Thereupon there took place a terrible encounter between the armies of the gods and demons desirous of vanquishing each other (1). Armed with various weapons the Dānavas fought with the gods as if the mountains were fighting with the mountains (2). Thus there took place a wonderful encounter between the gods and demons, with fairness and unfairness, humility and pride (3). Then there fell on all sides from the sky cars drawn by quick-coursing horses, and soldiers with swords in their hands. Maces were scattered all over. With these and arrows, full drawn bows and clubs that war, of the gods and demons, grew exceedingly terrible. It created terror all over the world and assumed a dreadful form like the whirling clouds at the hour of the universal dissolution (4–6). Throwing with their hands Parighas and stones the Dānavas began to assail Indra and the other gods in battle (7). In that great encounter the gods were greatly assailed by the highly powerful Dānavas with whom appeared all the signs of success and their (faces) grew pale. They were grinded by the network of weapons of Diti’s sons; their heads were cut off by their Parighas, their bodies were mutilated and the wounds made copious discharges of blood (8). Being fettered by the nooses of the Danavas, wounded by their arrows and possessed by the illusions of their women the gods stood motionless (10). They were stupified and showed no signs of life. The Asuras made the celestial army inert so that they could not use their weapons (11). Throwing away the nooses of illusion of the Dānavas, withstanding and cutting off their arrows with his thunder-bolt the thousand-eyed king of gods entered into the dreadful army of the Dānavas (12). Having slain all the Daityas who were stationed in front with his dark weapons he covered the entire demon-army with darkness. Being thus enshrouded with darkness through the energy of the king of gods they could not make any distinction between the gods and demons. Thereupon being freed from the nooses of illusion and being very careful the gods began to slay the Dānavas who were overpowered with darkness. Thereat being assailed, bereft of consciousness and dark-hued on account of the darkness, the Dānavas began to fall down like mountains having their wings cut off (13–16). Then the palace, of the king of Dānavas, consisting of cloud-like demons and resembling an ocean stricken with darkness, appeared as the very form of darkness itself (17). Thereupon consuming that illusion of darkness the Dānava Maya created a highly dreadful illusion of forest-fire resembling the fire of dissolution. When that illusion, created by Maya, destroyed all darkness, the Daityas, assuming forms, effulgent like the sun, again appeared in that battle-field (18-19).