Chapter Summaries

Indra brought Yashoda and Shachi together, then headed to Vaikuntha with Yashoda and moved a palace there using Airavata and Gao Er. After meeting Vishnu, Indra showed him a wisp of pink power and asked what kind of Asura power it was.

• Indra subdued Gao Er and Airavata, then told them to compete to haul his palace.
• Indra examined the pink power from Sani's wedding and recognized it as the Power to Incite Desire.
• Indra arrived in Vaikuntha and met Garuda, who joined him in helping move the palace.
• Lakshmi welcomed Yashoda, and Vishnu dismissed Garuda so he could speak privately with Indra.
• Indra showed Vishnu the pink mist and asked him to identify the Asura power.

Indra learned from Vishnu that the Lust Asura arose from the gods’ desires and would be difficult to find, while the decline of Dharma would bring the world toward the Kali Yuga. Vishnu urged Indra to pursue wisdom and liberation, and Indra returned to Shachi determined to comprehend Great Wisdom and reach the Third Eye Chakra.

• Indra showed Vishnu the pink energy taken from Manda, and Vishnu identified it as the power of the Lust Asura, born from the gods’ desires.
• Vishnu explained that self-restraint could guard against the Lust Asura, but the decline of Dharma and the rise of indulgent desire were inevitable as the ages progressed.
• Indra asked what would happen after the Kali Yuga, and Vishnu said the gods would sleep while he restored the Perfect Age, unless Mahadeva had to burn away the world’s corruption.
• Indra asked whether the Kali Yuga would produce powerful Asuras, and Vishnu confirmed it would bring great Asuras and other troubles before urging Indra to attain wisdom and liberation.
• Indra left Vishnu, resolved to defeat the Lust Asura if the chance arose and to reach the Third Eye Chakra, then returned to Shachi and declared that he must comprehend Great Wisdom.

Indra abandoned meditation to rest on a familiar stone while Shachi watched, and in the Netherworld, Duofu worried that Indra might abduct more Asura women. King Niujie had no answer to her fears when an Asura soldier summoned him to discuss resisting the Heavenly Realm.

• Indra lay down on a huge white stone and entered yogic sleep as Shachi watched fondly.
• Suvini lamented that Indra had taken Shachi, and Duofu worried that the gods might abduct other Asura women.
• Duofu returned to King Niujie's palace, where he caught her before she walked into a golden pillar.
• Duofu warned King Niujie that Indra might take more women, and he fell silent, suspecting Indra had killed Prahlad.
• An Asura soldier summoned King Niujie to meet with the mentor and discuss resisting the Heavenly Realm.

At the Asura Temple, Maya Asura revealed a plan to exploit Indra’s love of Soma by creating an intoxicating demon, but he needed the Asura generals’ Power of Arduous Cultivation. Two Asuras volunteered, while Vipralambha suspected something was wrong.

• King Niujie arrived at the Asura Temple and learned from Vipralambha that the Asuras had no leader after Dharaka’s defeat.
• Sukra the Mentor urged the Asura generals not to give up despite their lack of blessings to fight Indra.
• Maya Asura announced that Indra’s dependence on Soma was his fatal weakness and proposed hiding an intoxicating demon in the wine.
• Maya Asura asked the generals to lend him their Power of Arduous Cultivation so he could complete the demon.
• After Sukra asked who would go first, two Asuras volunteered, leaving Vipralambha suspicious of their sudden eagerness.

Maya Asura gathered the Asuras’ Power of Arduous Cultivation to create a powerful intoxicating fiend, while Sukra kept half to forge an Octagonal Diamond for Durantaka and Durugon. Maya began a Soma Ritual in the Human Realm to summon and capture Soma, who sensed the offering and insisted he had changed.

• King Niujie persuaded Vipralambha and the Asuras to donate their Power of Arduous Cultivation to Maya Asura’s Soma Wine, and Vipralambha realized Simhika had joined too.
• Maya Asura and Sukra divided the donated wine, and Sukra used his half to plan an Octagonal Diamond for Durantaka and Durugon that could reflect force eightfold.
• Sukra explained that Maya Asura planned to control the intoxicating fiend by summoning and imprisoning Soma during a Soma Ritual.
• Maya Asura transformed a forest into a ritual plaza, disguised himself as an old priest, and offered wine into the sacrificial fire to summon Soma.
• Soma sneezed in the Heavenly Realm as the gods discussed a feast for Kartikeya, then declared that he was no longer the Soma he had been and could control his desires.

