Clad in radiant yellow silk, bearing the banner of Garuda, and adorned with a priceless crown and dazzling ornaments, Krishna shone resplendent, his makara-shaped earrings catching the light. Before him stood Paundraka, dressed in a mock imitation of Krishna’s own divine appearance, like an actor on a stage. Seeing this absurd mimicry, Hari laughed heartily. The enemy kings, arrayed against Krishna, launched their attack with spears, maces, clubs, javelins, lances, darts, swords, sabres, and arrows. But Krishna, like fire at the end of an age consuming all beings, struck fiercely at the forces of Paundraka and the king of Kashi. He wielded his mace, sword, discus, and arrows, decimating their elephants, chariots, horses, and infantry. The battlefield became a dreadful spectacle, strewn with the bodies of elephants, horses, camels, donkeys, and men. Broken by the warriors, it shone like a cremation ground—a place of delight for the bold, as fearsome as the playground of the Lord of beings. Then, Śauri addressed Paundraka: “Ho, Paundraka! Since you have sent me your message, I will now relinquish these weapons to you.” He continued, “I will abandon the name you have falsely assumed of me, O fool. Today I will seek refuge with you, if I do not desire battle.” With sharp arrows, Krishna struck Paundraka, depriving him of his chariot. Then, with a chariot wheel, he severed Paundraka’s head, as Indra would cleave a mountain with his thunderbolt. In the same manner, Krishna cut off the head of the king of Kashi with arrows and cast it down in the city of Kashi, like the wind dropping a lotus bud. Having slain the envious Paundraka and his ally, Hari returned to Dvaraka, as the perfected beings sang nectar-like tales of his glory. Paundraka, who constantly meditated on the Blessed Lord, freed from all bonds and bearing the form of Hari, became absorbed in Him. When the severed head, adorned with earrings, appeared at the royal gate, the people wondered, “What is this? Whose face could this be?” Recognizing 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 my father.” With this determination, Sudakshina, together with his priest, worshipped Maheshvara with supreme concentration. Pleased in Avimukta, the Lord granted Sudakshina a boon; Sudakshina chose the means to slay his father’s killer. Maheshvara instructed him, “Worship the southern fire together with Brahmins and the officiating priest, performing the ritual of sorcery. That fire, surrounded by spirits, when employed against one who is unrighteous, will accomplish your intent.” Thus instructed, Sudakshina performed the sorcery rite against Krishna, observing the vow. From the fire-pit arose a terrifying embodied fire, with blazing copper-red hair and beard, and eyes emitting streams of flames. With fierce fangs, a dreadful brow, a harsh mouth, licking his lips with his own tongue, naked, shaking a blazing trident, and making a rattling sound, the fiery being advanced. Its feet were as large as palm trees, shaking the earth as it moved, surrounded by spirits, burning all directions as it headed for Dvaraka. Seeing this sorcerous fire approaching, the inhabitants of Dvaraka were seized with terror, like deer in a forest fire. Frightened, they approached Bhagavan, who was playing dice in the assembly hall, and cried, “Save us, O Lord of the three worlds, from the fire burning the city!” Hearing their distress and seeing his people afraid, the refuge of all smiled and said, “Do not fear; I am your protector.” The all-pervading Lord, witness within and without all, recognized the sorcerous act of Maheshvara and, to thwart it, ordered his discus, which stood 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. The weapon of Mukunda subdued the fiery being. The fiery being created by the ritual, struck down by the power of the discus-wielder’s weapon, was broken and turned back, its face defeated. Entering Varanasi, it consumed Sudakshina and his priests—the very abhicara they had performed turned upon them. Then, the discus of Vishnu entered Varanasi, with its palaces, assembly halls, and markets, crowded with gates, towers, and granaries, filled with treasuries, elephants, horses, chariots, and stores of grain. Having burned all of Varanasi, the Sudarshana discus of Vishnu once again stood by the side of Krishna, the doer of flawless deeds. Whoever, with focused mind, recites or hears this account of the exploits of the praiseworthy Lord, is freed from all sins. The king then said, “Once more I wish to hear of the wondrous deeds of Rama, the immeasurable and infinite Lord—what else did that master accomplish?” Shuka replied, “There was a certain monkey named Dvivida, a friend of Naraka, a counselor of Sugriva, and the valiant brother of Mainda. Seeking to avenge his friend, Dvivida brought ruin to the land—he set fire to cities, villages, settlements, and cowherds’ hamlets. Sometimes, uprooting mountains, he crushed regions with them—especially in Anarta, where the slayer of his friend, Hari, resided. At times, standing in the middle of the ocean, he would lift up its waters with his arms and submerge lands along the shore, possessing the strength of ten thousand elephants. He destroyed the hermitages of great sages by breaking their trees, and, wicked as he was, defiled their sacred fires with urine and excrement. Arrogant, he seized men and women and cast them into mountain caves and valleys, then crushed them with rocks as a craftsman crushes insects. Thus, as he ravaged the lands and violated noble women, he heard sweet singing and went to Mount Raivataka. There he saw Rama, the Lord of the Yadus, adorned with a garland of lotuses, beautiful in every limb, surrounded by groups of women. He saw Rama singing, his eyes unsteady from drinking Varuni, his form radiant like a mighty elephant in rut.