August 19, 2026
praviṣṭā yācanaṁ sahye labdhāḥ surabilād dvayaṁ
anarthenā ‘rtha āyāti kākatalīyataḥ kvacit (112/30)
VASIṢṬHA continued:
The king in his four forms proceeded in the four directions on the battlefield. He saw that his army was much weaker than the enemy’s well-prepared and well-equipped army. He contemplated, “The sage Agastya drank the ocean; I should become another Agastya now and dry up this ocean of the enemy forces”. He thought of the wind-missile which instantly reached him. He once again saluted and offered a prayer on behalf of his subjects and directed the missile at the enemy forces. Instantly there were rivers of missiles and weapons everywhere. The gale that blew resembled the winds of cosmic dissolution. Surely enough, by the power of the missile, the enemy forces were reduced to nothing very soon. The wind-missile also caused torrential rains, gale-force winds and dense dark clouds.
The different units of the enemy army fled in different directions. The Cedi-army (from the land of pearls and snakes) fled in a southerly direction. The Pārsis perished in the forest known as Vañjula. The Darada soldiers hid themselves in caves. The Daśārṇa warriors who went into the nearby forests were killed by the lions there. The warriors from Śaka territory could not bear the missiles made of iron and they ran trembling in fear. The forces of Tuṅgaṇa (whose colour was golden) were robbed by robbers of their clothes, and then they were eaten up by demons.
The survivors in the enemy army hid themselves in the mountain known as Sahya-adri and rested for a period of seven days. Their wounds were attended to by the celestials (vidhyādhara-women) who were from the territory known as Gāndhāra. The warriors from Hūṇa, Cīna and Kirāṭa had suffered dreadful disfigurement from the missiles of the king Vipaścit. Even the trees were frightened of the king’s power and stood still for a very long time even after the war.
The air force of Vidūra territory was caught up in the winds and crashed into the lakes. The infantry could not even run on account of the blinding rain that fell. The Hūṇas who fled to the north were caught up in the quicksands and perished. The Śakas who fled to the east were caught and imprisoned by the king for one day and then released.
The soldiers from the Mandra territory climbed up the Mahendra mountain to seek a refuge. They literally dragged themselves up little by little and then fell near the hermitage of sages who served them with food, drink, etc. They climbed the hill for the purpose of avoiding death on the battlefield and of begging for food; but they got from the cave of the gods two things (immediate safety and the company of sages which ensures permanent peace). Good follows evil sometimes, by accidental coincidence (the crow and the cocoanut). The Darsaśārṇa soldiers accidentally ate poison and died. The Haihaya soldiers accidentally ate a healing herb which turned them into celestials with ability to fly in the air.