The lord of wealth, with great strength, hurled his heavy mace at the Daitya king’s mighty elephant. Struck with tremendous force, the Daitya king was thrown down, landing upon his head. The elephant, reeling from the blow, was utterly stunned; as it collapsed, its tusks pierced the earth, and it fell to the ground like a mountain toppling from its heights. As the elephant crashed down, a tremendous lion-like roar erupted from the ranks of the gods, their voices mingling with the trumpeting of elephants, which echoed all around. The neighing of horses and the sharp twang of bowstrings filled the air, for the gods beheld the fallen elephant and saw Nimi turning away from the fray. Hearing that thunderous lion-roar from the gods, Jambha, the mighty Daitya, was seized with furious anger. His wrath blazed like fire fed with clarified butter, and his eyes reddened with rage against the gods. With a fierce cry of “Stand firm!” he set an arrow to his bow and urged his charioteer onward. Jambha’s chariot sped across the battlefield with dazzling radiance, as if a thousand suns had risen together upon the eastern mountains. His chariot, adorned with fluttering banners, a network of jingling bells, and a canopy white as the moon, advanced, striking terror into the hearts of the gods’ army. He was seen approaching, arrow fitted to his bow, a fearsome sight. Yet Śatakratu, Indra, was undaunted. He grasped his bow firmly and selected an arrow—oiled, sharp, half-moon shaped, and straight as a ray of light. With swift action, the slayer of Vṛtra severed both Jambha’s bow and his nocked arrow in the midst of battle. But Jambha, the delight of the Daityas, abandoned his broken bow and took up another—powerful and swift—along with arrows resembling venomous serpents, straight and slick with oil. With these, Jambha struck Indra with ten arrows at the collarbone, three at the heart, and two in both shoulders. But Indra, too, unleashed a torrent of arrows upon the lord of the Daityas. Yet the demon king, quick and skillful, cut down all the arrows hurled by Indra before they could reach him, severing them in the sky with arrows blazing like tongues of fire—ten times he did this. Then Indra, the lord of the gods, covered Jambha in a shower of arrows, as clouds cover the sky with rain. Jambha, however, scattered that rain of arrows with his own sharp shafts, dispersing them as the wind scatters clouds in every direction. So fierce was the exchange that Indra, agitated and enraged, could no longer distinguish anything in the tumult. At that moment, Indra employed the wondrous Gandharva weapon against Jambha. Its rising energy filled the space, making it impenetrable. The air was filled with illusions: splendid Gandharva cities, ramparts, and gateways appeared, and marvelous shapes filled the sky as weapons rained down in all directions. Assailed by this rain of weapons, the demon army, overwhelmed, sought refuge in Jambha, whose valor was immeasurable. Though he himself was afflicted by the thousand-eyed Indra’s onslaught, Jambha remembered righteousness and became intent on protecting his fearful followers. Then, the son of Diti—Jambha—released the mighty Mausala weapon. Instantly, the world was filled with iron clubs, which fell with irresistible force and battered the Gandharva city conjured by Indra’s weapon. Jambha then unleashed another Gandharva weapon upon the army of the gods. With each blow, he slew elephants, horses, and great charioteers swiftly and in great numbers—hundreds and thousands of chariots and horses fell. Seeing this, Indra invoked the Tvaṣṭra weapon. As the Tvaṣṭra weapon was invoked, flames of fire burst forth, and divine machines—unassailable and wondrous—appeared. With these machines, a canopy formed in the sky, subduing the Mausala weapon and causing its onslaught to cease. But Jambha was not deterred. He released the mountain weapon, which struck the assembly of machines. A shower of stones, each the size of a man’s span, began to fall. The machines, wrought by Tvaṣṭṛ’s art, were shattered into atoms by the hail. The mountain-missile, having destroyed the machines, crashed down upon the highest peaks and split the earth. Then, the thousand-eyed Purandara fashioned the thunderbolt-missile. At his command, a great shower of hailstones fell in all directions, subduing the mountain-missile. Jambha, undaunted and mighty as a mountain himself, created the reed-missile. By its power, the thunderbolt-missile, so dear to Indra, was destroyed. As the supreme and exceedingly difficult reed-missile expanded, the armies of the gods, along with their chariots and elephants, were engulfed and blazed forth. Even as the battle lines were consumed, the greatest of the gods shone with undiminished radiance. Then, Indra, lord of the gods, fashioned the fire-missile. With its power, the reed-missile was immediately dispelled. As the fire-missile blazed forth, it burned Jambha’s body, his chariot, and his charioteer. Repulsed but wise, Jambha then released the Varuṇa-missile, which quenched the flames of fire. Instantly, the sky was filled with clouds, flashing with masses of lightning and resounding with deep, drum-like thunder, as if the heavens themselves were overflowing. Torrents of water, as thick as the trunks of great elephants, poured down from the sky, flooding the world and making it shine with freshness. Seeing his fire-missile subdued, Indra fashioned the wind-missile, which destroys masses of clouds, preparing yet another turn in this mighty, celestial battle.