Arjuna and Agni

Agni, the fire god disguised as a voracious brahmana, approaches Krishna and Arjuna. He reveals his true form and his hunger to consume the Khandava forest, a desire thwarted for years by Indra’s protective rains. He asks the two warriors for their help in a task that will require divine weapons they do not yet possess.

Arjuna and Krishna encircle the Khandava forest, hunting down every creature that tries to flee while the god Agni rages through the woods. The gods, alarmed by the conflagration, beg Indra to intervene. Indra summons torrential rains, but the fire's heat evaporates the showers before they can touch the flames, setting the stage for a direct battle between the fire and the king of the gods.

The god of fire, Agni, rages through the Khandava forest, consuming everything. Krishna and Arjuna stand guard with divine weapons, slaughtering every creature that tries to flee and feeding them to the flames. Even the gods, led by Indra, arrive to save the forest but are utterly repulsed by the two warriors.

As the Khandava forest burns, the asura Maya flees Takshaka's abode, pursued by Agni in the form of a roaring hermit. With Krishna's chakra raised to kill him, Maya screams one name for salvation: Arjuna's.

The Khandava forest is gone, consumed by Agni after five days and a night of burning. The fire, drunk on rivers of fat and marrow, appears before Arjuna and Krishna, satisfied. Then Indra himself descends, surrounded by the Maruts, and offers the heroes a reward for a deed even gods would find difficult.