Amidst the vast and tumultuous formations of warriors, it was as if a lone ship sailed through an ocean teeming with crocodiles, surrounded by the thunderous roar of great whirlpools and the reverberation of deep caverns. The hero was scattered like mustard seeds among the advancing waves of fish—arrows flying in multitudes, banners torn and churned by the surging tides of weapons. Encircled by whirlpools that resembled the wounds of battle, he moved through the dense and tumultuous currents like a mighty timi fish, undaunted by the chaos. Terrifying to behold, clad in black iron, he led his army through dread-filled waters, his forces trapped within swirling lines of whirlpools and the looming presence of fearsome mountains. Darkness enveloped him, formed by thick clouds of arrow-spray, the air filled with a deep and resonant sound that drowned out all others. Agitated by the sight of heads rising and falling, his warriors spun within the inner circles of the vortex-like formations. Yet, he surged up, fierce as a stormy wave—his bow strained by hardship, his earrings glinting with calamity—rising like a mighty billow from the netherworld, his army swelling behind him without fear. The field foamed with banners and parasols, ceaselessly coming and going, as rivers of blood flooded forth, carrying chariots and trees away in their crimson current. He appeared adorned with bubbles of blood, elephantine in form, while the current of his army churned with the water of horses and elephants. The battle itself was wondrous to men, as astonishing as a village suspended in the sky, trembling and unsteady like mountains shaken by the earthquake of dissolution. Horses and birds seemed to swim through the chaos, elephants fell on the riverbanks, herds of frightened deer scattered, and the air resounded with tumultuous roars. Rows of arrows and spears made the ground unstable, trembling beneath the charge of horses and the relentless weight of arrows. The cries of valiant heroes echoed like the trumpeting of elephants, drums thundered from hidden caves, and the army, like a spreading storm-cloud, rolled forth as the chiefs of warriors contended. Dust-clouds from the army spread across the sky, peaks of heroes fell, splendid chariots were flung through the air, and circles of swords descended like rain. The hero rose, adorned with cloth and garlands, banners and umbrellas billowing like clouds, carrying a flood of red rivers and scattering shields as he advanced. The battlefield became as if at the end of a great battle—tumultuous and world-devouring—with fallen standards, umbrellas, banners, chariots, and infantry strewn everywhere. Weapons rained down, pure and bright, shining like many suns, bringing intense suffering to all who lived. Whirlpools of bows and lotus-shaped arrows flowed without cease, while flashes of swords and stones streaked across the sky like lightning. Mountains of warriors fell into the ocean of blood, and machines and stones were scattered like stars across the heavens. Clouds of arrows filled the sky, swirling like the wheels of chariots, and the armies were burned by weapons as if by fire, leaving yawning gaps between the worlds. The rain of weapons and thunder split the earth and mountains; crowds of people were crushed beneath falling elephants and tumbling hills. Lines of arrows formed dense clouds over the army, covering earth and sky, as the clash of great forces stirred the ocean with a harsh, unrelenting roar. Fierce winds swept the field, waters and serpents, fires and mountains were all caught up in the destruction, each absorbed in annihilating the other, all arising from the weapons and calamities unleashed. Spears, swords, discs, arrows, darts, maces, clubs, and javelins resounded as they struck one another—blazing and whirling by the hundreds in all directions, enacting the drama of the world’s end, swept by the storm of dissolution. Then, among the slain who lay like mountain peaks, and among the scattered tribes, rivers of blood began to flow, as if the very Ganges had arisen amidst the carnage. Headless bodies danced, their arms swinging wildly, while the dead lay strewn among men, elephants, horses, and chariots in the blood-filled waters. The armies became sparse and scattered, the fearful ones fleeing in all directions, broken and running for their lives. Upon the mountains of elephant corpses, beneath lines of resting clouds, the yakshas, rakshasas, and pisachas played in the ocean of blood. Yet, among the noble ones devoted to righteousness—heroes endowed with virtue, strength, and purity, lotus-born from noble families—none turned back from the fight. Duels arose among them, thundering like gathering clouds, each eager for the other’s destruction, surging like the meeting of mighty oceans. The cages of birds were shaken by the charge of elephants, just as a mountain is shaken by another in a violent collision. Troops of horses clashed with one another in tumultuous uproar, like fierce waves colliding in the ocean. Battalions of men fought against their equals, like masses of reeds striking each other, or gusts of wind agitating one another. Masses of chariots crushed against each other, destroying all shapes and forms, like cities colliding or the sky itself tossed by fate. The army of archers, with their banners, fought so fiercely that the sky seemed filled with a new and unprecedented cloud, formed by the continuous shower of arrows. In battles where weapons were uneven, warriors whose hearts faltered would flee by cunning when the fire of combat became too intense. Those bearing discs joined with other disc-bearers, bowmen faced bowmen, sword-fighters matched sword-fighters, and slingers contended with slingers. Mace-wielders fought with their equals, spear-men with spear-men, javelin-bearers with javelin-bearers, and lance-holders with their counterparts. Some wielded maces with iron clubs, others shone with maces and clubs; some, skilled in spears, brandished their weapons, while others, adept with axes, bore their blades. Others carried many staffs, some hurled stones, some were foremost with nooses, and others wielded spikes—each bearing the weapon of their skill, all caught up in the relentless tide of battle.