Shri Ram ji's horse for the Ashwamedha Yagna wandered for some time and then entered the limits of Devpur. This city was so prosperous that even the houses of its ordinary citizens were made of silver. The king here was Veeramani, and his son's name was Rukmangad.
One day Rukmangad went to the forest with many beautiful women. In that enchanting environment, some women danced, some sang songs, and other women pleased the prince with their affectionate embraces. Just then, the horse for the Ashwamedha Yagna arrived there. Seeing that horse, the women requested, "My dear prince, capture this beautiful horse. Look, there is a message written on its forehead in a golden script."
Rukmangad easily caught the horse with one hand and then read aloud the message written on its forehead to the women. Then he said, "Who is this Ram? My father is the most powerful king, and he has the protection of Lord Shiva. Let us take this horse to our stable so that my father can perform the Ashwamedha Yagna."
After this, the prince returned to his kingdom with his wives and presented the horse as a gift to his father. After hearing the whole story, the extremely wise King Veeramani did not agree to bring the horse. In fact, the king thought that his son had acted like a thief.
With this horse, Veeramani went to consult Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva said to the king, "Your son has done a good deed. Today there will be a fierce battle where I will have the opportunity to see my Lord Ram. I always meditate on him. Ram may be my Lord, but still, I believe that even with thirty-three crore gods, you cannot take this horse away from you because I am your protector."
Meanwhile, Shatrughna could not find the horse for the Ashwamedha Yagna, so he asked his minister Sumati about it. Sumati informed him that the name of the king of this kingdom was Veeramani. He cautioned Shatrughna that the king of this place has the protection of Lord Shiva himself.
While Sumati was informing Shatrughna about this, on the other side, King Veeramani was preparing for war by assembling his army. Soon, Shatrughna saw a huge army advancing towards the battlefield. Sumati advised Shatrughna to let Pushkal fight with the king so that Shatrughna could fight with Lord Shiva.
First, Rukmangad fought with Pushkal. After a fierce battle, Pushkal shot an arrow that set Rukmangad's chariot on fire, making it into ashes, and knocked the prince unconscious on the battlefield. Seeing his son's defeat, Veeramani, filled with anger and the desire for revenge, advanced towards Pushkal. Hanuman rushed towards Veeramani, but Pushkal stopped him, saying that this enemy is so insignificant that you should not worry about him. Thus, Hanuman stopped, and Pushkal moved forward to face Veeramani. The king said, "You are still a child. Don't try to fight with me because I am very angry, and no one can defeat me on the battlefield."
Pushkal said, "You say that I am a child, but I say that you are an old man. I have defeated your son, and now I will bring you down from your chariot with my arrows."
After this, a terrible battle ensued, in which countless people from both sides were killed. Pushkal and Veeramani severely wounded each other with their weapons, but ultimately, a powerful arrow struck the king's chest, causing him to faint and fall from his chariot onto the battlefield. Thus, Pushkal achieved victory once again.
Seeing his devotees defeated, Lord Shiva sent Virbhadra to fight with Pushkal and Hanuman to fight with Nandi. After a fierce battle, when Virbhadra broke Pushkal's chariot, Pushkal fell from the chariot. Then, these two brave warriors began a fist fight. In fact, this battle continued for many days, continuously day and night.
On the fifth day, Virbhadra knocked Pushkal to the ground and then cut off his head with his trident. In response, Shatrughna shouted for battle, and then a fierce battle ensued between them, which lasted for eleven days. On the twelfth day, Shatrughna launched a Brahmastra, but in response, Lord Shiva fired a terrible arrow that pierced Shatrughna's chest. As a result, Shatrughna fainted, and then Hanuman, filled with anger, went to fight with Lord Shiva.
Hanuman said, "O Rudra, you are acting against religious principles. I heard that you always meditate on the lotus feet of Lord Ram. But now I see that it was merely false preaching! For this deceit, I will defeat you on the battlefield today."
Saying this, Hanuman struck a huge boulder, smashing Lord Shiva's chariot. Then Nandi approached Lord Shiva and requested to sit on his back. Then Lord Shiva struck Hanuman with his trident, but Hanuman caught it and broke it into pieces. As the battle progressed, both struck each other with numerous weapons. Eventually, Hanuman wrapped Lord Shiva with his tail and began showering rocks, mountains, and trees on him. Seeing this, Nandi became frightened, and even Lord Shiva fell into confusion.
Lord Shiva said to Hanuman, "You have done a tremendously courageous deed. I am extremely pleased with you, so I want you to ask for a boon from me." Hanuman replied with a smile, "By the grace of Lord Ram, I have everything I need. Still, I ask you: Pushkal is dead, and Shatrughna is unconscious. Please protect all those defeated warriors so that no ghost, vulture, or creature can take their bodies for food. I am going to bring the Dron Mountain filled with life-restoring herbs." Lord Shiva agreed. Then Hanuman quickly went towards the Ocean of Milk and brought the Dron Mountain, and then he returned to the battlefield.
