At that moment a voice came from the air, “This is an evil day, so carry Indra quickly out of the fight.” Then the Wind-god carried off Indra at the utmost speed of his chariot, and Vidyuddhvaja pursued them, mounted on his; and in the meanwhile Airávaṇah, infuriated and unrestrained by the driver’s hook, ran after Indra, trampling and scattering the forces. And the army of the gods left the field of battle and followed Indra; and Bṛihaspati carried off his wife Śachí, who was much alarmed, to the heaven of Brahmá. Then Vidyuddhvaja, having gained the victory, and having found Amarávatí empty, entered it, accompanied by his shouting troops.
And Indra, having recovered consciousness, and seeing that it was an evil time, entered that heaven of Brahmá with all the gods. And Brahmá comforted him, saying, “Do not grieve; at present this boon of Śiva is predominant; but you will recover your position.” And he gave him, to dwell in, a place of his own, furnished with all delights, named Samádhisthala, situated in a region of the world of Brahmá. There the king of the gods dwelt, accompanied by Śachí and Airávaṇa: and by his orders the Vidyádhara kings went to the heaven of the Wind-god. And the lords of the Gandharvas went to the inviolable world of the moon; and others went to other worlds, abandoning severally their own dwellings. And Vidyuddhvaja, having taken possession of the territory of the gods with beat of drum, enjoyed sway over heaven,[8] as an unlimited monarch.
At this point of the story, Chandraketu the Vidyádhara king, having remained long in the world of the Wind-god, said to himself, “How long am I to remain here, fallen from my high rank? The asceticism of my enemy Vidyuddhvaja has not even now spent its force; but I have heard that my friend Padmaśekhara, the king of the Gandharvas, has gone from the world of the Moon to the city of Śiva to perform asceticism. I do not know as yet, whether Śiva has bestowed a boon on him, or not; when I have discovered that, I shall know what I myself ought to do.”
While he was going through these reflections, his friend, the king of the Gandharvas, came towards him, having obtained a boon. That king of the Gandharvas, having been welcomed with an embrace by Chandraketu, and questioned,[9] told him his story, “I went to the city of Śiva and propitiated Śiva with asceticism; and he said to me, ‘Go, thou shalt have a noble son; and thou shalt recover thy kingdom, and obtain a daughter of transcendent beauty, whose husband shall be the heroic slayer of Vidyuddhvaja.’[10] Having received this promise from Śiva, I have come here to tell you.”
When Chandraketu had heard this from the king of the Gandharvas he said, “I too must go and propitiate Śiva in order to put an end to this sorrow; without propitiating him we cannot obtain the fulfilment of our desires. “When Chandraketu had formed this resolution, he went with his wife Muktávalí to the heavenly abode of Śiva, to perform asceticism.
And Padmaśekbara told the story of his boon to Indra, and having conceived a hope of the destruction of his enemy, went to the world of the moon. Then that king of the gods in Samádhisthala, having also conceived a hope of the destruction of his enemy, called to mind the counsellor of the immortals. And he appeared as soon as he was thought upon, and the god, bowing before him, and honouring him, said to him, “Śiva, pleased with the asceticism of Padmaśekhara, has promised that he shall have a son-in-law who shall slay Vidyuddhvaja. So we shall eventually see an end put to his crimes; in the meanwhile I am despondent, dwelling here in misery on account of my having fallen from my high position. So devise, holy sir, some expedient that will operate quickly.” When the adviser of the gods heard this speech of Indra’s, he said to him; “It is true that that enemy of ours has nearly exhausted his asceticism by his crimes; so now we have an opportunity of exerting ourselves against him. Come, then; let us tell Brahmá; he will point out to us an expedient.”
When Bṛihaspati had said this to Indra, he went with him to Brahmá, and after worshipping him, he told him what was in his mind. Then Brahmá said, “Am I not also anxious to bring about the same end? But Śiva alone can remove the calamity that he has caused. And that god requires a long propitiation:[11] so let us go to Vishṇu, who is like-minded with him; he will devise an expedient.”
When Brahmá and Indra and Bṛihaspati had deliberated together to this effect, they ascended a chariot of swans, and went to Śvetadvípa;[12] where all the inhabitants carried the conch, discus, lotus, and club, and had four arms, being assimilated to Vishṇu in appearance as they were devoted to him in heart. There they saw the god in a palace composed of splendid jewels, reposing on the serpent Śesha, having his feet adored by Lakshmí. After bowing before him, and having been duly welcomed by him, and venerated by the divine sages, they took the seats befitting them. When the holy one asked the gods how they prospered, they humbly said to him, “What prosperity can be ours, O god, as long as Vidyuddhvaja is alive? For you know all that he has done to us, and it is on his account that we have come here now: it now rests with you to determine what further is to be done in this matter.”
When the gods said this to Vishṇu, he answered them, “Why, do I not know that my regulations are broken by that Asura? But what the great lord, the slayer of Tripura has done, he alone can undo: I cannot. And from him must proceed the overthrow of that wicked Daitya. You must make haste, provided I tell you an expedient; and I will tell you one; listen! There is a heavenly abode of Śiva, named Siddhíśvara. There the god Śiva is found ever manifest. And long ago that very god manifested to me and Prajápati[13] his form as the flame-linga, and told me this secret. So come, let us go there and entreat him with asceticism: he will put an end to this affliction of the worlds.” When the god Vishṇu had uttered this behest, they all went to Siddhíśvara by means of two conveyances, the bird Garuḍa and the chariot of swans. That place is untouched by the calamities of old age, death, and sickness, and it is the home of unalloyed happiness, and in it beasts, birds, and trees are all of gold. There they worshipped the linga of Śiva, that exhibits in succession all his forms,[14] and is in succession of various jewels; and then Vishṇu, Brahmá, Indra, and Bṛihaspati, all four, with their minds devoted to Śiva, proceeded to perform a severe course of asceticism in order to propitiate him.
And in the meanwhile Śiva, propitiated by the severe asceticism of Chandraketu, bestowed a boon on that prince of the Vidyádharas, “Rise up, king, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a great hero, and shall slay in fight thy enemy Vidyuddhvaja; he shall become incarnate among the human race by a curse, and shall render a service to the gods, and shall recover his position by virtue of the asceticism of Padmávatí, the daughter of the king of the Gandharvas: and with her for a wife he shall be emperor over all the Vidyádharas for ten kalpas.”[15] When the god had granted this boon, he disappeared, and Chandraketu went back to the world of the Wind-god with his wife.