In the aftermath of a catastrophic assault, the wives and children of the gods were seized and violated by spirits and ghouls, suffering as noble women are overpowered by adulterers in the Kali age. The sacred sacrificial ground lay in ruin: ritual vessels were overturned, posts broken, festivities ended, the grand hall set ablaze, and gates and arches shattered. The army of the gods was uprooted, ascetics slain, the solemn chanting of Brahman silenced, and the gathering of people dwindled to almost nothing. The sacrificial enclosure, struck by calamity, became like a deserted forest, filled only with the wailing of distressed women, while all their attendants lay slain. The foremost of the gods fell to the earth, their arms, thighs, and chests shattered by the force of spears, their heads severed. When thousands of gods had been slain and fallen, the Lord of the Gaṇas entered the sacrificial fire at once. Seeing this formidable being, resembling the fire of destruction, enter, the sacrifice itself, terrified of death, fled in the form of a deer. Then Bhadra, stringing his great bow with a terrifying twang, pursued the sacrificial being, releasing arrows as he went. Drawing the bow fully to his ear, making a sound like thunder, he caused the bowstring to resound throughout the sky, the atmosphere, and the earth. Struck by that deafening sound, the sacrificial being, bewildered and crying, “I am slain!”, was pierced by a curved half-arrow from the hero. With feet stumbling in great fear, trembling, and his brilliance gone, the sacrificial being—still in the form of a deer—ran headless. Seeing that one, born of the sun, thus humiliated, Viṣṇu, filled with supreme wrath, rose up, ready for battle. Then Garuḍa, king of birds and devourer of serpents, swift as the wind and with bent joints, carried Viṣṇu on his shoulder, surpassing all creatures in age. The surviving gods, led by their king, rallied to Viṣṇu’s side, ready even to give up their lives in his support. But the lord of beings, seeing the gods together with Viṣṇu, laughed, as a lion is unshaken upon seeing jackals. At that moment, a chariot appeared in the sky, radiant as a thousand suns, adorned with beautiful banners and bearing the bull emblem. It was drawn by two divine horses, had four wheels, and was decorated with many celestial weapons and jeweled arms. For that excellent chariot, the same charioteer was appointed as before, as in the previous battle against Tripura, standing upon the dark chariot. Then Brahmā, by the command of the Trident-bearer, brought that best of chariots near to Hari and, with joined palms, spoke: “O blessed Bhadra, of auspicious form, the Lord adorned with the moon commands you, O heroic one, to mount the imperishable chariot. Near the hermitage of the sages, the three-eyed one, together with Ambika, beholds your formidable valor, O mighty-armed one.” Hearing these words, that heroic leader of the hosts ascended the celestial chariot, having received it from the Grandfather. As Brahmā stood as charioteer upon that excellent chariot, auspicious fortune increased, just as it had for Rudra, the enemy of cities. Then the mighty Bhānukaṃpa, full of strength, blew a splendid conch, radiant as the full moon, placing it to his mouth. Hearing the sound of that conch, resembling the breaking of musical strings, the fire in the bellies of the gods blazed forth in fear. In an instant, the directions became crowded with Yakshas, Vidyadharas, serpent kings, and Siddhas, all eager to witness the battle. Then Narayana, dark as a rain cloud, from the bow Sharnga, pierced the bull of the hosts with a great shower of arrows. Seeing Viṣṇu manifest his power and rain arrows in the hundreds, Bhadra seized the victorious bow and a thousand arrows. Taking up that divine, dreadful bow, he slowly drew it, like the Lord drawing Mount Meru as a bow. As he drew the bow, a great sound arose, shaking the earth with its might. The illustrious leader of the hosts, fierce in valor, took up a dreadful arrow, blazing like a venomous serpent. As he drew the arrow, his arm, joined to the quiver and mouth, appeared like a serpent emerging from its anthill. The arrow, raised in his hand at that moment, shone like a young serpent bitten by a great snake. With a dense and powerful arrow, Bhadra, mighty in Rudra’s valor, angrily pierced the imperishable Viṣṇu in the forehead. Struck on the forehead, Viṣṇu, previously insulted, grew angry at the lord of the hosts, as a bull would at a lion. Then, with a cruel face and a great arrow like lightning, Viṣṇu pierced the arm of the king of the hosts, resembling a serpent. In turn, Virabhadra, mighty in strength, released an arrow, radiant as ten thousand suns, at Viṣṇu’s arm with great speed. Then Viṣṇu struck Bhadra again, and Bhadra struck Viṣṇu likewise; thus, O Brahmins, they attacked each other with arrows. As the two swiftly released arrows at each other with force, a tumultuous and hair-raising battle arose between them. Seeing that fierce battle, a great outcry of “Alas!” arose in the sky, uttered by the celestial beings who witnessed the mighty conflict.