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FIVE PREVIOUS INCARNATIONS
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while the two armies fought with missiles, weapons, and craft. The sons of Aśanighosa, injured by beatings, were broken by Srivijaya's soldiers like trees by winds.
Then Aśanighosa, who had strength of arm and preëminent vidyās, raising a huge club like a thunderbolt, scolding the broken princes, intending to break the enemy, plunged into the enemy's army, like a boar into a pool, like the churning-stick into the ocean. The sons of Amitatejas were quickly defeated by him. Wise men requite an action at once. Seeing Sutārā's nephews defeated, King Srivijaya himself rushed into battle, saying to the enemy, “Halt! Halt!” Then the two, thundering and threatening each other, showing the power of weapons and the power of vidyās to be such, avoiding each other's blows with great dexterity, watched by gods and asuras, long-armed, fought.
Then Śrīvijaya, angry, powerful, struck with a sword and divided Aśanighosa as easily as a plantain-stalk. The two parts became two Asanighosas terrifying the soldiers by noise, like two banyan trees from a banyan root. When he made the two Aśanighosas twofold, they became four Asanighosas raised up. When the king divided the four, eight Asanighosas appeared on the battlefield. So by the Aśanighosas cut up by him again and again, there became thousands of Ašanighoșas like stalks of rice. The King of Potana was seen surrounded by many Aśanighoşas at the same time, like Mt. Vindhya by clouds.
When Srivijaya was exhausted from dividing them repeatedly, then Amitatejas came with Mahājvālā who had been subdued. Ašanighoşa's soldiers fled from the approaching Amitatejas, who was like the sun in brilliance, like deer from a lion. Arkakīrti's son instructed the vidyā Mahājvālā, “These evil-souled enemies must not be permitted to escape." The enemy, confused at once by the great vidyā, sought protection with Amitatejas offering protection. Like an elephant that has scented a rutting elephant, Ašanighosa fled unimpeded, when he
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