In the midst of utter devastation, children bereft of both mother and father wandered aimlessly through darkness, stumbling through ruined streets where the collapse of walls had left them beaten and destroyed. Elephants, driven into chaos by the blind, roared harshly amid the tumult of battle, their massive bodies scorched by falling embers and burning coals. Amidst this turmoil, a stone, split by a sword and lodged firmly in a man’s shoulder, fell upon him with the force of a thunderbolt hurled from a machine. The scene was filled with terror: cows, horses, buffaloes, camels, dogs, and wolves all swept up in the confusion and horror of a battle begun by those who had blocked the roads. All around, the sounds of burning cloth crackled in the wind, and blazing flames roared as women, wailing in sorrow, moved forward like figures adorned with ground lotuses. The tongues of fire licked at their flowing hair, making the strands resemble the blossoms of the ashoka tree, as if elephants played with serpents. Slender flames, resting on the blades of grass, reached the beautiful, eyelash-fringed eyes of the doe-eyed women. Even as the flames consumed him, a man refused to leave without his wife, for the bonds of affection that tie living beings are difficult indeed to break. Nearby, an agitated elephant shattered flaming trees with his strength, and in his rage, churned a pond already filled with withered lotuses with his trunk. Smoke rose high, reaching the clouds, and with restless, broad flashes, it rained down a multitude of blazing, fiery arrows. The smoke, full of flickering sparks and swirling in circular currents, gathered in the sky like a heap of precious jewels in the firmament. The sky itself shone pale, marked with the brilliance of flame-crests, saffron-hued as if for the festival of death—a sign of utter destruction. How terrible and unjust was this enmity, devoid of all virtue; even noble kings fell, slain by mighty warriors wielding excellent weapons. The women who once adorned the royal paths, their garlands and ornaments loosened, flowers scattered, now found their garments half-burnt, their breasts and chests streaked with ash. Their hips and loins were revealed as their garments slipped and swayed, jeweled bracelets falling from their arms to the ground, their bodies bending toward the earth in exhaustion and despair. Necklaces and strands of pearls lay broken and scattered, and the golden radiance of their bodies—at times revealed, at times hidden—gleamed amidst the chaos. The tumult of battle was drowned out by the harsh cries of vultures, and the wounded, pierced by arrows and bleeding, lay senseless upon the ground. Their garments were soaked with tears, blood, and mud, their arms draped over the shoulders of others as soldiers led them away. With eyes full of distress, as if silently pleading, “Who will save us now?” the soldiers wept, their tears falling like a shower of lotuses. Amidst this devastation, women with thighs as soft as lotus stalks, adorned with pure, delicate anklets and garments clear as crystal, appeared like lotuses blooming in the sky. Their garlands, garments, ornaments, and cosmetics were all in disarray; their faces were agitated by jealousy, and their curling locks trembled as if they had arisen from the ocean of desire, churned by the unbridled rod of beauty. Meanwhile, the queen, intoxicated by the flush of youth, entered the palace with the grace of Lakshmi entering the heart of a lotus. Her garlands and garments were disordered, her necklace of creepers broken and tangled. Surrounded by her friends and maidservants, she was overcome with fear. Her face shone like the moon, her limbs spotless, her breasts heaving with anxious breath; her teeth sparkled like stars, and she stood there, a celestial beauty embodied. One of her companions hastened to inform the king, much like an apsara might bring urgent news to Indra in the heat of battle with Vritra. “O lord,” she cried, “the queen has come with us, fleeing from the inner chambers, seeking your protection—like a fragile creeper tossed by the wind, clinging to a sturdy tree. The royal women have been seized by powerful, well-armed thieves, like creepers along the ocean shore ensnared in the net of waves. All the chiefs of the inner apartments have been crushed by bold enemies who attacked suddenly, like forest trees felled by a sudden gale. Our city has been seized by outsiders who arrived unexpectedly, like floodwaters overflowing their banks in the dark of night. Enemy warriors in great numbers have overrun the city, their fires blazing, their smoky armor roaring, their licking flames brandishing sharp tips. The noble ladies of our households, hair disheveled, have been seized and carried off, wailing, by the enemy—like cranes snatched by fishermen. This calamity has spread its branches over us; only the power of the deity can rescue us now.” Hearing and witnessing this, the king resolved to go forth to battle. “Forgive me, O goddess,” he said, “for this wife of mine is like a bee at your lotus feet.” With these words, his mind agitated with anger, the king strode out—like a lion emerging from its cave after the forest has been shattered by a mad elephant. At that moment, Lila beheld Lila herself—her own form, identical, appeared before her like a beautiful reflection in a mirror. “Tell me, goddess,” she asked, “what is this? Why do I stand here as this one? How is it that I, who was elsewhere, am now present here as this? The ministers, citizens, warriors with their armies and vehicles—all these are exactly the same as those established there in that place. How is it, O goddess, that all these are present here as well? Are they conscious, both outwardly and inwardly, like reflections in a mirror?” The goddess replied, “Just as awareness arises within, so it is experienced in an instant; consciousness takes the form of the object it perceives, just as the mind seems to take the form of its own content. Whatever kind of imagination arises within, that very awareness extends memory, and in that very instant, a world of corresponding objects appears in that same place.