After Maya Asura’s centuries of Soma worship failed to summon the god, he changed tactics and appeared as a dancing woman. Soma was lured to the altar, where Maya Asura revealed himself and confronted him.

• Maya Asura spent hundreds of years performing a Soma Ritual, but Soma did not respond.
• Frustrated, Maya Asura wondered whether he had used the wrong method and transformed himself into a voluptuous dancing woman.
• Soma saw the dancer from the Heavenly Realm and decided to answer the worshiper’s call.
• Soma descended onto the altar and approached the dancer, asking her wish.
• The dancer ended her performance, revealed a cold gaze, and spoke in Maya Asura’s deep voice: “You finally came!”

Maya Asura captured Moon God Soma and used his hair and the Asuras’ Power of Arduous Cultivation to create the Intoxicant monster. When Maya unveiled it before the Asuras, the monster attacked despite his attempt to command it, prompting Shukracharyaa to demand an explanation.

• Maya Asura revealed himself to Moon God Soma, subdued him with Maya power, and ripped out a lock of his hair.
• Maya Asura mixed Soma’s hair into the wine jar and created the powerful Intoxicant monster.
• Maya Asura brought Soma and the monster’s jar to the Asura Temple as the Asuras followed, drawn by the Soma Wine rain.
• Maya Asura released Intoxicant before Sukra, Durantaka, Durugon, and the gathered Asuras, and its roar knocked many of them down.
• Intoxicant ignored Maya Asura’s command and swung a giant claw at the group, causing Shukracharyaa to demand, “What are you doing?!”

Maya Asura used Soma to halt Drunkenness, and Sukra learned that the Heavenly Realm was preparing to drink Amrita under Kartikeya's rule. The Asuras sent Soma toward the Heavenly Realm with Drunkenness concealed inside him, but Lucini confronted him on arrival.

• Maya Asura controlled Soma, who stopped Drunkenness from descending on the Asuras.
• Sukra questioned Soma and learned that the Heavenly Realm was preparing to drink Amrita and that Kartikeya was its ruler.
• Sukra proposed using Drunkenness to capture the gods, but Maya Asura concealed the giant demon inside Soma so they could infiltrate the Heavenly Realm.
• Maya Asura sent Soma toward the Heavenly Realm while the Asuras watched his journey through a vision.
• Lucini stopped Soma after he arrived and asked where he had been, leaving the Asuras stunned.

Maya Asura and the Asuras used Soma to infiltrate the Heavenly Realm and steal Amrita, but Sarama exposed them and Kartikeya defeated their summoned monster, Intoxication. Kartikeya declared he would sweep through the Netherworld, while Sukra warned the defeated Asuras to prepare for his attack.

• Maya Asura controlled Soma, used intoxication to knock Lucini unconscious, and disguised her as a pillar while the Asuras continued through the palace.
• Sarama detected the Asura scent on Soma and warned Kartikeya that he was an impostor.
• Kartikeya revealed that Rahu had warned him about the scheme, removed the Amrita, and bound Soma, but Maya Asura released Intoxication, which broke free and overwhelmed the gods with intoxicating Soma Wine.
• Kartikeya transformed, resisted Intoxication's golden sphere, and drove his spear into the monster's forehead, defeating it.
• The Asuras' light screen shattered, and Sukra stopped them from attacking Maya Asura and warned that Kartikeya might soon strike the Netherworld.

Sukra the Mentor gave Durantaka and Durugon Maya’s Firmament, an immense shield that reflected attacks eightfold, while Kartikeya freed Soma from the Bewitching Demon Beast. Soma flew off to find his still-controlled wife, Lucini, and Kartikeya turned his attention back to the wounded beast.

• Sukra the Mentor formed the two halves of Maya’s Firmament and entrusted them to Durantaka and Durugon.
• King Niujie attacked the completed diamond, which reflected his strike as eight venomous snakes and caused explosions throughout the Asura Temple.
• Durantaka and Durugon praised Maya’s Firmament, and Sukra the Mentor claimed it could withstand even Chakravyuha.
• Kartikeya pulled Soma out of the Bewitching Demon Beast and told him he had saved him.
• Soma remembered that Lucini was still controlled and flew away to find her.
• Kartikeya prepared to strike the wounded Bewitching Demon Beast again, then laughed when he realized it was begging for mercy.

