॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
श्रीशुक उवाच
इति दानवदैतेया नाविन्दन्नमृतं नृप । युक्ता: कर्मणि यत्ताश्च वासुदेवपराङ्मुखा: ॥
T: Sage Shuka said:
Oh, King, the Asuras and Daityas all engaged with full attention and effort in churning the ocean, but because they were not devotees of Vasudeva, the Bhagavan, they were not able to drink the Amrutha.
Oh, King, after the Bhagavan had brought to completion the affairs of churning the ocean and feeding the Amrutha to the gods, who are His dear devotees, He left the presence of them all and was carried by Garuda to His own abode.
Seeing the victory of the gods, the Asuras became intolerant of their superior opulence. Thus, they began to march toward the gods with raised weapons.
Thereafter, being enlivened because of drinking the Amrutha, the gods, who are always at the shelter of the lotus feet of Narayana, used their various weapons to counterattack the Asuras in a fighting spirit.
तत्र दैवासुरो नाम रण: परमदारुण: । रोधस्युदन्वतो राजंस्तुमुलो रोमहर्षण: ॥
T: Oh, King, a fierce battle on the beach of the Ocean of Milk ensued between the gods and the Asuras. The fighting was so terrible that simply hearing about it would make the hair on one’s body stand on end. This came to be known as the great fight between Devas and Asuras.
Both parties in that fight were extremely angry at heart, and in enmity, they beat one another with swords, arrows and varieties of other weapons.
The sounds of the conch shells, bugles, drums, and kettledrums, as well as the sounds made by the elephants, horses and soldiers, who were both on chariots and on foot, were tumultuous.
On that battlefield, the charioteers fought with the opposing charioteers, the infantry soldiers with the opposing infantry, the soldiers on horseback with the opposing soldiers on horseback, and the soldiers on the backs of elephants with the enemy soldiers on elephants. In this way, the fighting took place between equals.
Some soldiers fought on the backs of camels, some on the backs of elephants, some on asses, some on white-faced and red-faced monkeys, some on tigers and some on lions. In this way, they all engaged in fighting.
Oh, King, some soldiers fought on the backs of vultures, eagles, ducks, hawks and bhasa birds. Some fought on the backs of timingilas, which can devour huge whales, some on the backs of sharabhas, and some on buffalo, rhinoceroses, cows, bulls, jungle cows and aruṇas. Others fought on the backs of jackals, rats, lizards, rabbits, human beings, goats, black deer, swans and boars. In this way, mounted on animals of the water, land and sky, including animals with deformed bodies, both armies faced each other and went forward.
Oh, descendant of King Pandu, the soldiers of both the gods and Asuras were decorated by canopies, colourful flags, and umbrellas with handles made of valuable jewels and pearls. They were further decorated by fans made of peacock feathers and by other fans also. The soldiers, their upper and lower garments waving in the breeze, naturally looked very beautiful, and in the light of the glittering sunshine their shields, ornaments and sharp, clean weapons appeared dazzling. Thus, the ranks of soldiers seemed like two oceans with bands of aquatics.
For that battle, the most celebrated commander-in-chief, King Bali, son of Virochana, was seated on a wonderful aerial vehicle named Vaihayasa. Oh, King, this beautifully decorated vehicle had been manufactured by the Asura Maya and was equipped with weapons for all types of combat. It was inconceivable and indescribable. Indeed, it was sometimes visible and sometimes not. Seated in this aerial vehicle under a beautiful protective umbrella and being fanned by the best of chamaras, King Bali , surrounded by his captains and commanders, appeared just like the moon rising in the evening, illuminating all directions.
