The deluded king Paundraka, blinded by ignorance and childish conceit, decided to send a message to Krishna, whose ways are inscrutable—even as a foolish boy might send word to another in Dvaraka. The royal messenger, upon arriving in the splendid city of Dvaraka, entered the great assembly and addressed Krishna, the lotus-eyed Lord, conveying the king’s message. With audacious claims, the messenger declared, “I alone am Vasudeva incarnate; there is no other. Out of compassion for the world, I have descended. You, therefore, should abandon your false claim.” He continued, “The emblems you bear—my conch, discus, mace, bow, and other marks—you wear out of ignorance, O Sātvata. Surrender these to me and seek refuge at my feet, or else prepare for battle.” Hearing these boastful and foolish words from Paundraka, Ugrasena and the entire assembly could not contain their laughter; the court rang with their mirth. Krishna, the Blessed Lord, responded with gentle humor to the messenger, saying, “Fool, I will indeed relinquish the emblems that you so proudly claim as your own.” Then, Krishna’s tone turned grave. “You will lie slain on the battlefield, your face covered, surrounded by vultures, crows, and jackals; then your only refuge will be among the dogs.” The messenger returned and faithfully reported Krishna’s words to his master. Without delay, Krishna mounted his chariot and set out for Kashi. Paundraka, the mighty chariot-warrior, upon hearing of Krishna’s advance, quickly left the city, leading two divisions of troops. His ally, the king of Kashi, followed with three more divisions, and together they prepared for war. Paundraka had adorned himself with all the marks of Krishna: he bore a conch, discus, mace, bow, the Śrīvatsa mark, the Kaustubha gem, and a garland of wildflowers. Dressed in yellow silk, with a banner of Garuda, a priceless crown and ornaments, and makara-shaped earrings, he had taken on an imitation of Krishna’s very form. When Krishna beheld Paundraka dressed as himself, like an actor on a stage, he laughed heartily at the spectacle. Then, the enemy kings launched their attack on Hari, hurling spears, maces, clubs, javelins, lances, darts, swords, sabres, and arrows. But Krishna, wielding his mace, sword, discus, and arrows, struck fiercely at the armies of Paundraka and the king of Kashi—elephants, chariots, horses, and foot soldiers fell before him, as if consumed by the fire that ends an age. The battlefield became a gruesome sight, strewn with the bodies of elephants, horses, camels, donkeys, and men, shattered by the warriors’ fury. It shone like a cremation ground, a terrifying playground for the bold, and as fearsome as the abode of the Lord of beings. Then Krishna addressed Paundraka: “Ho, Paundraka! You have spoken to me through your messenger; now I will relinquish these weapons to you.” He continued, “I will abandon the name you have falsely assumed, O fool. Today, if I do not desire battle, I will seek refuge with you.” With that, Krishna struck Paundraka with sharp arrows, destroyed his chariot, and finally, with a chariot wheel, severed his head, just as Indra would cleave a mountain with his thunderbolt. In the same way, Krishna cut off the head of the king of Kashi with his arrows and cast it down in the city, like the wind dropping a lotus bud. Having thus slain the envious Paundraka and his ally, Krishna—Hari—returned to Dvaraka, as the perfected beings sang sweet, nectar-like tales in his praise. As for Paundraka, constantly meditating on Krishna, freed from all bonds and bearing the form of Hari, he became absorbed in the Lord. Meanwhile, in Kashi, people saw a severed head, adorned with earrings, lying at the royal gate. Bewildered, they wondered, “What is this? Whose face could this be?” When they recognized it as the head of the king of Kashi, his queens, sons, relatives, and citizens wailed, “Alas, the king is slain! Our protector is gone!” Sudakshina, the king’s son, performed the funeral rites for his father and resolved, “I will destroy my father’s killer and thus honor him.” With this determination, Sudakshina and his priest worshipped Maheshvara—Lord Shiva—with supreme concentration. Pleased in Avimukta, Shiva granted Sudakshina a boon, and the prince asked for the means to slay his father’s killer. Shiva instructed him: “Worship the southern fire with Brahmins and your priest, performing the ritual of sorcery. That fire, surrounded by spirits, when directed against the unrighteous, will accomplish your intent.” Thus instructed, Sudakshina performed the rite against Krishna, observing all the necessary vows. From the sacred fire-pit arose a terrifying, embodied fire, with blazing copper-red hair and beard, eyes streaming flames, fierce fangs, a dreadful brow, a harsh mouth, and a tongue licking its own lips. Naked, shaking a blazing trident, and making a rattling sound, it stood with feet as large as palm trees, shaking the earth as it advanced, surrounded by spirits, burning all directions as it headed straight for Dvaraka. The people of Dvaraka, seeing this sorcerous fire approaching, were seized with terror, like deer trapped in a forest fire. In their fear, they rushed to Krishna, who was playing dice in the assembly hall, and pleaded, “Save us, O Lord of the three worlds, from the fire that is burning the city!” Krishna, seeing his people afraid and hearing their cries, smiled reassuringly and said, “Do not fear; I am your protector.” The all-pervading Lord, who witnesses all within and without, recognized the sorcerous act of Maheshvara. To thwart it, he ordered his Sudarshana discus, which stood ready at his side. The Sudarshana discus, blazing like ten million suns and shining with the radiance of the fire at dissolution, illuminated the sky, the directions, and the earth by its own brilliance. As the weapon of Mukunda, it subdued the fiery being. The fiery being, created by the ritual, was struck down by the power of Sudarshana and, its face defeated, turned back. Entering Varanasi, it consumed Sudakshina and his priests—the very abhicara they had performed turned upon them. Then, the discus of Vishnu entered Varanasi itself, with its palaces, assembly halls, markets, gates, towers, granaries, treasuries, elephants, horses, chariots, and stores of grain. The Sudarshana discus burned all of Varanasi, and then, its work complete, returned to stand by the side of Krishna, the doer of flawless deeds.