Sage Narad was curious to know how the demon King Andhak behaved with
the deities. He asked Pulastya in this regard. Pulastya replied- "After
ascending the throne, Andhak did a severe penance to please Lord Shiva
and received a boon according to which he could neither be killed by the
deities nor by any mortal. He also received another boon according to
which even fire could not burn him.
Andhak appointed Shukracharya as his chief priest. He defeated the
deities and had gained control over the whole earth. Once, Andhak had
gone to see the beautiful sight of Sumeru Mountain. Indra after making
adequate arrangements for the security of his capital Amravati came
forward to fight him with a huge army. A fierce battle was fought
between both the armies. The whole atmosphere was covered in darkness
due to the dust. It became difficult for the warriors of both the sides
to distinguish between friend and an enemy. The whole battlefield was
strewn with dead bodies and blood.
Indra unleashed a volley of arrows towards Andhak. In reply, Andhak too
retaliated by unleashing a volley of arrows towards Indra. In this duel,
both of them got injured. Infuriated, Indra attacked him with his
Vajra, which destroyed all of Andhak's weapons. Indra's Vajra then
chased Andhak who jumped down from his chariot to save his life. Andhak
defended himself by attacking it with his fist. As a result, it fell on
the ground. Indra then attacked Andhak by unleashing a volley of arrows
in his direction. Andhak dodged the assault and ran towards him
menacingly. He attacked Airavat- the elephant and mount of Indra with
such force that it became paralysed. Seeing his elephant in such a
pitiable condition, Indra picked up his Vajra and ran inside the fort to
save himself. Andhak then single-handedly destroyed Indra's whole army.
Yamaraj was fighting from the deities' side. He attacked Prahlad who was
fighting from Andhak's side. It became impossible for Yamaraj to match
Prahlad's valour and bravery. As a result, he was forced to flee from
the battlefield. Inspite of having mighty warriors like Varun and Agni
in their ranks, the deities could not match the valour of the demon's
army, which comprised of valiant and brave fighters like Virochan, Maya
and Shambar. Ultimately, the deities were defeated in this battle. The
victorious demon King Andhak returned to Paatal loka with his army.
