“And all the gods at that time of great fright drank the Amrita with delight, receiving it from Vishnu.  And while the gods were partaking of it, after which they had so much hankered, a Danava named Rahu was also drinking it among them in the guise of a god.  And when the Amrita had reached Rahu’s throat only, Surya and Soma (recognised him and) intimated the fact to the gods.  And Narayana instantly cut off with his discus the well-adorned head of the Danava who was drinking the Amrita without permission.  And the huge head of the Danava, cut off by the discus and resembling a mountain peak, then rose up to the sky and began to utter dreadful cries.  And the Danava’s headless trunk, falling upon the ground and rolling thereon, made the Earth tremble with her mountains, forests and islands.  And from that time there is a long-standing quarrel between Rahu’s head and Surya and Soma.  And to this day it swalloweth Surya and Soma (during solar and lunar eclipses).

“Then Narayana quitting his enchanting female form and hurling many terrible weapons at the Danavas, made them tremble.  And thus on the shores of the salt-water sea, commenced the dreadful battle of the gods and the Asuras.  And sharp-pointed javelins and lances and various weapons by thousands began to be discharged on all sides.  And mangled with the discus and wounded with swords, darts and maces, the Asuras in large numbers vomited blood and lay prostrate on the earth.  Cut off from the trunks with sharp double-edged swords, heads adorned with bright gold, fell continually on the field of battle.  Their bodies drenched in gore, the great Asuras lay dead everywhere.  It seemed as if red-dyed mountain peaks lay scattered all around.  And when the Sun rose in his splendour, thousands of warriors struck one another with weapons.  And cries of distress were heard everywhere.  The warriors fighting at a distance from one another brought one another down by sharp iron missiles, and those fighting at close quarters slew one another with blows of their fists.  And the air was filled with shrieks of distress.  Everywhere were heard the alarming sounds,—­’cut’, ‘pierce’, ‘at them’, ‘hurl down’, ‘advance’.

’And when the battle was raging fiercely, Nara and Narayana entered the field.  And Narayana seeing the celestial bow in the hand of Nara, called to mind his own weapon, the Danava-destroying discus.  And lo! the discus, Sudarsana, destroyer of enemies, like to Agni in effulgence and dreadful in battle, came from the sky as soon as thought of.  And when it came, Narayana of fierce energy, possessing arms like the trunk of an elephant, hurled with great force that weapon of extraordinary lustre, effulgent as blazing fire, dreadful and capable of destroying hostile towns.  And that discus blazing like the fire that consumeth all things at the end of Yuga, hurled with force from the hands of Narayana, and falling constantly everywhere, destroyed the Daityas and the Danavas by thousands.  Sometimes it blazed like fire and consumed them all; sometimes it struck them down as it coursed through the sky; and sometimes, falling on the earth, it drank their life-blood like a goblin.