With the dawn of battle, the foremost among the Sātvatas assembled their forces into twelve divisions and surrounded the city of Bāṇa on every side, encircling it like a storm cloud. As the siege pressed in, Bāṇa looked out and saw his beloved gardens, ramparts, towers, and gateways being laid to ruin. Fury seized him, and, mustering an army equal in strength to the invaders, he strode forth, ready for war. For Bāṇa’s sake, the blessed Lord Rudra—Śiva himself—joined the fight, accompanied by his son Kārttikeya and the fierce Pramathas. Mounting his great bull Nandi, Rudra entered the fray against Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. What followed was a wondrous and tumultuous battle, hair-raising in its intensity, as Kṛṣṇa and Śaṅkara clashed in combat, while Pradyumna met Guha (Kārttikeya) on the field. Elsewhere, Kumbhāṇḍa and Kūpakarṇa faced Balarāma, Sāmba contended with Bāṇa’s son, and Sātyaki confronted Bāṇa himself. The spectacle drew the attention of the universe: Brahmā, the lords of the gods, sages, perfected beings, celestial singers, nymphs, and yakṣas all arrived in their aerial chariots to witness this cosmic conflict. Kṛṣṇa, wielding his Śārṅga bow, drove away the terrifying followers of Śaṅkara—spirits, pramathas, guhyakas, ḍākinīs, rākṣasas, and vināyakas—along with pretas, mātṛs, piśācas, kuṣmāṇḍas, and brahmarākṣasas, all scattered by his sharp arrows. The wielder of the Pināka bow, Śiva, unleashed a torrent of weapons upon Kṛṣṇa, but the Lord, undisturbed, countered each one. When Śiva hurled the Brahmāstra, Kṛṣṇa met it with his own; the Vāyavya weapon was opposed with the Pārvatāstra, the Āgneya with the Pārjanya, and the mighty Pāśupata was checked by Kṛṣṇa’s own divine weapon. Then, by means of the Jṛmbhaṇa weapon, Kṛṣṇa bewildered Giriśa (Śiva), leaving him stupefied. With sword, mace, and arrows, Śauri (Kṛṣṇa) struck down Bāṇa’s army. Pradyumna’s arrows rained upon Skanda (Kārttikeya), causing the peacock-bannered god to bleed and withdraw from the battle. Balarāma, with his plough, felled Kumbhāṇḍa and Kūpakarṇa, and their leaderless troops fled in all directions. Witnessing the devastation of his forces, Bāṇa, burning with rage, left Sātyaki behind and charged directly at Kṛṣṇa. In a frenzy, he drew five hundred bows at once, setting two arrows upon each. But Lord Hari, with perfect composure, cut down all those bows, destroyed Bāṇa’s chariot, slew his charioteer and horses, and then sounded his conch, filling the air with its mighty call. In desperation, Bāṇa’s mother Koṭarā appeared before Kṛṣṇa, naked and with her hair disheveled, seeking to protect her son. Out of respect, Kṛṣṇa averted his gaze, and Bāṇa, now bereft of chariot and bow, slipped back into the city. As the hosts of beings were routed, a fever demon with three heads and three feet—fiery and terrifying—rushed at Kṛṣṇa, as if to scorch the ten directions. Seeing this, the divine Nārāyaṇa released his own fever demon. Thus, the fever of Śiva and the fever of Viṣṇu battled fiercely. Overpowered by Viṣṇu’s fever, the fever of Śiva cried out in distress. Unable to find safety and overcome by fear, he sought refuge in Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa), praising him with folded hands: “I bow to you, O Lord of infinite power, supreme ruler, soul of all, pure consciousness, cause of creation, maintenance, and dissolution—the tranquil Brahman, the mark of Brahman. Time, destiny, action, the living being, nature, substance, field, breath, self, and transformation—all these, the flow of seed and sprout, are your illusion. I seek refuge in its negation. By your play, you take many forms, supporting gods and the virtuous, upholding the bridges of the worlds, and destroying the violent. Your birth is for the relief of the earth’s burden. I am scorched by your unbearable, fierce fever. As long as people are bound by hope, they do not worship your feet, and so their suffering endures.” The Blessed Lord replied: “O Triśiras, I am pleased with you. Let your fear from fever be gone. Whoever remembers our conversation will not fear you.” Thus comforted, the fever demon of Śiva bowed to Acyuta (Kṛṣṇa) and departed. Meanwhile, Bāṇa, having mounted a new chariot, returned to challenge Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa). Now, Bāṇa, with his thousand arms wielding many weapons, released a storm of arrows at the wielder of the discus. Again and again, the Lord cut down the weapons with his razor-edged Sudarśana discus and began to sever Bāṇa’s arms, one after another, as if lopping branches from a tree. As Bāṇa’s arms fell, Lord Bhava (Śiva), compassionate to his devotee, approached Kṛṣṇa and spoke: “You are the supreme Brahman, the highest light, hidden even within the Brahman known to words. The pure in heart see you alone, as the sky itself. Your navel is the ether, fire your mouth, water your seed, the sky your head, directions your ears, earth your feet, the moon your mind, the sun your eye, the self your soul. I am the ocean—your belly; the serpent king is your arm. Your hairs are the plants, clouds your waters, Brahmā 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; inspired by you, we comprehend the seven realms. You alone are the primordial, unique Person, the fourth beyond, self-seeing, cause and causeless. By your own power you appear, yet remain unchanged, for the manifestation of all qualities. Just as the sun, concealed by its own shadow, projects both shadow and forms, so you, hidden by your quality, illuminate all qualities and those who possess them, O boundless light of the self. Those whose minds are deluded by your maya become attached to children, spouses, homes, and so forth, and rise and sink in the ocean of misfortune. If, having obtained this human birth, one with uncontrolled senses does not honor your feet, he is to be pitied, for he deceives himself. He who abandons you—his own beloved self—and pursues the objects of the senses, is like one who forsakes nectar for poison. I, Brahmā, the gods, and the sages of pure mind, have all surrendered to you, the dearest Lord, with our whole being.” Thus, with reverence and humility, Śiva acknowledged the supremacy of Kṛṣṇa, and the great battle came to its close, the cosmic order restored through the Lord’s compassion and power.