Surrounding King Bali on all sides were the commanders and captains of the Asuras, sitting on their respective chariots. Among them were the following Asuras: Namuchi, Shambara, Bana, Viprachitti, Ayomukha, Dvimurdha, Kalanabha, Praheti, Heti, Ilvala, Shakuni, Bhutasantapa, Vajradamshṭra, Virochana, Hayagriva, Shankushira, Kapila, Meghadundubhi, Taraka, Cakradṛk, Shumbha, Nishumbha, Jambha, Utkala, Arishtha, Arishthanemi, Tripuradhipa, Maya, the sons of Puloma, the Kaleyas and Nivatakavacha. All of these Asuras had been deprived of their share of the Amrutha and had shared merely in the labour of churning the ocean. Now, they fought against the gods, and to encourage their armies, they made a tumultuous sound like the roaring of lions and blew loudly on conch shells. Balabhit, Lord Indra, upon seeing this situation of his ferocious rivals, became extremely angry.
Sitting on Airavata, an elephant who can go anywhere and who holds water and wine in reserve for showering, Lord Indra looked just like the sun rising from Udayagiri, where there are reservoirs of water.
Surrounding Lord Indra, king of heaven, were the gods, seated on various types of vehicles and decorated with flags and weapons. Present among them were Vayu, Agni, Varuna and other rulers of various planets, along with their associates.
The gods and Asuras came before each other and reproached one another with words piercing to the heart. Then they drew near and began fighting one-to-one.
Oh, King, King Bali fought with Indra, Karttikeya with Taraka, Varuna with Heti, and Mitra with Praheti.
Yamaraja fought with Kalanabha, Vishvakarma with Maya Danava, Tvashtha with Shambara, and Surya with Virochana.
The god Aparajita fought with Namuchi, and the two Ashwini-kumara brothers fought with Vrishaparva. Surya fought with the one hundred sons of King Bali, headed by Bana, and the Chandra fought with Rahu. The god controlling air fought with Puloma, and Shumbha and Nishumbha fought the supremely powerful material energy, Durgadevi, who is called Bhadra Kali.
Oh, King Parikshit, Lord Shiva fought with Jambha, and Vibhavasu fought with Mahishasura. Ilvala, along with his brother Vatapi, fought the sons of Lord Brahma. Durmarsha fought with Manmatha, the Asura Utkala with the Matrika goddesses, Brihaspati with Shukracarya, and Shanaishcara with Narakasura. The Maruts fought Nivatakavaca, the Vasus fought the Kalakeya Asuras, the Vishvedeva gods fought the Pauloma Asuras, and the Rudras fought the Krodhavasha Asuras, who were victims of anger.
All of these gods and Asuras assembled on the battlefield with a fighting spirit and attacked one another with great strength. All of them desiring victory, they fought in pairs, hitting one another severely with sharpened arrows, swords and lances.
They severed one another’s heads, using weapons like bhushundis, chakras, clubs, ṛshtis, pattishas, shaktis, ulmukas, prasas, parashvadhas, nistrimshas, lances, parighas, mudgaras and bhindipalas.
The elephants, horses, chariots, charioteers, infantry soldiers and various kinds of carriers, along with their riders, were slashed to pieces. The arms, thighs, necks and legs of the soldiers were severed, and their flags, bows, armour and ornaments were torn apart.
Because of the impact on the ground of the legs of the Asuras and gods and the wheels of the chariots, particles of dust flew violently into the sky and made a dust cloud that covered all directions of outer space, as far as the sun. But when the particles of dust were followed by drops of blood being sprinkled all over space, the dust cloud could no longer float in the sky.
In the course of the battle, the war field became strewn with the severed heads of heroes, their eyes still staring and their teeth still pressed against their lips in anger. helmets and earrings were scattered from these severed heads. Similarly, many arms, decorated with ornaments and clutching various weapons, were strewn here and there, as were many legs and thighs, which resembled the trunks of elephants.
Many headless trunks were generated on that battlefield. With weapons in their arms, those ghostly trunks, which could see with the eyes in the fallen heads, attacked the enemy soldiers.
King Bali then attacked Indra with ten arrows and attacked Airavata, Indra’s carrier elephant, with three arrows. With four arrows he attacked the four horsemen guarding Airavata’s legs, and with one arrow he attacked the driver of the elephant.
