He mounted the five-sounded elephant and, with great speed, set out at the head of his vast army of three hundred thousand. Not to be outdone, he quickly surrounded the opposing force with his own contingent of five hundred thousand strong and valiant warriors. Fierce battle ensued, and within the span of three watches, the powerful warriors of both sides had fallen, leaving the field strewn with the slain. At this dire moment, Dhuṃdhukāra arrived—a hero fierce and marked by auspicious signs—standing tall upon his chariot. Mounting the five-sounded elephant, Dhuṃdhukāra hastened to the king. There, he addressed the mighty and jubilant elephant named Śivadatta, renowned as the destroyer of delight. This elephant, famed in battle as Maṇḍalīka and also known as Rāmāṃśa Āhlāda, was fierce and formidable. Thus addressed, the elephant spoke swiftly to the king, saying, “Listen, O King!” No sooner had he spoken than the maddened elephant, with his own powerful tusks, charged against Paṃcaśabda. In his fury, the elephant named Rudradatta rushed at the lord of elephants. At that moment, Maṇḍalīka, uttering his five resonant sounds, swiftly approached the king. The destroyer of enemies then went on foot to where the fierce-armed Cendula was stationed. He lifted his son and went to his wife, who was deep in lamentation. Then Lakṣaṇa, wielding his excellent sword, cut down the king’s arrows and invoked his own Vaiṣṇava weapon. When his chief kinsman was slain, the king of the earth took up his bow and stood ready for combat. Overwhelmed, he fainted among the noble families, and the rising sun shone upon him like Bhagadatta himself. Seeing the king filled with terror, his enemies fled swiftly, their seed stained red with blood. The king quickly loosed an arrow, causing his foe to faint, and struck again, causing even the god to swoon. Placing the Vaiṣṇava weapon on his bow, he aimed it at Raktabīja; filled with fear and surrounded by his own men, he went to where the angry kings had assembled. Observing the enemy’s movements, the son of Ratnabhānu, accompanied by his retinue, went to the camps. In the morning, the Chandravanshi, seeing the noble ones, addressed the king, “O you of Gurjara land, together with the sons of Mūlavarman—” Thus addressed, the king advanced to the battlefield. With his ten sons and an army of a hundred thousand, he entered the fray. When all those warriors had been slain, only the two kings, with their sons and remaining forces, stood on the field. On the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, in the morning when the sun shone clear, and with Lakṣaṇa’s permission, he arrived at that dreadful field of battle. Then the king of Madra, accompanied by his ten sons, entered the conflict, and by the end of the day, all the Kṣatriyas had slain one another. Again, as the morning dawned bright, Bhagadatta, mighty in strength, appeared on the field. Seeing him, Lakṣaṇa the hero, accompanied by three hundred thousand warriors, prepared for battle. By afternoon, all the soldiers of the two kings had fallen. Lakṣaṇa, mounting his chariot, confronted the king who was the enemy of his father. Bhagadatta, enraged, rendered Lakṣaṇa chariotless by slaying his horses and charioteer, and advanced upon him. Lakṣaṇa, undaunted, shattered his opponent’s shield and cut through the armor that emerged from it. At dusk, when his adversary was slain, Lakṣaṇa, filled with urgency, pressed on. When Bhagadatta was killed, the king, overcome with wrath, sent forth his forces for battle on the very next day. Into the fray came Aṅgada, Kaliṅga, Trikoṇa, and also Śrīpati. Alongside them were Suketū and nine other kings, each leading nine thousand warriors. Seeing this formidable assembly, the heroic Lakṣaṇa gathered his own kings. King Rudravarmā arrived with ten thousand brave warriors, and Kālīvarmā, with tens of thousands, confronted Kaliṅga. Lakṣaṇa’s valiant younger brother, with tens of thousands at his side, engaged Śrīpati and, reaching King Śrītāra, waged a great and terrible battle. Vāmana, accompanied by tens of thousands, advanced against Mukuṇḍa. Thus, the tide of war surged on, each hero meeting his rival in the ceaseless struggle.