The Battle Between the Demigods and the Demons

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King! The demons and Daityas, though engaged with full attention in churning the ocean, did not obtain the nectar because they were opposed to the Lord.

O King! After the Supreme Lord had produced nectar and given it to his devotees the devatās, he disappeared on Garuòa while everyone watched.

Seeing the superior good fortune of their enemies, the demons, unable to tolerate it, attacked the devatāṣ with raised weapons.

Thereafter, the devatās, who were under the shelter of Nārāyaṇa’s feet and were strengthened by drinking the nectar, counterattacked the demons with their weapons.

O King! A fierce, hair-raising battle took place on the beach of the ocean of milk between the devas and the demons.

Both parties, extremely angry, with hatred for each other, met on the battlefield and attacked each other with swords, arrows and a variety of other weapons.

The sounds of the conchs, horns, drums, bherīs and òamarīs as well as the sounds made by the elephants, horses, chariots and soldiers, 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 red-faced monkeys, some on tigers and some on lions. In this way, they all engaged in fighting.

śivābhir ākhubhiḥ kecit kṛkalāsaiḥ śaśair naraiḥ bastair eke kṛṣṇa-sārair haṁsair anye ca sūkaraiḥ

vātoddhūtottaroṣṇīṣair arcirbhir varma-bhūṣaṇaiḥ sphuradbhir viśadaiḥ śastraiḥ sutarāṁ sūrya-raśmibhiḥ

sarva-sāḍgrāmikopetaṁ sarvāścaryamayaṁ prabho apratarkyam anirdeśyaṁ dṛśyamānam adarśanam

dvimūrdhā kālanābho 'tha prahetir hetir ilvalaḥ śakunir bhūtasantāpo vajradaṁṣṭro virocanaḥ

Sitting on Airāvata, an elephant which can go anywhere and which holds water and wine in reserve for showering, Lord Indra looked just like the sun rising over Udayagiri with its waterfalls.

Surrounding Lord Indra were the devatās, seated on various types of vehicles and decorated with flags and weapons. Present among them were Vāyu, Agni, Varuṇa and other rulers of various planets, along with their associates.

The devatās and demons came before each other and reproached one another with words piercing to the heart. Then they began fighting in single combat.

O King! Mahārāja Bali fought with Indra, Kārttikeya with Tāraka, Varuṇa with Heti, and Mitra with Praheti.

Yamarāja fought with Kālanābha, Viśvakarmā with Maya Dānava, Tvaṣṭā with Śambara, and the sun-god with Virocana.

rāhuṇā ca tathā somaḥ pulomnā yuyudhe 'nilaḥ niśumbha-śumbhayor devī bhadrakālī tarasvinī

kāmadevena durmarṣa utkalo mātṛbhiḥ saha bṛhaspatiś cośanasā narakeṇa śanaiścaraḥ

All of these devatās and demons, engaged in single combat on the field, came close to each other, attacked, and struck each other vigorously with sharp arrows, swords and lances.

They severed one another's heads, using weapons like bhuśuṇòis,2 disks, clubs, spears, three-pointed spears, pikes, firebrands, barbed darts, hatchets, swords, lances, iron clubs, hammers and javelins.

The elephants, horses, chariots, 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, armor and ornaments were torn apart.

Because of being ground by feet of the combatants and the wheels of the chariots, particles of dust from the battlefield flew violently into the sky and covered the sky and sun. But when the particles of dust were filled with drops of blood, they fell back to earth.

In the course of the battle, the 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 thighs, which resembled the trunks of elephants.

Many headless trunks appeared on that battlefield. With weapons in their arms, those ghostly trunks, which could see with the eyes in the severed heads, attacked the enemy soldiers.

Mahārāja Bali then attacked Indra with ten arrows and attacked Airāvata, Indra's carrier elephant, with three arrows. With four arrows he attacked the four guardians of Airāvata's legs, and with one arrow he attacked the driver of the elephant.

Before Bali Mahārāja's arrows could reach him, Indra, who is expert in dealing with quick arrows, smiled and cut the approaching arrows with sharp arrows, so that they did not reach their targets.

When Bali Mahārāja saw the expert military activities of Indra, he could not tolerate the action. Thus he took up a pike blazing like a great firebrand. But Indra cut that weapon to pieces while it was still in Bali's hand.

Thereafter, one by one, Bali Mahārāja used a lance, a dart, a javelin, swords and other weapons, but whatever weapons he took up, Indra cut them to pieces.

O King! Bali Mahārāja then disappeared and resorted to demoniac illusions. A giant mountain then appeared above the heads of the devatā soldiers.

From that mountain fell trees blazing in a forest fire along with stones with sharp edges like hatchets, which smashed the enemy troops.

Scorpions, large snakes and many other poisonous animals, as well as lions, tigers, boars and huge elephants, all began falling, crushing the enemy soldiers.

O King! Many hundreds of female demons, naked and carrying spears, and many Rākṣasas as well appeared, crying "Cut them to pieces! Pierce them!"

In the sky, huge clouds, thundering with deep, cruel sound, harassed by strong winds, began to shower embers.

A huge, fierce fire created by Bali Mahārāja accompanied by blasting winds, like the fire of final devastation, began burning all the soldiers of the devatās.

The ocean with frightening waves and eddies whipped by fierce winds flooded over the shoreline on all sides.

When invisible demons who were expert at tricks created this illusion, the soldiers of the devatās lost hope.

O King! When the devatās could find no way to counteract the activities of the demons and meditated upon the Supreme Lord, the protector of the universe appeared.

The Supreme lord, whose eyes resembled the petals of a newly blossomed lotus, with his feet on Garuòa's shoulders, dressed in yellow, decorated by the Kaustubha gem and Lakṣmī, wearing an priceless helmet and earrings, and holding eight weapons, became visible.

As a dream ceases when the dreamer awakens, the illusions created the demons were vanquished by the power of the Supreme Lord as soon as he entered the battlefield. Indeed, simply by remembrance of the Lord, one becomes free from all dangers.

O King, when the demon Kālanemi, who was carried by a lion, saw that the Supreme lord, carried by Garuòa, was on the battlefield, the demon shook his trident, and discharged it at the Lord. The Lord, the master of the three worlds, easily caught the trident as it approached Garuòa’s head. With the very same weapon he killed Kālanemi, along with his carrier.

Thereafter, two very powerful demons named Mālī and Sumālī were killed by the Supreme Lord, who severed their heads with his disc. Then Mālyavān, attacked the Lord. With his sharp club, the demon, who was roaring like a lion, attacked Garuòa. But the Supreme Lord, the original person, with his disc cut off the head of that enemy who roared like a lion.