Before Bali's arrows could reach him, Indra, King of heaven, who is expert in dealing with arrows, smiled and counteracted the arrows with arrows of another type, known as bhalla, which were extremely sharp.
When King Bali saw the expert military activities of Indra, he could not restrain his anger. Thus he took up another weapon, known as shakti, which blazed like a great firebrand. But Indra cut that weapon to pieces while it was still in Bali’s hand.
Thereafter, one by one, King Bali used a lance, prasa, tomara, ṛasṭis and other weapons, but whatever weapons he took up, Indra immediately cut them to pieces.
My dear King, King Bali then disappeared and resorted to Asuric illusions. A giant mountain, generated from illusion, then appeared above the heads of the god soldiers.
From that mountain fell trees blazing in a forest fire. Chips of stone, with sharp edges like picks, also fell and smashed the heads of the god soldiers.
Scorpions, large snakes and many other poisonous animals, as well as lions, tigers, boars and great elephants, all began falling upon the god soldiers, crushing everything.
O my King, many hundreds of male and female carnivorous Asuras, completely naked and carrying tridents in their hands, then appeared, crying the slogans “Cut them to pieces! Pierce them!”
Fierce clouds, harassed by strong winds, then appeared in the sky. Rumbling very gravely with the sound of thunder, they began to shower live coals.
A great devastating fire created by King Bali began burning all the soldiers of the gods. This fire, accompanied by blasting winds, seemed as terrible as the Samvartaka fire, which appears at the time of dissolution.
Thereafter, whirlpools and sea waves, agitated by fierce blasts of wind, appeared everywhere, before everyone’s vision, in a furious flood.
While this magical atmosphere in the fight was being created by the invisible Asuras, who were experts in such illusions, the soldiers of the gods became morose.
Oh, King, when the gods could find no way to counteract the activities of the Asuras, they wholeheartedly meditated upon the Bhagavan, the creator of the universe, who then immediately appeared.
तत: सुपर्णांसकृताङ्घ्रिपल्लव: पिशङ्गवासा नवकञ्जलोचन: ।
अदृश्यताष्टायुधबाहुरुल्लसच्छ्रीकौस्तुभानर्घ्यकिरीटकुण्डल: ॥
T:The Bhagavan, whose eyes resemble the petals of a newly blossomed lotus, sat on the back of Garuda, spreading His lotus feet over Garuda’s shoulders. Dressed in yellow, decorated by the Kaustubha gem and the goddess of fortune, and wearing an invaluable crown and earrings, the Supreme Lord, holding various weapons in His eight hands, became visible to the gods.
As the dangers of a dream cease when the dreamer awakens, the illusions created by the jugglery of the Asuras were vanquished by the transcendental prowess of the Bhagavan as soon as He entered the battlefield. Indeed, simply by remembrance of the Bhagavan, one becomes free from all dangers.
दृष्ट्वा मृधे गरुडवाहमिभारिवाह आविध्य शूलमहिनोदथ कालनेमि: ।
तल्लीलया गरुडमूर्ध्नि पतद् गृहीत्वा तेनाहनन्नृप सवाहमरिं त्र्यधीश: ॥
T: Oh, King, when the Asura Kalanemi, who was carried by a lion, saw that the Bhagavan, carried by Garuda, was on the battlefield, the Asura immediately took his trident, whirled it and charged it at Garuda’s head. The Bhagavan, Sri Hari, the master of the three worlds, immediately caught the trident, and with the very same weapon, He killed the enemy Kalanemi, along with His carrier, the lion.
Thereafter, two very powerful Asuras named Mali and Sumali were killed by the Supreme Lord, who severed their heads with his Chakra. Then Malyavan, another Asura, attacked the Lord. With his sharp club, the Asura, who was roaring like a lion, attacked Garuda, the lord of the birds, who are born from eggs. But the Bhagavan, the Original Person, used His Chakra to cut off the head of that enemy also.
॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
