Hearing from the sage Nārada the troubling news that Aniruddha had been taken captive and all that had transpired, the Vṛṣṇis—those devoted to Kṛṣṇa as their very deity—were stirred to action. Without delay, they set out toward Śoṇitapura, determined to rescue their kin and uphold their honor. At the forefront marched Pradyumna, Yuyudhāna, Gada, Sāmba, Sāraṇa, Nanda, Upananda, Bhadra, and many other valiant souls—each a devoted follower of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. They were not alone; twelve mighty divisions of troops accompanied them, and together, the foremost of the Sātvatas surrounded Bāṇa’s impregnable city on all sides. From the ramparts, Bāṇa beheld his gardens, towers, and gateways being ravaged by the invaders. Consumed by fury, he mustered an army equal in strength to the Vṛṣṇis and sallied forth to meet them in battle. For Bāṇa’s sake, the blessed Lord Rudra himself, accompanied by his son and the fierce Pramathas, mounted the bull Nandi and entered the fray, confronting Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. A tumultuous and wondrous battle erupted, so fierce and awe-inspiring that it raised the hairs on one’s body. Kṛṣṇa and Śaṅkara faced each other in combat, while Pradyumna engaged Guha, the son of Śiva. Kumbhāṇḍa and Kūpakarṇa took on Balarāma; Sāmba fought with Bāṇa’s son; and Sātyaki challenged Bāṇa himself. Such was the magnitude of this battle that Brahmā and the other lords of the gods, sages, perfected beings, celestial singers, nymphs, and yakṣas descended in their aerial vehicles to witness the clash of these mighty beings. Kṛṣṇa, with his divine might, drove away the followers of Śaṅkara—spirits, pramathas, guhyakas, ḍākinīs, rākṣasas, and vināyakas—as well as pretas, mātṛs, piśācas, kuṣmāṇḍas, and brahmarākṣasas, scattering them with a hail of sharp arrows from his Śārṅga bow. Undeterred, the wielder of Pināka (Śiva) unleashed a torrent of weapons at Kṛṣṇa, the bearer of Śārṅga, but Kṛṣṇa, ever composed, countered each with his own divine missiles. The Brahmāstra was met with Brahmāstra, the Vāyavya with the Pārvatāstra, the Āgneya with the Pārjanya, and the fierce Pāśupata was neutralized by Kṛṣṇa’s own weapon. Then, by means of the Jṛmbhaṇa weapon, Kṛṣṇa bewildered Giriśa (Śiva), leaving him stupefied, and with sword, mace, and arrows, he struck down Bāṇa’s army. Pradyumna, meanwhile, assailed Skanda with torrents of arrows, causing the peacock-bannered god to bleed and withdraw from the battle. Balarāma, wielding his plough, struck down Kumbhāṇḍa and Kūpakarṇa, sending their leaderless troops fleeing in all directions. Witnessing the destruction of his own forces, Bāṇa, burning with rage, abandoned his fight with Sātyaki and charged directly at Kṛṣṇa in the heart of the battlefield. Mad with the fury of combat, Bāṇa drew his bows simultaneously, setting two arrows on each of five hundred shafts. But Lord Hari, with unmatched skill, cut down all those bows at once, slew the charioteer, shattered the chariot and horses, and then sounded his conch, filling the air with its divine resonance. At this desperate moment, Bāṇa’s mother, Koṭarā, appeared before Kṛṣṇa, naked and with her hair disheveled, seeking to shield her son from harm. Out of respect, Kṛṣṇa averted his gaze, and Bāṇa, his bow broken and his chariot destroyed, slipped back into the city. As the hosts of beings were driven away, a fever demon with three heads and three feet, blazing like fire and burning the ten directions, rushed at Kṛṣṇa, descendant of Dasarha. In response, the divine Nārāyaṇa released his own fever demon, and the fever of Śiva and the fever of Viṣṇu clashed in a terrible struggle. Overwhelmed by the might of Viṣṇu’s fever, the fever of Śiva cried out in terror. Finding no refuge elsewhere, he approached Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa), trembling, and praised him with folded hands: “O Lord of infinite power, supreme ruler, soul of all, pure consciousness, cause of creation, maintenance, and dissolution, tranquil Brahman, mark of Brahman—I bow to you. Time, destiny, action, the living being, nature, substance, field, breath, self, and transformation—this aggregate, the flow of seed and sprout, is your illusion. I seek refuge in its negation. By your play, assuming various forms, you support the gods, the virtuous, and the bridges of the worlds. You destroy those who stray by violence; your birth is for relieving the burden of the earth. I am scorched by your unbearable, fierce, and exceedingly intense fever. As long as people are bound by hope, they do not worship the root of your feet, and thus their suffering continues.” The Blessed Lord replied, “O Triśiras, I am pleased with you. Let your fear from fever be dispelled. Whoever remembers our conversation will have no fear from you.” Thus consoled, the fever demon of Śiva bowed to Acyuta and departed. Meanwhile, Bāṇa, mounting a new chariot, returned to face Janārdana in battle. Now, the demon, bearing a thousand arms and wielding many weapons, unleashed a furious storm of arrows at the wielder of the discus. Yet, again and again, the Lord cut down the weapons flying from Bāṇa’s many hands with his razor-edged discus, severing Bāṇa’s arms like branches from a tree. As Bāṇa’s arms fell, Lord Bhava (Śiva), ever compassionate to his devotees, approached Kṛṣṇa and spoke: “You are the supreme Brahman, the highest light, hidden within the Brahman expressed in words. Those with pure souls see you as the sky, alone. Your navel is the ether, fire is your mouth, water your seed, the sky your head, the directions your ears, your feet are the earth; the moon is your mind, the sun your eye, the self is your soul, I am the ocean, your belly, and the serpent king is your arm. Your hairs are the plants, the clouds are your waters, Brahmā is your hair, intelligence your creative power, Prajāpati your heart, and Dharma your essence. Truly, you are the cosmic person, the model of the worlds. This descent of yours, O unimpeded Lord, is for the protection of dharma and the welfare of the world; and we, all inspired by you, comprehend the seven realms. You alone are the primordial, unique Person, the fourth beyond; self-seeing, cause and causeless, O Lord; you appear, yet unchanged, by your own power, for the manifestation of all qualities. Just as the sun, concealed by its own shadow, projects both the shadow and forms, so you, hidden by your quality, illuminate the qualities, O boundless light of the self, and those possessing qualities. Those whose minds are deluded by your maya become attached to children, spouses, homes, and so forth, and rise and sink, engrossed, in the ocean of misfortune. Having obtained this human birth, if one with uncontrolled senses does not honor your feet, he is to be pitied, for he deceives himself.” Thus, amid the battlefield’s dust and the gods’ awe, the glory and mystery of the Lord shone forth, witnessed by all worlds.