In the midst of the tumultuous sacrificial arena, the being who had taken the form of a deer, his brilliance extinguished and his steps faltering in terror, fled headless, stumbling away in great fear. Witnessing this humiliation of one born from the sun, Viṣṇu was overcome with supreme wrath. He rose, ready for battle, his anger radiating like a storm. Garuḍa, the king of birds and devourer of serpents, swift as the wind and ancient among all creatures, bent his joints and carried Viṣṇu upon his shoulder, soaring above all others. The surviving gods, led by their king, rallied to Viṣṇu’s side, prepared to sacrifice their very lives to assist him. Yet, seeing the assembly of gods together with Viṣṇu, the lord of beings laughed, unshaken and majestic, just as a lion remains unmoved by the cries of jackals. At that moment, a magnificent chariot appeared in the sky, radiant as a thousand suns, adorned with splendid banners and bearing the emblem of a bull. Drawn by two divine horses, it had four wheels and was decorated with a multitude of celestial weapons and jeweled arms. The same charioteer as in the previous battle against Tripura was appointed to this excellent chariot, standing firm on its dark frame. By the command of the Trident-bearer, Brahmā brought this best of chariots near to Hari and, with joined palms, addressed him: “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, the heroic leader of the hosts ascended the celestial chariot, receiving 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, filled with strength, blew a splendid conch, radiant as the full moon. The sound of the conch, resembling the breaking of musical strings, ignited a blazing fire of fear in the bellies of the gods. Instantly, the directions became crowded with Yakshas, Vidyadharas, serpent kings, and Siddhas, all eager to witness the impending battle. Nārāyaṇa, dark as a rain cloud, took up his bow Sharnga and unleashed a great shower of arrows, piercing the bull of the hosts. Seeing Viṣṇu manifest his power and rain arrows by the hundreds, Bhadra seized the victorious bow and a thousand arrows. He slowly drew the divine, dreadful bow, as if the Lord were drawing Mount Meru as a bow. As he drew, a great sound arose, shaking the earth with its might. The illustrious leader of the hosts, fierce in valor, then 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 in his hand 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 thus, Viṣṇu, previously insulted, grew angry at the lord of the hosts, as a bull would at a lion. 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. The two struck each other repeatedly, each attacking the other with arrows, and a tumultuous, hair-raising battle erupted between them. Witnessing the fierce combat, a great cry of “Alas!” arose in the sky, uttered by the celestial beings. Then Bhadra, with a blazing arrow like the tongue of fire, struck firmly at Viṣṇu’s great chest. Hit hard by that arrow, Viṣṇu was overcome by pain and fell down, bewildered. Yet, after a moment, regaining consciousness, Hari rose and unleashed all his divine weapons against Bhadra. Viṣṇu, lord of the army of arrows, repelled all those arrows with terrifying counter-arrows. Now, Viṣṇu, his eyes reddened with anger, released an unimpeded arrow marked with his own name, aiming it at the lord of the hosts. But Bhadra, with his own excellent arrow called Bhadrāhvaya, countered Viṣṇu’s attack. Even before Viṣṇu’s arrow reached its target, Bhadra cut it into a hundred pieces in mid-flight; then, with one arrow, he severed the Śārṅga bow, and with two, the wings of Garuḍa. He cut them down in the blink of an eye, wondrous to behold. Then, by the power of yoga, Viṣṇu released from his body fierce divine beings, thousands of them, each bearing conch, discus, and mace. But in a mere moment, Bhadra burned them all up, just as Śankara had destroyed the Tripura cities. The mighty-armed Bhadra burned them with fire emitted from his eye. Viṣṇu, even more enraged, quickly raised his discus.