PLATE SIX
“After Indra cut off his two arms, Vṛtrāsura, bleeding profusely, assumed a gigantic body which shook even the mountains and began crushing the surface of the earth with his legs. He came before Indra and swallowed him and Airāvata, his carrier, just as a big python might swallow an elephant. The Nārāyaṇa armor protected King Indra, and with his thunderbolt he pierced through Vṛtrāsura’s abdomen and came out. Indra, the killer of the demon Bala, then cut off Vṛtrāsura’s head, which was as high as the peak of a mountain. At that time, the living spark came forth from Vṛtrāsura’s body and returned home, back to Godhead. While all the demigods looked on, he entered the transcendental world to become an associate of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa.” ( pp. 240–246 )