Chapter 230

Vaisampayana said, ‘Then the inhabitants of the forest of Khandava, theDanavas and Rakshasas and Nagas and wolves and bears and other wildanimals, and elephants with rent temples, and tigers, and lions withmanes and deer and buffaloes by hundreds, and birds, and various othercreatures, frightened at the falling stones and extremely anxious, beganto fly in all directions.

They saw the forest (burning all around) andKrishna and Arjuna also ready with their weapons. Frightened at theterrible sounds that were audible there those creatures lost their powerof movement. Beholding the forest burning in innumerable places andKrishna also ready to smite them down with his weapons, they all set up afrightful roar. With that terrible clamour as also with the roar of fire,the whole welkin resounded, as it were, with the voice of portentousclouds. Kesava of dark hue and mighty arms, in order to compass theirdestruction, hurled at them his large and fierce discus resplendent withits own energy. The forest-dwellers including the Danavas and theRakshasas, afflicted by that weapon, were cut in hundreds of pieces andfell unto the mouth of Agni. Mangled by Krishna’s discus, the Asuras werebesmeared with blood and fat and looked like evening clouds. And, OBharata, he of the Vrishni race moved able like death itself, slayingPisachas and birds and Nagas and other creatures by thousands. The discusitself, repeatedly hurled from the hands of Krishna, that slayer of allfoes, came back to his hands after slaughtering numberless creatures. Theface and form of Krishna that soul of every created thing–became fierceto behold while he was thus employed in the slaughter of the Pisachas,Nagas and Rakshasas. No one among the celestials, who had mustered therecould vanquish in battle Krishna and Arjuna. When the celestials saw thatthey could not protect that forest from the might of Krishna and Arjunaby extinguishing that conflagration, they retired from the scene. Then, Omonarch, he of a hundred sacrifices (Indra), beholding the immortalsretreat, became filled with joy and applauded Krishna and Arjuna. Andwhen the celestials gave up the fight, an incorporeal voice, deep andloud, addressing him of a hundred sacrifices, said, ‘Thy friend Takshaka,that chief of snakes, hath not been slain! Before the conflagrationcommenced in Khandava he had journeyed to Kurukshetra. Know from mywords, O Vasava, that Vasudeva and Arjuna are incapable of beingvanquished in battle by any one! They are Nara and Narayana–those godsof old heard of in heaven! Thou knowest what their energy is and whattheir prowess. Invincible in battle, these best of old Rishis areunconquerable by any one in all the worlds! They deserve the mostreverential worship of all the celestials and Asuras; of Yakshas andRakshasas and Gandharvas, of human beings and Kinnaras and Nagas.Therefore, O Vasava, it behoveth thee to go hence with all thecelestials. The destruction of Khandava hath been ordained by Fate!’ Thenthe chief of the immortals, ascertaining those words to be true abandonedhis wrath and jealousy, and went back to heaven. The dwellers in heaven,O monarch, beholding the illustrious Indra abandon the fight, followedhim with all their soldiers. Then those heroes, Vasudeva and Arjuna, whenthey saw the chief of the celestials retreat accompanied by all the gods,set up a leonine roar. And, O monarch, Kesava and Arjuna, after Indra hadleft the scene, became exceedingly glad. Those heroes then fearlesslyassisted at the conflagration of the forest. Arjuna scattered thecelestials like the wind scattering the clouds, and slew with showers ofhis arrows, numberless creatures that dwelt in Khandava. Cut off byArjuna’s arrows, no one amongst the innumerable creatures could escapefrom the burning forest. Far from fighting with him, none amongst eventhe strongest creatures mustered there could look at Arjuna whose weaponswere never futile. Sometimes piercing hundred creatures with one shaftand sometimes a single creature with hundred shafts, Arjuna moved aboutin his car. The creatures themselves, deprived of life, began to fallinto the mouth of Agni (god of fire), struck down as it were by deathitself. On the banks of rivers or on uneven plains or on crematoriums, gowhere they did, the creatures (dwelling in Khandava) found no ease, forwherever they sought shelter there they were afflicted by the heat. Andhosts of creatures roared in pain, and elephants and deer and wolves setup cries of affliction. At that sound the fishes of the Ganges and thesea, and the various tribes of Vidyadharas dwelling in that forest allbecame frightened. O thou of mighty arms, let alone battling with them,no one, could even gaze at Arjuna and Janardana of dark hue. Hari slewwith his discus those Rakshasas and Danavas and Nagas that rushed at himin bands. Of huge bodies, their heads and trunks were cut off by theswift motion of the discus, and deprived of life they fell down into theblazing fire. Gratified with large quantities of flesh, blood, and fat,the flames rose up to a great height without a curling wreath of smoke.Hutasana (fire-god) with blazing and coppery eyes, and flaming tongue andlarge mouth, and the hair on the crown of his head all fiery, drinking,with the help of Krishna and Arjuna, that nectar-like stream of animalfat, became filled with joy. Gratified greatly, Agni derived muchhappiness.

“And it so happened that the slayer of Madhu suddenly beheld an Asura ofthe name of Maya escaping from the abode of Takshaka. Agni having Vayufor his car-driver, assuming a body with matted locks on head, androaring like the clouds, pursued the Asura, desirous of consuming him.Beholding the Asura, Vasudeva stood with his weapon upraised, ready tosmite him down, seeing the discus uplifted and Agni pursuing from behindto burn him, Maya said ‘Run to me, O Arjuna, and protect me!’ Hearing hisaffrighted voice Arjuna said, ‘Fear not!’ That voice of Arjuna, OBharata, seemed to give Maya his life. As the merciful son of Pritha saidunto Maya that there was nothing to fear, he of the Dasarha race nolonger desired to slay Maya who was the brother of Namuchi, and Agni alsoburned him not.’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Protected from Indra by Krishna and Partha,Agni gifted with great intelligence, burned that forest for five and tendays. And while the forest burned Agni spared only six of its dwellers,viz., Aswasena, Maya, and four birds called Sarngakas.'”