Kartikeya defeated the Intoxicating Demon but ignored Vishnu’s warning and prepared to lead the Heavenly Realm’s army against the Netherworld. Meanwhile, Andhaka’s curse ended and he reunited with Shiva and Parvati, while Shiva worried about Kartikeya’s growing arrogance and the demon’s influence.

• Kartikeya claimed the surrendered Intoxicating Demon as a weapon, then argued with Vishnu when he warned him not to control it; Vishnu and Garuda departed.
• Brahma and Saraswati concluded that the demon was affecting Kartikeya and that an attack on the Netherworld could end in disaster.
• Shiva removed Andhaka from his trident after his curse ended, and Andhaka awoke and reunited with Shiva, Parvati, and Nandi.
• Shiva told Parvati that he feared Kartikeya was being led away from Dharma, but Parvati asked him to comb her hair and reassured him that Kartikeya’s brother would help.
• Kartikeya ordered Vishwakarma to finish arming the Gandharvas and promised his son a high position, then prepared the army for an invasion of the Netherworld.
• Rahu assured Vipralambha and Simhika that Kartikeya would defeat the Asuras, despite their warning that Sukra the Mentor was formidable.

Rahu confidently expected Kartikeya to win as the Heavenly Realm's army marched into the Netherworld. At the Asura Temple, Sukra sent Durantaka and Durugon in Maya's Firmament to block the gods, leaving Kartikeya to decide who would face them first.

• Rahu departed to join Kartikeya's army, while Vipralambha and Simhika worried that he was unreliable.
• Kartikeya led the gods and Gandharva army into the Netherworld atop Madhu and ordered them to march on the Asura Temple.
• After learning the gods had attacked, Sukra ordered Durantaka and Durugon to use Maya's Firmament.
• Durantaka and Durugon merged their half-diamonds and flew in the Octagonal Diamond to confront the advancing gods.
• The Octagonal Diamond halted the gods' army, and Kartikeya asked which god would go first.

Kartikeya rallied the gods to attack Maya's Firmament, but the diamond reflected their combined power and crushed the heavenly army. As the Asuras moved to capture the defeated gods and learn the secret of Amrita, Kartikeya escaped in the form of a divine energy sphere, while Durantaka sent Intoxication after the fleeing gods.

• Durantaka and Durugon mocked the hesitant gods, and Vayu attacked Maya's Firmament, whose reflected storm spears threw the divine army into disarray.
• Varuna urged Kartikeya to retreat, but Kartikeya rallied the gods with Brahma's hymn blessing and led them in a united attack on the diamond.
• Maya's Firmament reflected the gods' combined strike eightfold, defeating the army and hurling Kartikeya into a crater.
• Kartikeya mistook Intoxication's growl for comfort, but the fiend attacked him; Durantaka and Durugon then moved to capture him and force him to reveal where Amrita was hidden.
• Overcome by defeat and fear, Kartikeya transformed into six golden spheres that merged into a divine energy sphere and fled, while the other gods also tried to escape.
• Durantaka ordered Intoxication to pursue the fleeing gods.

As the Intoxicating Demon Beast pursued Surya, Soma, and Aruna into the Human Realm, Vishnu arrived to stop its destruction. Durantaka drew the beast into Maya's Firmament and challenged Vishnu, who prepared to confront the Asuras with Chakravyuha.

• Soma joined Surya's fleeing chariot and briefly restrained the Intoxicating Demon Beast so they could escape the Netherworld.
• Durantaka and Durugon pursued the chariot into the Human Realm with the beast, whose golden mist spread across the land and incapacitated wild animals.
• Vishnu left Vaikuntha and appeared in the Human Realm, where Surya, Soma, and Aruna recognized and praised him.
• Vishnu raised Chakravyuha against the Intoxicating Demon Beast, but Durantaka drew the beast into Maya's Firmament and challenged him.
• Soma urged Vishnu to use Chakravyuha on the Asuras, while Surya and Soma laughed at Durantaka's challenge.

Vishnu failed to break Maya's Firmament, whose blessing returned power eightfold, and brought the gods to Vaikuntha to seek Indra's help. As Durantaka and Durugon attacked the City of Thousand Gates, Yashoda went out with her Withered Wood Staff to protect Vishnu and face them with the power of misfortune.

