The battlefield was a fearsome sight, alive with the tumult of many battle formations. The air vibrated with the inner clamor of warriors, their heavy maces raised high, echoing through the great halls. Overhead, the sun itself seemed blotted out by a dense web of black weapons, while the sound of arrows, fierce as the wind shaking silk-cotton trees, roared across the field. The scene was as if it had persisted through countless aeons, resembling the end of a cosmic cycle, rising up like a single ocean churned by the winds of dissolution. It was as if darkness itself was disturbed in the deepest caverns of the underworld, wild and trembling at the boundary between worlds, frenzied as the dance of madmen, and as if the very earth was breaking open, unleashing masses of great hells. The tumult of lances, clubs, swords, and axes seemed to thicken the darkness, threatening to turn the world into a single, unfathomable ocean by floods of boiling water. At this moment, a devotee humbly asked, “O Lord, please tell me of this battle, for your words bring great delight to my ears.” In response, high in the sky, two divine goddesses, eager to witness the conflict, sat together in a beautiful, steady aerial chariot, prepared for their viewing. Meanwhile, the opponent of the playful Lord, unable to bear the mounting agony of battle, began to falter. Like a wave surging from the ocean at dissolution, a fearsome warrior hurled his mace at his enemy’s chest, as a rock crashes down from a mountain peak. The clash between the two armies erupted with the force of the ocean at the world’s end, weapons striking with such violence that sparks and flashes ignited like fire. Lines marked the sky where swiftly flowing streams of arrows cut through, and amid their reverberations, the jhaṇajhaṇa sounds of arms resounded. Tumultuous roars mingled with the shouts of heroes, and thunderous din echoed as arrows rained down, forming a canopy of sunlight breaking through clouds. The battlefield blazed with the ringing of swords and the clashing of shields, fragments of weapons, shattered by mutual blows, scattering through the sky. The heavens themselves were crossed by the sweeping arms of heroes, while celestial maidens, startled by the twanging of bows and the whirling of wheels, fled in haste. The cries of battle rose like the buzzing of bees, forming a dense and unified sound, as if all were established in the stillness of samadhi. Showers of sharp arrows severed heroic heads, and as bodies collided, a tumultuous ringing of armor filled the air. Weapons clashed fiercely, their strikes punctuated by shouts of “huṅ,” while waves of swiftly flowing streams surged in all directions without end. The tumult of colliding arms, the rattling seized by fists, and the loud crackling and bursting sounds resounded everywhere. The roaring of swords and the thunderous din of blazing weapons filled the field, mingling with the cries of the wounded and the tumult of arrows. “Dhag dhag dhag”—so rang the battlefield, as blood poured from wounds at the throat, and severed arms and heads lay scattered, the sky nearly blotted out by fragments of shattered swords. Warriors’ hair was singed by sparks leaping from broken shields, and the heavy clang of swords rang out as they fell. Blood surged in waves from elephants struck by spears, and the harsh grinding of tusks filled the air with savage cries. The thunderous crash of mighty maces crushing crowds resounded, and the sky was covered by clusters of fallen heroes’ heads, spread like a field of lotuses. Dust clouds, raised by the arms of warriors and elephants, thickened the air, while the victorious seized the hair of the slain, retaliating fiercely against their foes. Terror mounted as nails clawed at eyes, ears, and noses; chariots rolled across the trembling earth, overturned by charging elephants. The battlefield was adorned with blood-soaked garments, torn by spear wounds, and weapons flew in streams, veiled by clouds of dust churned up by the conflict. One warrior, proud as the sea with its waves gathered into a single mass, was consumed by Death, who reveled in wild laughter and play. He thundered like clouds shattered by the peaks of proud mountains and kingly elephants, wielding wheels, spears, and maces beside trees and riverbanks. He moved like a ram among warriors, piercing the gaps between flying arrows and the hollows of trees, his banner and canopy torn and scattered amid the confusion of clouds. He rushed through hosts of machines, stones, and wheels, his body torn by Death, the cries of the wounded resounding fiercely around him. His head was wounded by cruel axes, and his garment bore the distant flashes of shattered swords. The earth was blanketed with spears and darts unleashed in battle, and the tumult of the army was wild with the leaps of goblins and the swinging of maces. He stood tall in the sky, like a gateway adorned with heroic spears and javelins, his sword broken by Bhusunda, forming a ring in the heavens. Like a peacock among the reeds and bamboo of spears, his soldiers were honored by the king, rejoicing in the rain of swords and spears. Celestial nymphs, eager to seize the valiant, raised their arms in excitement, while the quarters resounded with the clamor of warriors, their armlets trembling as they pursued the fight. Fierce soldiers were felled by the thrust of spears, while elephants, their cleverness gone, had their ranks broken by the whirling of discus and chariot wheels. Maddened elephants fell together as axes rained down, and warriors, swinging clubs, sent their enemies fleeing in terror. Chariots and trees shattered beneath the impact of machines and stones, and parasols, pale as lotuses, were torn apart by fierce swords. The earth bore the marks of dwindling armies, scattered and disturbed by missiles, as elephants’ sides were crushed and headless trunks fell in heaps. Elephants were halted by the blows of goads and the shouts of mighty warriors, while heroes, skilled in the use of nooses, grieved the loss of their fallen companions. Thus unfolded the terrible and wondrous spectacle of battle, a scene of chaos and valor, where earth and sky alike trembled beneath the fury of arms.