The Mutual Fight

Sanatkumara said

The envoy went back and described Shiva's words in full, along with what had been decided. The powerful Shankhachuda gladly took up the challenge. With his counsellors he swiftly mounted his vehicle and ordered his soldiers forward to fight Shankara. Shiva too quickly sent out his own troops and the devas, and, as though at play, armoured himself. As the fighting was about to start, many instruments sounded together with the heroes' roars. Gods and danavas then fought one another, in great numbers and by the rules of dharma.

The matches ran as follows. Indra himself fought Vrishaparva. Bhaskara, the sun, kept to dharma and fought Viprachitti. Vishnu had a long duel with Dambha. Kala fought Kalasura, Hutashana (fire) fought Gokarna, Kubera fought Kalakeya, Vishvakarma fought Maya, Mrityu fought Bhayankara, Yama fought Samhara, Varuna fought Kalambika and the wind-god fought Chanchala. Budha faced Ghataprishtha, Shani faced Raktaksha, Jayanta faced Ratnasara, and the Vasus faced a host of Varchasas. The two Ashvins fought the two Diptimats and Nalakubara fought Dhumra. Dharma met Dhurandhara, Mangala met Ganakaksha, Vaishvana met Shobhakara and Manmatha met Pipita. The twelve Arkas, the suns, fought Gokamukha, Churna, the asura Khadga, Dhumra, Samhala, the strong Vishva and Palasha. The accomplished immortals fought the asuras to help Shiva, and the eleven great Rudras took on eleven fearsome and valiant asuras. Mahamani fought Ugrachanda and others, Chandra fought Chanda, Jiva (Brihaspati) fought Shukra, and Nandishvara and the rest fought the other leading danavas. It was unnecessary, Sanatkumara said, to list every match. While those great armies fought, Shambhu stayed beneath the banyan with Kali and his son, and Shankhachuda sat on a splendid jewelled throne attended by a crore danavas.

The battle crushed gods and asuras alike, and many divine weapons were loosed. Clubs, double-edged swords, ordinary swords, discuses, bhushundis, spikes, bludgeons, sharp swords, iron arrows, maces, spears, battle-axes, arrows, javelins, broadswords, thousands of shataghnis and slings flashed in the heroes' hands, and the brave used them to cut off heads. Warriors roared on both sides. Elephants, horses, chariots, foot soldiers and riders were cut down, and arms, thighs, hands, waists, heads and legs were lopped off. Standards, arrows, swords, armour and ornaments were cut away, and the ground was littered with earringed heads that had lost their crowns, and with flung limbs. Fleeing soldiers saw headless torsos leaping up with weapons still in their hands. The fighters, strong and valiant, used every kind of shastra and astra. Some were killed by gold-tipped arrows, and the heroes roared like clouds heavy with rain. One warrior would shroud another, with his chariot and charioteer, in arrows, like clouds covering the sun. They rushed at each other in duels, challenging, striking from the front and piercing vital parts, and heroes with weapons and standards in hand stood in every direction, roaring like lions and blowing their conches. The fierce, cruel fight between devas and danavas, a joy to heroes, went on for a very long time. Such, said Sanatkumara, were the pastimes of Shankara, the supreme self, by which he deluded gods, asuras and men.