• Vishnu tried to crush Maya's Firmament and then struck it with Chakravyuha, but the diamond survived and left the divine discus cracked.
• Vishnu transported the gods to Vaikuntha and explained that Maya's Firmament returned power eightfold; he decided they needed Indra's blessed weapon to defeat the Asuras.
• Vishnu led the gods to Indra's palace, where Yashoda stopped them from entering because Indra was meditating, and her staff's power knocked the gods down.
• Durantaka and Durugon attacked the City of Thousand Gates from the Ocean of Milk, shaking Vaikuntha as they called for the gods to come out.
• Yashoda took her Withered Wood Staff and flew outside to protect Vishnu, while Vishnu urged her to show the Asuras the power of misfortune.

After Vishnu left the gods to awaken Indra, they decided Soma could use the Asuras’ Intoxication power to make a substitute for the Sacred Meal. Soma gathered the golden mist into a giant egg while Yashoda kept the Asuras at bay.

• Vishnu vanished after telling the gods to awaken Indra, and the gods found him asleep amid a wheel of lightning in the temple.
• The gods realized they had no monsters to roast for Indra, so they urged Soma to draw Intoxication power from the Asuras.
• The gods’ prayers let Soma see Yashoda facing Durantaka and Durugon across the Ocean of Milk, while Sukra recognized her and ordered the brothers to target Soma.
• Durantaka and Durugon bypassed Yashoda and charged at Soma, but Yashoda sent their weapons falling into the sea.
• The Asuras released golden Intoxication mist, and Soma took control of it and compressed it into a massive golden egg.

Soma and the gods prepared the Golden Egg, but Durantaka and Durugon broke into Vaikuntha and attacked the heavenly gods. The brothers then aimed at the sleeping Indra and fired despite Shukracharyaa’s warning.

• Soma returned to Vaikuntha with the Golden Egg, and the gods praised Yashoda before joining him in the temple.
• Agni cooked the Golden Egg with Varuna’s water and Vayu’s spices, while Vishnu watched with delight.
• Durantaka and Durugon entered Vaikuntha on Maya's Firmament and shattered the temple with arrows that became giant bulls.
• Durantaka spotted the sleeping Indra, and he and Durugon decided to shoot him.
• Shukracharyaa ordered the brothers to stop, but they fired two arrows that transformed into horned bulls charging toward Indra.

Indra awakened and confronted Durantaka and Durugon at Maya's Firmament, where they tried to use its eightfold reflection to injure him. Indra was immune to the reflected lightning and raised his Battle Axe to strike, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Indra emerged from the smoke after the two bulls charged him, and the gods celebrated his awakening.
• Durantaka and Durugon planned to provoke Indra into striking Maya's Firmament so it could reflect his attack eightfold.
• Indra leaped onto Maya's Firmament and punched the Octagonal Diamond, sending reflected lightning back at him.
• Vishnu explained that Indra's divine armor made him immune to lightning, and Indra reappeared unharmed.
• Indra summoned a Battle Axe, raised it overhead, and cleaved downward.

Indra shattered Maya's Firmament, killed Durantaka and Durugon, and learned the Asuras were preparing for war in the Netherworld with Sukra the Mentor promising to revive them. Back above the Ocean of Milk, Indra freed Yashoda from Bewilderment’s influence and faced the awakened Monster of Intoxication with Indra's Bow.

• Indra broke Maya's Firmament with God Cleaver, then struck down Durantaka and Durugon as they fought him.
• Sukra the Mentor revived Durugon and Durantaka, promised to use the Sanjivani Undying Curse again, and ordered the Asuras to prepare for Indra’s attack on the Netherworld.
• Indra learned from Surya and Agni that Kartikeya had transformed into six portions of divine energy and disappeared after his defeat.
• Indra pulled Yashoda away from Bewilderment and used the Vajra Pestle to clear her confusion.
• Bewilderment regained its strength and rose from the Ocean of Milk, so Indra put away God Cleaver and drew Indra's Bow.

Indra used Halahala Arrows to trap and capture the Intoxication Demon, then discovered it could revive through Soma Wine. He handed the demon to Soma and set off for the Netherworld.

• Indra shot Halahala Arrows into the Intoxication Demon, spreading poison across its body and forcing it to become mist.
• Indra formed an arrow cage that wore away the demon's mist and trapped its reduced form.
• Indra captured Intoxication and sealed his senses to resist the demon's intoxicating power.
• Indra realized Intoxication could revive through Soma Wine and ordered Soma to take charge of the demon.
• Soma accepted the miniature demon, and Indra charged toward the Netherworld.