CHAPTER TWELVE

Vrtrasura’s Glorious Death

This chapter describes how Indra, the King of heaven, killed Vrtrasura
despite great reluctance.

After Vrtrasura finished speaking, he released his trident against King
Indra with great anger, but Indra, using his thunderbolt, which was
many times more powerful than the trident, broke the trident to pieces
and cut off one of Vrtrasura’s arms. Nevertheless, Vrtrasura used his
remaining arm to strike Indra with an iron mace, making the thunder-
bolt fall from Indra’s hand. Indra, being very ashamed of this, did not
pick up the thunderbolt from the ground, but Vrtrasura encouraged
King Indra to pick it up and fight. Vrtrasura then spoke to King Indra as
follows, instructing him very well.

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead,” he said, “‘is the cause of vic-
tory and defeat. Not knowing that the Supreme Lord is the cause of all
causes, fools and rascals try to take credit for victory or defeat them-
selves, but everything is actually under the control of the Lord. No one
but Him has any independence. The purusa (the enjoyer) and prakrti
(the enjoyed) are under the control of the Lord, for it is by His supervi-
sion that everything works systematically. Not seeing the hand of the
Supreme in every action, a fool considers himself the ruler and controller
of everything. When one understands, however, that the real controller
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is freed from the relativities
of the world, such as distress, happiness, fear and impurity.” Thus Indra
and Vrtrasura not only fought, but also engaged in philosophical dis-
courses. Then they began to fight again.

This time Indra was more powerful, and he severed Vrtrasura’s
remaining arm. Vrtrasura then assumed a gigantic form and swallowed
King Indra, but Indra, being protected by the talisman known as
Narayana-kavaca, was able to protect himself even within Vrtrasura’s
body. Thus he emerged from Vrtrasura’s abdomen and severed the
demon’s head from his body with his powerful thunderbolt. Severing the

demon’s head took one complete year to accomplish.

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