“’Duryodhana said, “Listen, once more, O ruler of the Madras, to what I will say unto thee, about what happened, O lord, in the battle between the gods and the Asuras in days of yore.  The great rishi Markandeya narrated it to my sire.  I will now recite it without leaving out anything, O best of royal sages.  Listen to that account confidingly and without mistrusting it at all.  Between the gods and the Asuras, each desirous of vanquishing the other, there happened a great battle, O king, which had Taraka for its evil (root).  It hath been heard by us that the Daityas were defeated by the gods.  Upon the defeat of the Daityas, the three sons of Taraka, named Tarakaksha, Kamalaksha and Vidyunmalin, O king, practising the austerest penances, lived in the observance of high vows.  By those penances they emaciated their bodies, O scorcher of foes.  In consequence of their self-restraint, their penances, their vows and contemplation, the boongiving Grandsire became gratified with them and gave them boons.  Unitedly they solicited the Grandsire of all the worlds, O king, for the boon of immunity from death at the hands of all Creatures of all times.  The divine Lord and Master of all the worlds said unto them, ’There is nothing like immunity from death at the hands of all creatures.  Therefore, ye Asuras, abstain from such a prayer.  Solicit some other boon that may seem desirable to you.’  When all of them, O king, having settled it amongst themselves after long and repeated conferences, bowed to the great Master of all the worlds and said these words, ’O god, O Grandsire, give us this boon.  Residing in three cities, we will rove over this Earth, with thy grace ever before us.  After a 1,000 years then, we will come together, and our three cities also, O sinless one, will become united into one.  That foremost one amongst the gods who will, with one shaft, pierce those three cities united into one, will, O lord, be the cause of our destruction.’  Saying unto them, ‘Let it be so,’ that god ascended to heaven.  Those Asuras then, filled with joy at having obtained those boons and having settled it among themselves about the construction of the three cities, selected for the purpose the great Asura Maya, the celestial artificer, knowing no fatigue or decay, and worshipped by all the daityas and danavas.  Then Maya, of great intelligence, by the aid of his own ascetic merit, constructed three cities, one of which was of gold, another of silver, and the third of black iron.  The golden city was set in heaven, the silver city in the welkin, and the iron city was set on the Earth, all in such a way as to revolve in a circle, O lord of Earth.  Each of those cities measured a hundred yojanas in breadth and a hundred in length.  And they consisted of houses and mansions and lofty walls and porches.  And though teeming with lordly palaces close to each other, yet the streets were wide and spacious.  And they were adorned with diverse mansions and gate-ways.  Each of