Samba

Shalva lays siege to Dvaravati from the air, attacking from every side at once. The Vrishnis and Andhakas respond with total mobilization — no drinking, no entertainment, bridges destroyed, moats fortified, and every tested warrior placed at the walls. The city becomes a fortress that nothing enters or leaves without a seal.

Unable to bear Shalva's invasion, the young Vrishni descendants — Charudeshna, Samba, and Pradyumna — emerge to fight. Samba overcomes the general Kshemavriddhi's maya and kills the daitya Vegavan with a club, while Pradyumna slays the danava Vivindhya with a divine weapon — forcing Shalva to return in Soubha to rally his shaken army.

Pradyumna, having been carried unconscious from the battlefield, imagines the scorn of every Vrishni hero — Gada, Baladeva, Satyaki, and the women of his clan — if he does not return. He tells Daruki that shame with ridicule is worse than death, and commands the chariot be turned back at once.

Shalva rises into the sky and rains down a storm of weapons on Krishna. As Krishna wards them off, a messenger arrives from Dvaraka with devastating news: Shalva has attacked the city and killed Shura's son. Then Krishna sees his own father falling from the sky — and for a moment, the greatest warrior of the age is shattered.

Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that after the Pandavas' defeat at dice, Krishna and their allies visited them in Kamyaka forest. Krishna vowed to kill Duryodhana and his allies, but Yudhishthira insisted on keeping his thirteen-year vow. The assembled warriors then pledged to Draupadi that her oppressors would be destroyed when the time came.

Rama and Janardana learn of Yudhishthira's severe austerities and lead the foremost Vrishnis to visit him with their armies. They find the Pandavas lying on the ground, their bodies smeared with dirt, and Draupadi in distress. Yudhishthira offers them homage, tells them of his enemies' deeds, and reveals that Arjuna has gone to Indra for weapons — leaving the Vrishnis relieved but weeping at the sight.