Text 1: Ĺukadeva GosvÄmÄŤ said: O King, while Lord BalarÄma was away visiting Nandaâs village of Vraja, the ruler of Karōᚣa, foolishly thinking âI am the Supreme Lord, VÄsudeva,â sent a messenger to Lord KášášŁáša.
Text 2: Pauášá¸raka was emboldened by the flattery of childish men, who told him, âYou are VÄsudeva, the Supreme Lord and master of the universe, who have now descended to the earth.â Thus he imagined himself to be the infallible Personality of Godhead.
Text 3: Thus slow-witted King Pauášá¸raka sent a messenger to the inscrutable Lord KášášŁáša at DvÄrakÄ. Pauášá¸raka was acting just like an unintelligent child whom other children are pretending is a king.
Text* 4: Arriving in DvÄrakÄ, the messenger found lotus-eyed KášášŁáša in His royal assembly and relayed the Kingâs message to that almighty Lord.
Text 5: [On Pauášá¸rakaâs behalf, the messenger said:] I am the one and only Lord VÄsudeva, and there is no other. It is I who have descended to this world to show mercy to the living beings. Therefore give up Your false name.
Text 6: O SÄtvata, give up my personal symbols, which out of foolishness You now carry, and come to me for shelter. If You do not, then You must give me battle.
Text* 7: Ĺukadeva GosvÄmÄŤ said: King Ugrasena and the other members of the assembly laughed loudly when they heard this vain boasting of unintelligent Pauášá¸raka.
Text 8: The Personality of Godhead, after enjoying the jokes of the assembly, told the messenger [to relay a message to his master:] âYou fool, I will indeed let loose the weapons you boast of in this way.
Text 9: âWhen you lie dead, O fool, your face covered by vultures, herons and vaáša birds, you will become the shelter of dogs.â
Text 10: When the Lord had thus spoken, the messenger conveyed His insulting reply to his master in its entirety. Lord KášášŁáša then mounted His chariot and went to the vicinity of KÄĹÄŤ.
Text* 11: Upon observing Lord KášášŁášaâs preparations for battle, the mighty warrior Pauášá¸raka quickly went out of the city with two full military divisions.
Text 12-14: Pauášá¸rakaâs friend, the King of KÄĹÄŤ, followed behind, O King, leading the rear guard with three akᚣauhiášÄŤ divisions. Lord KášášŁáša saw that Pauášá¸raka was carrying the Lordâs own insignia, such as the conchshell, disc, sword and club, and also an imitation ĹÄráš
ga bow and ĹrÄŤvatsa mark. He wore a mock Kaustubha gem, was decorated with a garland of forest flowers and was dressed in upper and lower garments of fine yellow silk. His banner bore the image of Garuá¸a, and he wore a valuable crown and gleaming, shark-shaped earrings.
Text 15: Lord Hari laughed heartily when He saw how the King had dressed up in exact imitation of His own appearance, just like an actor onstage.
Text* 16: The enemies of Lord Hari attacked Him with tridents, clubs, bludgeons, pikes, ášášŁtis, barbed darts, lances, swords, axes and arrows.
Text 17: But Lord KášášŁáša fiercely struck back at the army of Pauášá¸raka and KÄĹirÄja, which consisted of elephants, chariots, cavalry and infantry. The Lord tormented His enemies with His club, sword, SudarĹana disc and arrows, just as the fire of annihilation torments the various kinds of creatures at the end of a cosmic age.
Text 18: The battlefield, strewn with the dismembered chariots, horses, elephants, humans, mules and camels that had been cut to pieces by the Lordâs disc weapon, shone like the gruesome playground of Lord BhĹŤtapati, giving pleasure to the wise.
Text 19: Lord KášášŁáša then addressed Pauášá¸raka: My dear Pauášá¸raka, the very weapons you spoke of through your messenger, I now release unto you.
Text 20: O fool, now I shall make you renounce My name, which you have falsely assumed. And I will certainly take shelter of you if I do not wish to fight you.
Text* 21: Having thus derided Pauášá¸raka, Lord KášášŁáša destroyed his chariot with His sharp arrows. The Lord then cut off his head with the SudarĹana disc, just as Lord Indra lops off a mountain peak with his thunderbolt weapon.
Text 22: With His arrows, Lord KášášŁáša similarly severed KÄĹirÄjaâs head from his body, sending it flying into KÄĹÄŤ city like a lotus flower thrown by the wind.
