Vayu

Shalva, unable to tolerate Pradyumna's penetration from the right, attacks the charioteer Daruki and then Pradyumna himself. Pradyumna counters every weapon Shalva throws at him — including the terrible maya of the asuras — and strikes him unconscious. But when he nocks a supreme arrow to finish the king of Soubha, the gods themselves intervene.

Bhima asks the ape to reveal his true identity. The ape speaks: he was born from Kesari and Vayu, the wind god — the same wind that gave Bhima his own strength. He is Hanuman, the monkey who served Rama, who leaped across the ocean to find Sita, who burned Lanka and returned. He tells Bhima that he asked Rama for a single boon: to live as long as Rama's deeds were sung on earth. Rama agreed. And so Hanuman is still here.

Having explained his restraint with Ravana, Hanuman does not stop. He turns to Bhima and delivers a long discourse on dharma, the duties of a kshatriya king, and the art of governance — a lesson from an elder brother who has seen more than he has ever said.

While the Pandavas are thinking of Arjuna, Indra's chariot driven by Matali suddenly appears in the sky, carrying Arjuna. He descends, pays respects to Dhoumya, Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Draupadi, is worshipped by Nakula and Sahadeva, and the Pandavas honor Matali before he departs. Arjuna presents the gifts from Indra, recounts his acquisition of weapons from Indra, Vayu, and Shiva, and his entry into heaven, then happily goes to sleep with his brothers.

As Arjuna prepares to discharge the celestial weapons, the gods and lokapalas arrive at the scene of cosmic disturbance. Narada, instructed by the gods, warns Arjuna that using divine weapons without a target is a great sin — and that mishandling them could destroy the three worlds. Arjuna is restrained, and the weapons are preserved for future battle.

Markandeya turns from advice to prophecy. He tells Yudhishthira of Kalki, the brahmana who will exterminate the dasyus and rakshasas, hand the earth to the brahmanas, and retire to the forest — ushering in a new krita yuga where dharma flourishes once more.

Five sages perform terrible austerities for many years, seeking a son equal to Brahma. From their combined power, a five-colored fire named Panchajanya is born — and then proceeds to perform his own austerities for ten thousand years, creating gods, ancestors, and the entire cosmic order of sacrificial fire.

With Skanda instated as general of the gods, Rudra departs for Bhadravata in a chariot yoked to a thousand lions, followed by a vast celestial procession — gods, yakshas, rishis, weapons, rivers, and the very branches of knowledge — establishing the new cosmic order.

Sita has collapsed after Rama's public rejection. As she lies on the ground, the sky fills with gods — Brahma, Indra, Agni, Vayu, Yama, Varuna — and the radiant form of King Dasharatha descends in a swan-drawn chariot. Sita rises and calls upon the elements themselves to witness her truth.

An unmarried princess gives birth in secret, wraps the newborn in a basket, and sets him adrift on a river at night. She weeps over him, calls on the gods to protect him, and returns to her father's palace as if nothing happened. The basket floats through three rivers before reaching a city of charioteers — where a child in divine armour will be found.