The battle between the gods and demons raged with unimaginable fury. The sky itself became obscured, shrouded by the swirling dust raised by countless chariot wheels and the trampled grass beneath the feet of divine and demonic hosts. Armies surged forward in waves, their advance turning the earth into a tumultuous sea of conflict. Celestial beings fell in droves, crushed beneath weapons and mountains hurled by mighty hands, while the heavens were inundated by torrents of ocean water summoned by colossal elephants. Rivers formed from swords, spears, and missiles, their currents carrying away shattered domes of the universe, broken and scattered by the wings of flying mountain peaks. Cities belonging to the lords of the world collapsed under the repeated assault of demon heels, and golden palaces echoed with the cries of women caught in the chaos. The demon hosts, battered by waves of maddened oceans and mountains, rolled helplessly on the ground, their blood streaming into the sky and their cries reverberating through the heavens. The world, once concealed beneath waters from many oceans and filled with noble beings, now teemed again with armies, illuminated by the radiance of gods and demons. The sight was terrifying, dreadful—demon-mountains shaped like winged peaks moved ceaselessly, filling the air with the crackling sounds of destruction. Everywhere, earth, ocean, and mountains were stained red by streams of blood flowing from wounded demon-mountains, their peaks split by weapons and rocks. The landscape was surrounded by ruined kingdoms, cities, forests, villages, and mountain caves, all filled with countless demons, elephants, horses, humans, chariots, and mountains. Celestial maidens and demons traversed the battle-scarred paths, while mountains were shattered by torrents from clouds as dense as those of the cosmic age. Elephants were battered by blows of fists, and mountain ranges were crushed and scattered by the impact of meteors. Demons were scorched by blazing nets of angry fire, and flames, drawn forth by a single handful, surged up like the ocean. The vast waters were frozen by the moon’s coolness, while heaps of stones melted in the heat of forest fires. The night of cosmic dissolution was filled with impenetrable darkness created by weapons, but its thin veil of gloom was consumed by the radiance of the sun of illusion. Cosmic rains of fire fell from the illusory sky, and storms were stirred by the clash of fire, wind, and weapons. Mountain showers were swept away by storms of thunderbolts, and the battles were enriched with weapons of sleep, awakening, rain, and planetary influence. The weapon of the saw, the weapon for felling trees, the weapons of water and fire, and the fierce weapon of Brahma—all were subdued by the brilliance of the weapon of light. The sky was filled with armies of weapons launched by missiles, adorned with showers of stones and illuminated by the radiance of weapons that rained fire. Banners brushed by moonlight fluttered amidst the roar of whirling discs, and in a moment, chariots crossed the mountains of sunrise and sunset. Great demons, struck relentlessly by thunderbolts, were dying, even as new demons arose, born from the powerful spells of Shukra and the gods. Guarded by auspicious planets and great comets, the tumultuous battles raised the necks of crowds of omens and portents. The world—mountains, oceans, and sky—was flooded with streams of blood, making it appear as a blossoming forest of kimshuka trees, so intense was the enmity. The vast ocean was filled with corpses as numerous as mountains, and these great bodies swayed, hanging from the branches and trunks of all the trees. Carried away by winds, with wings, flowers, and fruits attached, tall palm trees and forests of arrows filled the sky. With arms as numerous as mountain-like hosts of corpses, dancing, celestial nymphs and stars fell from their aerial chariots into the waters below. Mountains were pierced through by arrows, spears, maces, javelins, and swords; the sky was strewn with fragments of walls fallen from the seven worlds. The unceasing, thunderous sound of great war drums, like dense clouds, echoed so powerfully that it seemed to shake the elephants of the netherworld. Mountains, drawn forth by the hands of mighty demons like Vināyaka, were hurled with force, while on one side, the hosts of perfected beings and wind-gods stood motionless. Gandharvas, kinnaras, gods, and celestial sages fled in all directions; their leaders, wounded and exhausted, fell lifeless to the ground. The hosts of demons and daityas, though they had gained but a little victory, were nearly destroyed; the army of gods was being torn apart, and Indra stood alone, deeply anxious. In the northern direction, a blazing fire, tinged with red weapons, shone fiercely, its ever-bright flames flashing forth and dispelling the darkness. Winds roared terribly like great serpents, sweeping through the quarters and scattering fragments of shattered rocks and bodies struck by thunderbolts—signs of cosmic dissolution for the gods. As blood flowed in streams, like the Ganges in flood pouring from the sky, the hosts of gods, bound together by cords, roared with the tumult of released thunder. The serpent, having seized and crushed all the abodes of the gods with its own hand, concealed the lotus at its waist with the harsh tumult of battle. Airavata, the great elephant, his pride subdued and intent on fleeing, was overwhelmed by the army of demons—it was as if the midday sun was surrounded by a multitude of clouds. The armies of the gods, their weapons and limbs fallen and blood streaming forth, fled like waters breaking through a breached dam. Those cords, serpents, and belts, though hidden for a long time, followed with resounding noise, like flames pursuing fuel. The demons searched diligently, but could not find the gods, just as lions cannot find deer that have leapt into a thicket of dense clouds. When the hosts of gods could not be found, those cords, serpents, and belts joyfully went to their lord, who dwelt in the treasury of the netherworld. The gods, dejected, after regaining their composure for a moment, went to Brahma—the one of immeasurable brilliance—seeking a means to victory.