The clamour they raised was
like unto the frightful uproar heard during the churning of the ocean (in
days of yore). The mighty flames of the blazing fire reaching the
firmament, caused great anxiety to the celestials themselves. Then all the
illustrious dwellers in heaven went in a body unto him of a hundred
sacrifices and thousand eyes, viz., their chief, that grinder of Asuras.
Approaching Indra, the celestial said, 'Why, O lord of immortals, doth
Agni burn these creatures below? Hath the time come for the destruction of
the world?'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these words of the gods, and himself
beholding what Agni was doing, the slayer of Vritra set out for the
protection of the forest of Khandava. And Vasava, the chief of the
celestials soon covering the sky with masses of clouds of every kind began
to shower upon the burning forest. Those masses of clouds by hundreds and
thousands, commanded by Indra began to pour rain upon Khandava in showers
thick as the flag-staffs of battle-cars. But the showers were all dried up
in the sky itself by the heat of the fire and could not, therefore, reach
the fire at all! Then the slayer of Namuchi, getting angry with Agni,
collected huge masses of clouds and caused them to yield a heavy downpour.
Then with the flames contending with those heavy showers, and with masses
of clouds overhead, that forest, filled with smoke and flashes of
lightning, became terrible to behold.'"
SECTION CCXXIX
(Khandava-daha Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'Then Vibhatsu, the son of Pandu, invoking his
excellent weapons, prevented that shower of rain by Indra, by means of a
shower of his own weapons.
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