Banasura
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Bana (also called Banasura), in Hindu mythology, was a thousand-armed asura and son of Bali. Banasur was a powerful and terrible asura. Non Aryan Kings in that age were termed as Asuras or daityas.All people even the king of earth and Devas of heaven were afraid of him. Bana was a follower of Siva. Banasura ruled in present day central Assam with his capital at Sonitpur (Present day Tezpur, Assam).
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[edit] Genealogy of Banasura
The genealogy of Banasura is as under:[1]
Brahma's (ब्रह्मा) son was Paricha'
Paricha's (परीच) son was Kashyapa, Kashyapa's (कश्यप) son was Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha,
Hiranyakashipu's (हिरण्यकश्यप) youngest son was Prahlada,
Prahlada's (प्रहलाद) son was Virochana,
Virochana's (विरोचन) son was Bali,
Bali's (बलि) son was Banasura Banasura's wife's name was Kandala (कन्दला).
[edit] Usha in love with Aniruddha
Banasura had a beautiful daughter named Usha. When Usha became young, number of proposals came for her marriage but Banasura accepted none. Wary, that Usha might fall in love with men other than his choice, he kept Usha in a formidable fortress called 'Agnigarh 'with her friends. Usha one day saw a young man in her dream and fell in love with him. Chitralekha was a friend of Usha and daughter of Kumbhada, minister of Banasura. She was a talented artist who helped Usha to identify the young man seen in the dream of Usha by painting the portrait. He was Aniruddha, the grandson of Lord Krishna. Chitralekha through supernatural powers abducted Aniruddha from the palace of Krishna and brought him to Usha. Usha and Aniruddha secretly married and lived together as husband and wife in the Agnigarh.
[edit] War of Banasura with Krishna
When Banasur came to know about it, He arrested Aniruddha and had him tied with snakes. When Krishna knew it, he came with a huge army and attacked Banasura. This was Krishna's second visit to Assam, the first being when He came to abduct Rukmini, his wife. There was a severe battle. Banasura was a follower of Shiva. In this war Rudra fought with Krishna, Virabhadra with Pradyumna, Kopakarna and Kumbhada with Balarama, Banasur's son with Samba and nandishwar with Garuda. Shiva helped Banasura by spreading bacteria of fever in the army of Krishna, which made his army unable to fight. Krishna in turn created anti-bacteria to kill bacteria spread by Shiva. All soldiers of Krishna’s army got healed up and became ready to fight. The war continued for long without any conclusion. Krishna then approached Shiva and reminded him of his earlier commitment. Shiva advised Krishna to use Jambhastra on him which would lead Shiva to sleep and Krishna could defeat Banasura. This way Banasura was defeated. When Krishna defeated Siva in battle, he spared Bana's life on Shiva's request but cut off all but four of his arms. Shiva got compromised both. Krishna excused Bana. He married Usha with Aniruddha and brought them to dwaraka. Banasura moved to Himalayas and devoted his life in worship of Shiva.
[edit] Descendants of Banasura
Bana is a gotra (clan) of Jats found in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in India. Banas are descendants of King Banasura. Their capital was at Bayana in Bharatpur. Usha temple, at Bayana, was built during the reign of Raja Laxman Sen, by his wife in memory of Usha.
[edit] References
- ^ Bhaleram Beniwal: Jāt Yodhāon ke Balidān, Jaypal Agencies, Agra 2005
- Krishna.com. Glossary
- Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dhallapiccola
- Acharya Chandra Shekhar Shastri: Puranon ki Anmol Kahanian, 2006 ISBN 81-902258-6-3
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