The ocean of story, being C.H. Tawney's translation of Somadeva's ...

78 THE OCEAN OF STORY
by the sacrifice of his head ;
and he drew his sword to that
purpose.
Then the goddess said to him: "Do. not act rashly, my
son. Lo ! I have been won over by thee, thou hero. Let
"
this thy army be as it was before, and be thou victorious !
And immediately his army awoke as it were from sleep. Then
his wives, and his companions, and all the Vidyadharas,
praised the might of that emperor ! And the hero, having
eaten and drunk and performed the necessary duties, spent
that night, which seemed as long as if it consisted of a
hundred watches instead of three. 1
And the next morning he worshipped Kalaratri, and
marched thence to engage Dhumasikha, who had barred his
further advance with an army of Vidyadharas. Then the
emperor had a fight with that king, who was the principal
champion of Mandaradeva, of such a desperate character
that the air was full of swords, the earth covered with the
heads of warriors, and the only speech heard was the terrible
"
Then the emperor
cry of heroes shouting, " Slay ! Slay !
took Dhumasikha captive in that battle by force, and afterwards
treated him with deference ; and made him submit
to his sway. And he quartered his army that night
in his
city, and the host seemed like fuel consumed with fire, as it
had seen the extinction of Dhumasikha's 2
pride.
And the next day, hearing from the scouts that Mandara-
deva, having found out what had taken place, was advancing
to meet him in fight, Naravahanadatta marched out against
him with the chiefs of the Vidyadharas, determined to conquer
him. And after he had gone some distance he beheld
in front of him the army of Mandaradeva, accompanied by
many kings, attacking in order of battle. Then Naravahanadatta,
with the allied kings at his side, drew up his
forces in an arrangement fitted to encounter the formation
of his enemies, and fell upon his army.
1 The measures of time vary considerably, according to the different
authorities. Yama is the word used here for "watch." It occurs in the table
as given in the Bhagavata-purana (iii. 2). For further details see Barnett,
Antiquities of India, p. 219- n.m.p.
2 Dhumasikha, literally "the smoke-crested," means "fire."