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looked like porcupines with quills of arrows. Defeat and victory fell now to Nala, now to Hasta. No difference in their strength could be detected even by experts. Ashamed before his own soldiers who were witnesses, Nala, powerful, expert, cut off Hasta's head with a knife from anger. At once Nila slew Prahasta, as Nala had slain Hasta, and a rain of flowers fell from the sky on Nala and Nila.
CHAPTER SEVEN
From anger at the killing of Hasta and Prahasta, Mārica, Sinhajaghana, Svayambhū, Sāraṇa, Šuka, Candra, Arka, Uddāma, Bībhatsa, Kāmākṣa, Makara, Jvara, Gambhīra, Sinharatha, Aśvaratha, and others in Daśanana's army advanced. Madana, Ankura, Santapa, Prathita, Akrośa, Nandana, Durita, Anagha, Puspastra, Vighna, Pritikara, and other Kapis fought with Rākṣasas separately, leaping up and falling down, like cocks fighting with cocks. The Rakṣas Mārica fought resolutely and killed Santapa; Nandana killed the Rākṣasa Jvara; the Rākṣasa Uddāma killed Vighna; the Vanara Durita killed Suka; the Raksasa Sinhajaghana killed the Vanara Prathita; and the sun set. Then the soldiers of Rāma and Ravaṇa returned, purifying their own men, killed and unkilled. At dawn the Rakṣas soldiers advanced to fight Rama's army, like the demons fighting the sun. Daśāsya, mounted on a chariot drawn by elephants, set out for the business of battle in the midst of his army like Mt. Meru in the center of the earth. Carrying many weapons, more terrifying than death even, burning his enemies, as it were, with his eye red at that time, considering each one of his own generals like Satamanyu, scorning the enemy like straw, Rāvana went to the battle-field. Raghava's generals, very strong, approached with the soldiers for battle, watched by the gods in the sky. Very soon the surface of the battle-field had rivers in some places, as it were, from the deep waters of blood; had high mountains, as it were, in some places from the eminent Kapis that had fallen; had makaras piled up, as it were, from the faces of makaras that had fallen from the chariots; had
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