Sri Vasista
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-5. Thus the battle took place once for thirty years. During this period the ‘devas’ adopted a strategy of strike and retreat, wait and watch, strike and run and such wearying tactics. The second phase took five years eight months and ten days while the last phase took mere twelve days. The ‘devas’ achieved their ambition. Dāma, Vyāla and Kata grew passionate about battle and developed a fascination for it leaving them with a sense of ego and consequent ‘vāsana’.
When some object comes near a mirror, the mirror becomes like the object by reflecting it. Similarly due to intense practice of something that practice assumes the shape of ego (in a person) (due to nourishing and cherishing the object throw practice).
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When an object is away from a mirror, the mirror will not reflect the object. Similarly, the ‘vāsana’ of an object does not develop so long as one does not nourish and cherish the object.
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As the three slide into the ‘vāsana; then they enter the state of dependence and misery ‘ I should live and I should succeed’.
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Overtaken by such ‘vāsana’ of the world, they become infatuated by it. Then the bondage of desire tightens leaving them in misery.
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The three were initially like an artless, simple lady. Now they are enveloped by attachment and ego. Snake-in-rope condition developed in the three.
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They were tormented by an intense desire – ‘How can we be stable from foot to head?’. This was their miserable desire now.
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‘We should be firm (and live) in this body. We want money for happiness’. With such urge, their courage became dim.
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With such a body struck by ‘vāsana’ their strength decreased. Along with it their ability to strike (at the end).
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They became a lotus in a waterless pond with constant fear and though ‘how can we be immortal?’.
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They then became interested in women and wine which was the (beginning) of the fierce association with the world.
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-17. They became similar to deer which are afraid of the wild elephants. They were haunted by the thought ‘we will die, we will die,’. Their movements in battle became dull and slow.
-21. The three were concerned about protecting their body fearing the end of their life. Then they could not hunt or kill even an ordinary soldier with their weakened muscle. It was like fire deprived of fuel. They were like ordinary soldiers. In short, the ‘dānava’ armies took flight (with the three in state of fear) from battle field to save themselves from the ‘devas’.
-34. As Dāma and others took flight, the rest of the ‘dānava’ armies started fleeing and falling off the skies on to the earth. They were thrown into seas and forests on the earth and several earth bound cities. It was like rain of corpses, broken limbs, shared weapons and heads.
