Punishment of Devas

Vayu said

All the best of the gods, with Vishnu and Shakra in front, were deeply afraid. With no saviour, and filled with fear, they fled. The bull among the ganas saw that the devas had fled with their limbs whole. He thought those who deserved punishment had not been punished, and was angry. He seized a trident full of Sharva's strength. The mighty-armed one looked up and made flames come from his mouth. Like a lion chasing elephants, he chased the immortals, his stride beautiful as he pursued. He strode like a crazed elephant, a sight worth seeing. The strong one churned the great army of the gods as the maddened leader of an elephant herd churns a large lake and wrecks lotuses of many colours, blue, pale and red. His garment was a tiger's hide made bright with golden stars. He cut, pierced, drenched, tore and crushed. Virabhadra moved among that army of the devas like fire burning dry grass. Swinging his trident with great force he wandered about. Though he was one, all the gods thought he was a thousand.

Bhadrakali too was enraged and roused in the fight. In that battle she pierced the gods with a blazing pearl-decked trident. Virabhadra, born of Rudra's rage, liked this. Together they were like the moving fire at the end of a yuga, with smoke beside it. In that battle Bhadrakali routed the gods. She blazed like the fire that roams and burns the universe at the end of a kalpa. The fierce Virabhadra, foremost of Rudra's ganas, as if playing, quickly struck Surya and his horse on the head with his left foot. Bhadra struck Pavaka with a sword and Yama with a club. He firmly struck the Rudras with his trident and Varuna with his solid club. He struck Nirriti with a club and used an axe on Vayu. As if at play, the brave Ganeshvara struck them in the battle, falling at once on all the host of devas and sages who opposed Shambhu. With the tips of his nails he sliced off the lovely nose of Sarasvati and that of the mother of the devas. With an axe he cut off Vibhavasu's arm. With his nails he tore two finger-lengths off the tongue of the mother of the devas. The divinity tore off the goddess Svaha's right nostril with the tips of his nails, and the nipple from her left breast. Bhaga's large eyes were like lotus petals, and with great force Virabhadra gouged them out. Pushan's row of teeth gleamed like a string of pearls; he struck them with the end of his bow, and from then on Pushan could not speak clearly. The lord played with Chandra and crushed him against the ground with his toe, instantly, as if he were a mere worm. Full of great rage, Virabhadra sliced off Daksha's head and, while Virini screamed in anguish, handed it to Bhadrakali. Delighted, the goddess took the head, which was like a palm fruit, and played with it on the battlefield like a ball.

As wicked wives are treated by their husbands, the ganeshvaras used their hands and feet to wreck Daksha's sacrifice. Strong and lionlike in valour, the leaders of the ganas seized Arishtanemi, Soma, Dharma, Prajapati Bahuputra, Angiras, Krishashva and Kashyapa by the throat. They rebuked them in harsh words and struck their heads with fists. In the kali yuga noble women are made to suffer by their strong lovers, and in that way bhutas and vetalas made the wives and daughters-in-law of the gods suffer. Pots were smashed, sacrificial stakes broken, festivities ended, the great pavilion set on fire, gates and turrets shattered. The army of gods was uprooted and the stores of austerity slain. The chanting of the brahman fell quiet and the large gathering withered away. With all their companions killed, the women of the inner quarters wept. The arena came to look like a deserted forest. The supreme gods fell to the ground, mangled by powerful blows of tridents, their arms, thighs and chests shattered and their heads cut off. Thousands of devas were killed and fell.

In a short while Ganesha entered the place of the ahavaniya fire. Seeing Virabhadra come in like the fire of destruction, the sacrifice was afraid of dying and fled in the form of a deer. He drew his large fierce bow firmly and strung it. Virabhadra chased it shooting arrows. He drew the string all the way to his ears and twanged it with a sound like a thundercloud. The earth, the sky and heaven rang with the roar. Hearing it, the sacrifice thought, "I am slain." Its radiance faded and it trembled, legs shaking in great fear. With a half-moon arrow Virabhadra pursued the embodied sacrifice in deer form and beheaded it.

Seeing the one born of Surya insulted this way, Vishnu became extremely angry and came forward to fight. He summoned Garuda, king of all birds and eater of serpents. Called, Garuda lowered his shoulders and carried him on his back at great speed. The remaining devas, with the king of the gods at their head, got ready to help him, willing to give up their lives. The lord of the bhutas saw them and laughed. Like a lion he was not at all troubled. He looked at Vishnu and the devas as a lion looks at jackals.