And exceedingly afraid of that lustre, Indra remained plunged in thought. And at that time, O great king, bearing an axe on his shoulder, a carpenter came to the forest and approached the spot where lay that being. And Indra, the lord of Sachi, who was afraid, saw the carpenter come there by chance.
And the chastiser of Paka said unto him immediately, ‘Do this my behest. Quickly cut off this one’s heads.’ The carpenter thereupon said, ‘His shoulders are broad: this axe will not be able to cut them off. Nor shall I be able to do what is condemned by righteous persons.’ And Indra said, ‘Do not fear, quickly do what I say.
At my command thy axe shall equal the thunderbolt.’ The carpenter said, ‘Whom am I to take thee to be who hast done this frightful deed today? This I wish to learn, tell me the exact truth.’ And Indra said, ‘O carpenter, I am Indra, the chief of the gods. Let this be known to thee. Do thou act just as I have told thee.
Do not hesitate, O carpenter! The carpenter said, ‘O Indra, how is it that thou art not ashamed of this thy inhuman act? How it is that thou hast no dread of the sin of slaying a Brahmana, after having slain this son of a saint?’ Indra said, ‘I shall afterwards perform some religious ceremony of a rigorous kind to purify myself from this taint. This was a powerful enemy of mine whom I have killed with my thunderbolt.
Even now I am uneasy, O carpenter; I, indeed, dread him even now. Do thou quickly cut off his heads, I shall bestow my favour upon thee. In sacrifices, men will give thee the head of the sacrificial beast as thy share. This is the favour I confer on thee. Do thou quickly perform what I desire.’
“Salya said, ‘Hearing this, the carpenter, at the request of the great Indra, immediately severed the heads of the three-headed one with his axe. And when the heads were cut off, out flew therefrom a number of birds, viz., partridges, quails and sparrows. And from the mouth wherewith he used to recite the Vedas and to drink the Soma-juice, came out partridges in quick succession. And, O king, O son of Pandu, from the mouth with which he used to look at the cardinal points as if absorbing them all, a number of quails came forth. And from that mouth of the three-headed being which used to drink wine, out flew a number of sparrows and hawks. And the heads having been cut off Indra was freed from his trepidation, and went to heaven, glad at heart.
And the carpenter also went back to his house. And the slayer of Asuras, having killed his foe, considered his object gained. Now when the lord of creatures, Twashtri, heard that his son had been slain by Indra, his eyes became red with ire, and he spoke the following words, ‘Since Indra hath killed my son who had committed no offence at all, who was constantly engaged in the practice of austerities, who was merciful, possessed of self-control, and of subdued passions, therefore, for the destruction of Indra, I will create Vritra. Let the worlds behold what power I possess, and how mighty is the practice of austerities! Let that inhuman, wicked-minded lord of the gods also witness the same!’ And saying this, that enraged one, famous for his austerities, washed his mouth with water, made offerings on the fire, created the terrible Vritra, and spoke to him, saying, ‘O destined slayer of Indra, grow in might even from the strength of my austere rites.’ And that Asura grew in might, towering towards the firmament, and resembling the son of fire. And he asked, ‘Risen like the doomsday sun, what am I to do?’ ‘Kill Indra,’ was the reply.
And then he departed towards the celestial regions. And next ensued a great fight between Vritra and Indra, both fired with wrath.
And there took place a terrible combat, O best of Kuru’s race. And the heroic Vritra seized the celestial lord who had performed a hundred sacrifices. And filled with wrath, he whirled Indra and threw him into his mouth. And when Indra was swallowed up by Vritra, the terrified senior gods, possessed of great might, created Jrimbhika to kill Vritra. And as Vritra yawned and his mouth opened the slayer of the Asura, Vala contracted the different parts of his body, and came out from within Vritra’s mouth.
And thenceforth the yawn attaches itself to the living breath of animated beings in three worlds. And the gods rejoiced at the egress of Indra. And once again commenced the terrible fight between Vritra and Indra, both full of ire. And it was waged for a long while, O best of Bharata’s race. And when Vritra, inspired with the mighty spirit of Twashtri and himself endowed with strength, got the upper hand in fight, Indra turned back And on his retreat, the gods became exceedingly distressed. And all of them together with Indra were overpowered by the might of Twashtri. And they all consulted with the saints, O descendant of Bharata. And they deliberated as to what was proper to be done, and were overwhelmed with dread. And seated on the top of the Mandara mountain, and bent on killing Vritra, they only bethought themselves of Vishnu, the indestructible one.’
SECTION X
“Indra said, This whole indestructible universe, O gods, hath been pervaded by Vritra. There is nothing that can be equal to the task of opposing him. I was capable of yore, but now I am incapable. What good betide you, can I do? I believe him to be unapproachable. Powerful and magnanimous, possessing immeasurable strength in fight, he would be able to swallow up all the three worlds with the gods, the Asuras, and the men. Therefore, hear ye dwellers of heaven, this is my resolution. Proceeding to the abode of Vishnu, in company with that high-souled Being must we consult, and ascertain the means of slaying this ruthless wretch.’
“Salya continued, ‘Indra having thus spoken, the gods with that host of Rishis repaired to the mighty god Vishnu to place themselves under the-protection of that protector of all. And afflicted with the dread of Vritra, they said unto the Supreme Lord of the deities. Thou hadst in former times covered the three worlds with three steps.
Thou hadst procured the ambrosial food, O Vishnu, and destroyed the Asuras in battle. Thou didst bind the great Asura Vali and hadst raised Indra to the throne of heaven. Thou art the lord of the gods, and this entire universe is pervaded by thee. Thou art the God, the mighty Deity, saluted by all persons. Be thou the refuge of all the celestials together with Indra, O best of gods. The whole universe, O slayer of Asuras, hath been pervaded by Vritra. And Vishnu said, ‘I am no doubt bound to do what is for your good. I shall, therefore, tell you of a contrivance whereby he may be annihilated. Do ye with the Rishis and the Gandharvas repair to the place where Vritra that bearer of a universal form is and adopt towards him a conciliatory policy.
You will thus succeed in overthrowing him. By virtue of my power, victory, ye gods, will be won by Indra, for, remaining invisible, I shall enter into his thunderbolt, that best of weapons. O foremost of gods, depart ye with the Rishis and the Gandharvas. Let there be no delay in effecting a peace between Indra and Vritra.’