Text* 23: Having thus killed envious Pauášá¸raka and his ally, Lord KášášŁáša returned to DvÄrakÄ. As He entered the city, the Siddhas of heaven chanted His immortal, nectarean glories.
Text 24: By constantly meditating upon the Supreme Lord, Pauášá¸raka shattered all his material bonds. Indeed, by imitating Lord KášášŁášaâs appearance, O King, he ultimately became KášášŁáša conscious.
Text 25: Seeing a head decorated with earrings lying at the gate of the royal palace, the people present were puzzled. Some of them asked, âWhat is this?â and others said, âIt is a head, but whose is it?â
Text* 26: My dear King, when they recognized it as the head of their King â the lord of KÄĹi â his queens, sons and other relatives, along with all the citizens of the city, began to cry pitifully: âAlas, we are killed! O my lord, my lord!â
Text 27-28: After the Kingâs son Sudakᚣiáša had performed the obligatory funeral rituals for his father, he resolved within his mind: âOnly by killing my fatherâs murderer can I avenge his death.â Thus the charitable Sudakᚣiáša, together with his priests, began worshiping Lord MaheĹvara with great attention.
Text* 29: Satisfied by the worship, the powerful Lord Ĺiva appeared in the sacred precinct of Avimukta and offered Sudakᚣiáša his choice of benedictions. The prince chose as his benediction a means to slay his fatherâs killer.
Text 30-31: Lord Ĺiva told him, âAccompanied by brÄhmaášas, serve the DakᚣiášÄgni fire â the original priest â following the injunctions of the abhicÄra ritual. Then the DakᚣiášÄgni fire, together with many Pramathas, will fulfill your desire if you direct it against someone inimical to the brÄhmaášas.â So instructed, Sudakᚣiáša strictly observed the ritualistic vows and invoked the abhicÄra against Lord KášášŁáša.
Text* 32-33: Thereupon the fire rose up out of the altar pit, assuming the form of an extremely fearsome, naked person. The fiery creatureâs beard and tuft of hair were like molten copper, and his eyes emitted blazing hot cinders. His face looked most frightful with its fangs and terrible arched and furrowed brows. As he licked the corners of his mouth with his tongue, the demon shook his flaming trident.
Text* 34: On legs as tall as palm trees, the monster raced toward DvÄrakÄ in the company of ghostly spirits, shaking the ground and burning the world in all directions.
Text* 35: Seeing the approacḼ of the fiery demon created by the abhicÄra ritual, the residents of DvÄrakÄ were all struck with fear, like animals terrified by a forest fire.
Text* 36: Distraught with fear, the people cried out to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was then playing at dice in the royal court: âSave us! Save us, O Lord of the three worlds, from this fire burning up the city!â
Text* 37: When Lord KášášŁáša heard the peopleâs agitation and saw that even His own men were disturbed, that most worthy giver of shelter simply laughed and told them, âDo not fear; I shall protect you.â
Text 38: The almighty Lord, the internal and external witness of all, understood that the monster had been produced by Lord Ĺiva from the sacrificial fire. To defeat the demon, KášášŁáša dispatched His disc weapon, who was waiting at His side.
Text* 39: That SudarĹana, the disc weapon of Lord Mukunda, blazed forth like millions of suns. His effulgence blazed like the fire of universal annihilation, and with his heat he pained the sky, all the directions, heaven and earth, and also the fiery demon.
Text 40: Frustrated by the power of Lord KášášŁášaâs weapon, O King, the fiery creature produced by black magic turned his face away and retreated. Created for violence, the demon then returned to VÄrÄášasÄŤ, where he surrounded the city and then burned Sudakᚣiáša and his priests to death, even though Sudakᚣiáša was his creator.
Text* 41: Lord Viᚣášuâs disc also entered VÄrÄášasÄŤ, in pursuit of the fiery demon, and proceeded to burn the city to the ground, including all its assembly halls and residential palaces with raised porches, its numerous marketplaces, gateways, watchtowers, warehouses and treasuries, and all the buildings housing elephants, horses, chariots and grains.
Text* 42: After burning down the entire city of VÄrÄášasÄŤ, Lord Viᚣášuâs SudarĹana cakra returned to the side of ĹrÄŤ KášášŁáša, whose actions are effortless.
Text 43: Any mortal who recounts this heroic pastime of Lord UttamaḼ-Ĺlokaâs, or who simply hears it attentively, will become freed from all sins.