Suta said: “Hearing this word, Shakra (Indra) said to the guardians of the amrita: ‘A bird of immense valor and strength is poised to steal the soma from here. I warn you so that he may not carry it off by force, for Brihaspati has told me of his incomparable strength.’ Hearing that word, the gods, astonished, made ready and took their stand, surrounding the amrita — Indra the thunder-wielder, lord of the gods, among them. Clad in precious armor — golden, richly wrought, inlaid with vaidurya (beryl) — the wise gods, having raised by the thousand various fearsome weapons with sharp, honed edges — weapons casting forth sparks, flame and smoke: discuses, maces, tridents, axes, manifold sharp spears, spotless swords, and clubs terrible to behold — taking up each after his own form, the radiant gods, with that lustrous weaponry, adorned with divine ornaments, took their stand, purified of stain. Gods of matchless strength, valor and splendor, their minds set upon guarding the amrita, destroyers of asura strongholds, their bodies blazing like kindled fire, [stood on guard]. Thus that supreme battle-array, occupied by the gods, thronging with hundreds of thousands of maces, as if pouring down through the sky, shone forth, lit by the rays of the sun.”