And thousands upon
thousands of gems were floating in heaps and a violent wind was blowing
about in whirls--and this was wonderful to behold. And having beheld
that excellent lord of all waters with powerful tides, I saw at a short
distance the city of the demons filled with the _Danavas_. And even
there, entering underneath the earth, Matali skilled in guiding the car,
sitting fast on the chariot drove it with force; and he dashed on,
frightening that city with the rattling of his chariot. And hearing that
rattling of the chariot like unto the rumbling of the clouds in the sky,
the _Danavas_, thinking me to be the lord of the celestials, became
agitated. And thereupon they all, frightened at heart, stood holding in
their hands bows and arrows and swords and javelins and axes and maces
and clubs. Then having made arrangements for the defence of the city,
the _Danavas_, with minds alarmed, shut the gates, so that nothing could
be discovered. Thereupon taking my shell, _Devadatta_, of tremendous
roars, I again and again winded it with exceeding cheerfulness. And
filling all the firmament, those sounds produced echoes. Thereat mighty
beings were terrified and they hid (themselves). And then, O Bharata,
all of them adorned with ornaments, those offsprings of _Diti_--the
_Nivata-Kavachas_--made their appearance by thousands, donning diverse
mail and taking in their hands various weapons and equipped with mighty
iron javelins and maces and clubs and hatchets and sabres and discs and
_sataghnis_ and _bhusundis_ and variegated and ornamented swords.
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