On hearing from Veerabahu that the Asuras were ready for the fight, Lord Karttik shifted His army camp from Tiruchendur to Emakudam, very near the city of the Asuras, Mahendrapuri. News of this soon reached Surapadma, and he at once despatched a battalion to drive away the enemy from the outskirts of the city.
Banukopan, the eldest son of Surapadma, who had been given command of the battalion for the fight on the first day sallied forth and found the whole host of the army of the Devas arrayed against him. The grim fight between the two mighty armies then began. The Devas suffered very heavy casualties at the hands of Banukopan and his battalion. Leaders like Veerabahu and his brothers were laid low and in a dead faint by the secret Astras of Banukopan.
On receipt of news of how day was going against the Devas, the Lord sent his Mohanastra to cover the whole army of the Asuras, and all the warriors who had been killed or thrown into a swoon by Banukopan were restored. The Astra sent by the Lord winged its way in the meanwhile towards Banukopan. Realising the gravity of the situation, the young chief with the help of Maya, his grandmother, disappeared from the field unnoticed and made his way to the palace, where he acquainted his father, Surapadma, with the latest phase of the fight. The redoubtable chief of the Asuras himself took over the command on the second day.
Enraged at the discomfiture of Banukopan and determined to crush the army of the Devas once for all, Surapadma himself gave battle to the Devas and began to work havoc on them. Ugran, one of the leaders of the Bhutaganas (on the side of Devas) after an arduous fight killed Atisuran, the son of Simhamukha. Roused to a high pitch of fury at this set-back, Asurendra, son of Taraka, threw himself into the thick of the fight and sent celebrated leaders like Kanakan, Unmathan, Manthan and many other flying from the field.
Veerabahu Devar hurried to that wing of the army and soon found himself in a hand to hand sword fight with the dreaded Asura prince, Asurendra. Their grim fight seemed endless, victory leaning now to one side and then to the other, alternately. But Veerabahu Devar by the exercise of his utmost powers at last succeeded in killing Asurendra. This brought Surapadma himself into the active fight and, by the exertion of his supreme valour, he soon made short work of the eight brothers of Veerabahu Devar, who immediately engaged him in deadly combat. After a prolonged and sanguinary engagement, Surapadma realised the mettle of the opponent he had to deal with and directed his special Danda against him. The Danda struck Veerabahu on the chest and laid him out bleeding and unconscious. The fall of Veerabahu encouraged Surapadma and he chased the remnants of the demoralised Deva army out of the field.
Lord Shanmukha now emerged to the front and faced the triumphant Asura king. He began with a series of missiles which promptly shattered, one by one, all the weapons and insignia of Surapadma and his followers. Then He despatched His Chakrayudha which annihilated hundreds of thousands of the Asura army. Finding the ordinary arrows to be of no avail against his formidable foe, Surapadma took up the Pasupatastra which he had received as a boon from Lord Siva, and directed it at Lord Shanmukha, confidently expecting his enemy to fall immediately, as the wonderful and mighty Astra had never been known to fail before. To his consternation and terror, however, Lord Shanmukha calmly took hold of the Astra and kept it aside. Now realising in a measure the valour and greatness of Shanmukha, who could handle such an Astra in such a manner, Surapadma, taking recourse to his powers of Maya suddenly disappeared from the battlefield unseen and retired to his palace.
The next day, being the third day of the battle, Banukopan equipped himself for the fight with special care and made his appearance in the field. At the very outset Veerabahu and Banukopan confronted each other. And both realised that the contest was to be a fight to the finish. To free himself completely from this grim encounter, Banukopan, in the flash of a moment and with the swiftness of a hurricane, sent out his Mohanastra against the Devas; and the whole host of the leaders were rendered unconscious and dropped into the sea! It was a critical moment. But Shanmukha was more than equal to the emergency. He directed his Vel to bring back safe and sound all the discomfited leaders; and to the dismay of the Asuras, all those who were thought to have been sent to their certain doom were again seen soon afterwards stationed and arrayed against the Asuras as if nothing had happened!
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