Chapter 228

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Then those foremost of car-warriors (Krishna andArjuna), riding in their cars and placing themselves on opposite sides ofthat forest, began a great slaughter, on all sides, of the creaturesdwelling in Khandava.

At whatever point any of the creatures residing inKhandava could be seen attempting to escape, thither rushed those mightyheroes (to prevent its flight). Indeed those two excellent cars seemed tobe but one, and the two warriors also therein but one individual. Andwhile the forest was burning, hundreds and thousands of living creatures,uttering frightful yells, began to run about in all directions. Some hadparticular limbs burnt, some were scorched with excessive heat, and somecame out, and some ran about from fear. And some clasping their childrenand some their parents and brothers, died calmly without, from excess ofaffection, being able to abandon these that were dear to them. And manythere were who biting their nether lips rose upwards and soon fellwhirling into the blazing element below. And some were seen to roll onthe ground with wings, eyes, and feet scorched and burnt. These creatureswere all seen to perish there almost soon enough. The tanks and pondswithin that forest, heated by the fire around, began to boil; the fishesand the tortoises in them were all seen to perish. During that greatslaughter of living creatures in that forest, the burning bodies ofvarious animals looked as if fire itself had assumed many forms. Thebirds that took wings to escape from that conflagration were pierced byArjuna with his shafts, and cut into pieces, they fell down into theburning element below. Pierced all over with Arjuna’s shafts, the birdsdropped down into the burning forest, uttering loud cries. The denizensof the forest, struck with those shafts, began to roar and yell. Theclamour they raised was like unto the frightful uproar heard during thechurning of the ocean (in days of yore). The mighty flames of the blazingfire reaching the firmament, caused great anxiety to the celestialsthemselves. Then all the illustrious dwellers in heaven went in a bodyunto him of a hundred sacrifices and thousand eyes, viz., their chief,that grinder of Asuras. Approaching Indra, the celestial said, ‘Why, Olord of immortals, doth Agni burn these creatures below? Hath the timecome for the destruction of the world?’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Hearing these words of the gods, and himselfbeholding what Agni was doing, the slayer of Vritra set out for theprotection of the forest of Khandava. And Vasava, the chief of thecelestials soon covering the sky with masses of clouds of every kindbegan to shower upon the burning forest. Those masses of clouds byhundreds and thousands, commanded by Indra began to pour rain uponKhandava in showers thick as the flag-staffs of battle-cars. But theshowers were all dried up in the sky itself by the heat of the fire andcould not, therefore, reach the fire at all! Then the slayer of Namuchi,getting angry with Agni, collected huge masses of clouds and caused themto yield a heavy downpour. Then with the flames contending with thoseheavy showers, and with masses of clouds overhead, that forest, filledwith smoke and flashes of lightning, became terrible to behold.'”