The king, having been struck down and fallen unconscious in the midst of battle, slowly returned to his senses. No sooner had he awakened than the foremost of magicians conjured a dazzling network of arrows with his powers of illusion, filling the sky with their deadly brilliance. Seizing an unfailing spear that shone with the radiance of a hundred suns, the magician, burning with anger, hurled it with tremendous force directly at Karttikeya. The mighty Karttikeya was struck by the spear and, overwhelmed by its power, fell unconscious upon the battlefield. But Lord Shiva, with nothing more than a compassionate glance, effortlessly revived his beloved son. Immediately, Shiva roused his own army and the assembled gods, urging them into renewed action. Indra himself joined the fray, fighting alongside Vrishaparvan. The moon, together with Dambha, engaged in a fierce and tumultuous battle. Kubera faced Kalakeya, while Vishvakarma opposed the cunning Maya. Varuna confronted the restless Kalavingka and Samīraṇa, while Jayanta took on the essence of jewels, and the Vasus fought valiantly against radiant powers. Dharma clashed with Dhanurdhara, and Maṅgala battled Maṇḍūkākṣa. Viśva engaged Palāśa, and the mighty Ādityas displayed supreme valor in combat. Even Mahāmārī entered the battle, wielding fierce weapons alongside others. Thus, all these great beings fought in the midst of a terrifying and tumultuous dissolution. The armies clashed incessantly, their struggle unending, O sage. Amidst this chaos, Śaṃkhacūḍa remained, adorned with gleaming jewel ornaments, a beacon of strength for his followers. With his own brilliance, he increased the might of his troops, and in the heat of battle, he single-handedly destroyed a hundred divisions of Akṣauhiṇīs. In her wrath, the fierce goddess drank the blood of the Dānavas, consuming a hundred kharparas. The tide of battle shifted again and again. Struck by Skanda’s relentless shower of arrows, the Dānavas were wounded and scattered. Vṛṣaparvā, Vipracitti, Dambha, and Vikaṅkana joined the fray, their determination undiminished. Then, Kālī herself entered the battlefield, and Shiva watched over Karttikeya with his protective gaze. All the gods, along with Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and Kinnaras, gathered as Kālī strode onto the field. She let out a thunderous lion’s roar, her voice echoing across the plain, and broke into dreadful, wild laughter that chilled the hearts of all who heard it. With fierce fangs and terrifying rage, Kauttari drank the honey of battle. Witnessing Kālī’s arrival, Śaṃkhacūḍa swiftly advanced to confront her. Kālī unleashed the Agneya weapon, which blazed like the flames of cosmic destruction. She followed with the Varuna weapon, intense and wondrous, then hurled the Maheshvara weapon, which burned like fire itself. With sacred mantras, the goddess released the Narayana weapon, and it blazed upward like the fires at the end of time. She then invoked the Brahma weapon, also with the proper mantras, and hurled it with great care. With the Brahma weapon, O King, she brought about a cessation in the battle. Yet Śaṃkhacūḍa, undaunted, responded with a net of divine weapons to counter her assault, and again with a net of sharp weapons, shattering her attack into a hundred pieces.