The sky roared with the ceaseless flight of arrows, their numbers so great they seemed to consume the heavens like a forest devoured by fire. Below, the earth was littered with heaps of blazing flames rolling across the land, burning down rows of houses in their path. Fierce warriors fell, struck down amidst the chaos as elephants crashed through the battlefield, while the ground was scattered with the riches of the fallen—abandoned treasures left behind where fleeing thieves met their end. The cries of men and women grew ever more intense as showers of embers rained down, and the crackling of burning wood echoed through the air, the flames consuming all before them. The sky became crowded with the wheels of countless chariots, shining like hundreds of suns, while the earth below was covered with mounds of burning coals. The harsh crackling of burning logs rang out like the strings of a veena, and the lamentations of animals—elephants and many others—rose above the din as they too were caught in the inferno. Even the food of kings, queens, and elders, set out on mats, was not spared; the eager flames devoured everything in their path. The houses echoed with the roaring of fire, and as the flames, freed from their fuel, longed for more, they turned hungrily toward the endless stores of food belonging to countless creatures. Amidst this destruction, King Viduratha heard the voices of his soldiers crying out as they ran from the burning, watching helplessly as their world was destroyed. "Alas!" they cried, "the maddened wind above is casting burning embers from the rooftops and trees, while the clash of swords resounds through the flames. The edges of swords, cold as snow, are fixed in the bodies of elephants, just as the words of wisdom become fixed in the minds of the great. Alas, father! The causes of death are hidden even in the tender grass of youth, burning like heaps of dry leaves set ablaze by a hero’s fire." A river of smoke, swirling and rising upward, rushed forth, resembling the Ganges of the sky, filled with smoke and surging ahead. This smoke-river, rising with burning logs, blinded even the celestial beings, and within it, fire-sparks and bubbles danced. In one house, mother, father, brother, son-in-law, son, and daughter had all been consumed by the fire, which now sought to devour the rest. "Alas! Alas! Go quickly, sir, from this house of embers," came the desperate warning, "for it is about to collapse, like the summit of Mount Meru falling down." Weapons—arrows, stones, spears, javelins, swords—were hurled into the mass of blazing, smoke-filled clouds, only to vanish like moths rushing into fire. All the winds seemed to be drawn into the inferno in the sky, just as the waves of the ocean are swallowed by the fierce submarine fire. Great clouds at the tips of the flames became smoky, and even lakes dried up, just as the hearts of those consumed by passion are left barren. Rows of trees, scorched and angry, were struck down by elephants, their branches cracking loudly as they fell, toppled by those who had already eaten their fill. The household trees, once fragrant with blossoms and fruit, now stood burned and desolate, like householders bereft of all they once possessed. Children, orphaned, wandered through the darkness, beaten and destroyed in the streets by the collapse of walls. The elephants, driven away in confusion by the blind, roared harshly in the midst of battle, their bodies weighed down with burning embers and coals. Stones, split by swords and embedded in shoulders, fell upon men like thunderbolts hurled from machines. Cows, horses, buffaloes, camels, dogs, and wolves—all were caught in the terrible battle, begun by those who blocked the roads in confusion. The crackling of burning cloths and the gusts of blazing wind accompanied the wailing of women, who moved as if adorned with ground lotuses. The tongues of flame licked at their flowing hair, making it resemble the blossoms of ashoka trees, just as elephants play with serpents. Slender flames, resting on blades of grass, reached the eyelash-fringed eyes of the doe-eyed women. Even as the fire burned, a man would not leave without his wife—such are the powerful snares of affection that bind living beings. Amidst the chaos, an agitated elephant shattered flaming trees with force, and in his rage, churned a pond already filled with withered lotuses. The smoke, reaching the clouds, flashed restlessly, raining down a multitude of blazing, fiery arrows. This smoke, full of flickering sparks and swirling in circular currents, amassed in the sky like a heap of jewels in the firmament. The sky itself shone pale with the brilliance of the flame-crests, marked with saffron as if for a festival of death—a sign of utter destruction. "Alas, how terrible and unjust is this enmity, devoid of all virtue," came the lament, "for even noble kings are slain by mighty warriors bearing excellent weapons." Women who once adorned the royal paths with garlands and ornaments now wandered with their garments half-burnt, their chests and breasts strewn with ashes. Their hips and loins were revealed as their garments slipped and swayed, jeweled bracelets falling from their arms, their bodies bending toward the earth. Necklaces and strings of pearls lay broken and scattered, while the golden radiance from their breasts, hips, and sides—some seen, some hidden—still shone forth. The tumult of battle was subdued only by the harsh cries of vultures, and the wounded, pierced by arrows and bleeding, lay senseless on the ground. Their garments were soaked with tears, blood, and mud; their arms rested on the shoulders of others as they were led away by the soldiers. With eyes full of distress, as if asking, "Who will save us now?", the soldiers wept, their tears falling like a shower of lotuses. Amidst all this, the women, with thighs as soft as lotus stalks, adorned with delicate anklets and crystal-clear garments, appeared like lotuses blooming in the sky—beauty and sorrow mingled in the midst of utter devastation.