Viṣṇu’s weapon at bay and shouted in triumph. Finding that Viṣṇu’s weapon had failed and hearing the scornful shout of Andhaka, the Devas were filled with panic. At this critical moment, Viṣṇu took up his club “Kaumodakī” and rushed into the midst of the Asuras and struck Andhaka with it. Under the blow, the Asura hero reeled and fell down unconscious. At his fall, Mahiṣa himself rushed forward to Viṣṇu with a terrible roar. Then there ensued a bitter fight between Viṣṇu and Mahiṣa. Each began a shower of arrows on the other. But a single arrow injured either. In the thick of the battle Viṣṇu struck a blow on Mahiṣa’s head and he dropped down unconscious. But ere long the Dānava rose up and taking up his iron pestle aimed a mighty blow at Viṣṇu’s head and brought it down with deadly effect. Under the blow, even Viṣṇu fell unconscious on Garuḍa’s back. Viṣṇu’s condition made Garuḍa withdraw from the scene of battle temporarily, with Viṣṇu on his back. Indra and the other gods began to cry aloud. Śiva, who saw this desperate plight of the Devas, at once came to the battlefield, carrying his trident, ready to fight against Mahiṣa. When he tried to pierce the Asura’s chest with his trident, the latter thwarted the blow with his own lance and aimed it at Śiva’s breast. Although it actually hit him, Śiva disregarded it and gave another thrust to Mahiṣa with his trident. By this time Mahāviṣṇu had recovered from his swoon. At once he returned to the field of battle and joined Śiva in his attack on Mahiṣa. When Mahiṣa saw that Śiva and Viṣṇu were launching a combined attack against him, in his wild fury he assumed his own buffalo form and lifting up his tail and shaking his head rushed towards his mighty adversaries. With his terrible horns he lifted up mountain peaks and hurled them at the enemy. But the Deva leaders stopped them with their shower of arrows. Viṣṇu sent his Cakra against him and it made the Asura chief drop down senseless. But he soon recovered and rushed forward to renew his attack with a terrible roar. Viṣṇu then sounded his divine conch "Pāñcajanya" and drowned the sound of his roar. Just as the roaring of the asura frightened the Devas, the sound of Pāñcajanya struck terror in the minds of the Asuras.