“Lomasa said, ‘Armed with the Vajra then, and supported by celestials
endued with great might, Indra then approached Vritra, who was then
occupying the entire earth and the heaven. And he was guarded on all
sides by huge-bodied Kalakeyas with upraised weapons resembling gigantic
mountains with towering peaks. And the encounter that took place between
the gods and the Danavas lasted for a short while and was, O chief of the
Bharatas, terrific in the extreme, appalling as it did the three worlds.
And loud was the clash of swords and scimitars upraised and warded off by
heroic hands in course of those fierce encounters. And heads (severed
from trunks) began to roll from the firmament to the earth like fruits of
the palmyra palm falling upon the ground, loosened from their stalks. And
the Kalakeyas armed with iron-mounted bludgeons and cased in golden mail
ran against the gods, like moving mountains on conflagration. And the
gods, unable to stand the shock of that impetuous and proudly advancing
host, broke and fled from fear. Purandara of a thousand eyes, beholding
the gods flying in fear and Vritra growing in boldness, became deeply
dejected. And the foremost of gods Purandara, himself, agitated with the
fear of the Kalakeyas, without losing a moment, sought the exalted
Narayana’s refuge. And the eternal Vishnu beholding Indra so depressed
enhanced his might by imparting unto him a portion of his own energy. And
when the celestials beheld that Sakra was thus protected by Vishnu, each
of them imparted unto him his own energy. And the spotless Brahmarshis
also imparted their energies unto the chief of the celestials. And
favoured thus by Vishnu and all the gods and by the high-blessed Rishis
also, Sakra became mightier than before. And when Vritra learnt that the
chief of the celestials had been filled with might of others, he sent
forth some terrific roars. And at these roars of his, the earth, the
directions, the firmament, heaven, and the mountains all began to
tremble. And the chief of the celestials, deeply agitated on hearing that
fierce and loud roar, was filled with fear, and desiring to slay the
Asura soon, hurled, O king, the mighty Vajra. And struck with Indra’s
Vajra the great Asura decked in gold and garlands fell head-long, like
the great mountain Mandara hurled of yore from Vishnu’s hands; and
although the prince of Daityas was slain, yet Sakra in panic ran from the
field, desiring to take shelter in a lake, thinking that the Vajra itself
had not been hurled from his hands and regarding that Vritra himself was
still alive. The celestials, however, and the great Rishis became filled
with joy, and all of them began to cheerfully chant the praise of Indra.
And mustering together, the celestials began to slay the Danavas, who
were dejected at the death of their leader. And struck with panic at
sight of the assembled celestial host, the afflicted Danavas fled to the
depths of the sea. And having entered the fathomless deep, teeming with
fishes and crocodiles, the Danavas assembled together and began to
proudly conspire for the destruction of the three worlds. And some
amongst them that were wise in inferences suggested courses of action,
each according to his judgment. In course of time, however, the dreadful
resolution arrived at those conspiring sons of Diti, was that they
should, first of all, compass the destruction of all persons possessed of
knowledge and ascetic virtue. The worlds are all supported by asceticism.
Therefore, they said, ‘Lose no time for the destruction of asceticism.
Compass ye without delay the destruction of those on earth that are
possessed of ascetic virtues, that are conversant with duties and the
ways of morality, and that have a knowledge of Brahma; for when these are
destroyed, the universe itself will be destroyed.’ And all the Danavas,
having arrived at this resolution for the destruction of the universe,
became highly glad. And thenceforth they made the ocean--that abode of
Varuna--with billows high as hills, their fort, from which to make their
sallies.”