Usha, daughter of asura king Banasura, was a beautiful princess of the kingdom of Sonitpur in the modern-day state of Assam.
Banasura was a devotee of Lord Shiva. With his penance, he got a boon from Lord Shiva that the Lord himself will guard his kingdom and be his personal protector. This made him invincible, but in his arrogance, he also asked for a favor by giving him an opportunity to fight a battle with an equally able warrior. Banasura is said to have a thousand arms. He was very arrogant and cruel. He locked his daughter Usha in the fortress of Agnigarh to keep her away from suitors.
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Usha's Dream print by Ravi Varma |
Usha one night found herself with a handsome young man. They spent time in each other’s company and fell in love. She woke up in the morning to find it was a dream. She was very upset and told about this person to her friend Chitraleka who dismissed it as a fantasy. This made Usha cry in misery. Seeing her friend upset, Chitralekha drew a picture of the person Usha described. Usha had dreamt of Anirudha, the grandson of Krishna of Dwarka. Seeing the picture of the prince of her dreams, Usha’s desire grew, and yet she quickly went into tears knowing the impossibility of their union.
Chitralekha herself was the daughter of asura minister Kumbhanda, in the assembly of Sonitpur. She was a yogini herself and had powers to teleport herself. At nightfall, she flew to the palace of Krishna in Dwaraka and made her way to young Anirudda’s chambers. She lifted the sleeping prince in her arms and returned back to Agnigarh fortress and gently laid him beside the sleeping Usha.
The next morning, Aniruddha was woken up by a beautiful stranger and found himself not in his own chamber. Usha narrated her dream to the prince. She told him how her friend Chitralekha brought him to her. Aniruddha fell in love with this maiden and did not fight.
In Dwarka, it was mayhem. Their prince disappeared from his chamber. The Yadava could not protect their prince, nor knew about his whereabouts. Narada, the celestial bard, told Balarama that Aniruddha is in faraway Sonitpur and in love with a maiden princess named Usha. But, his life was in danger. Krishna knew everything happens for a reason. The Yadava army was assembled to march eastward.
In Agnigarh, the prince could not be kept hidden for long. The guards saw him and informed Banasura. The asura king walked into his daughter’s chambers, found Aniruddha, and took him prisoner. He was locked in a dungeon filled with snakes.
The Yadava army with great warriors like Balarama, Pradyumna, Satyaki, and led by Krishna himself, marched towards Sonitpur. They attacked the city. But there was Lord Shiva himself at the gates, for Shiva was entrusted to protect the city. The battle between the great gods, Shiva and Krishna began. Shiva’s son, Kartikeya joined his father and engaged in a battle with Pradyumna. Satyaki was engaged with Banasura. Baldev was engaged with Kumbhanda
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| Krishna attack Banasura Mughal Miniature Painting |
Divyastras or divine arsenals flew. If the war continued, all creations will end. To save the creation, Shiva advised Krishna to attack him with Jurumnastra. This puts Shiva in a deep slumber. In this opportunity window, Yadava army caused great losses to the asura army. Banasura summoned his mother Kotari Aai, a presiding deity, to engage with Krishna. Two of Shivas gana, Trisirabhoot (three-headed ghost) and Jvarabhoot (fever-causing ghost) took charge on behalf of Shiva. They were defeated by Krishna. Banasura tried to flee the battlefield. Krishna threw Sudarshan Chakra, the divine discus, at Banasura and cut away his thousand arms. It was like cutting the large banyan tree, one branch after another. Banasura cried out to Shiva. At that point, Lord Shiva woke up and intervened on his devotee’s behalf.
“Do not kill him, Krishna, he’s a devotee of mine who has sought my protection.”
“I promised Prahlada that I would not kill any of his kin. With his thousand arms cut off, he will no longer be arrogant. Let him remain an attendant of yours.”
Hearing Krishna’s words, Banasura fell at the feet of the gods humbled. He was Prahlad's great-grandson.
Banasura released the couple, Aniruddha and Usha. He placed them on a chariot, performed kanyadaan, and let them return to Dwaraka. The Yadava army returned with the bride and groom with merriment.
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| Banasura Seeking Forgiveness Lithograph by Ravi Varma Press |
After the death of Krishna, a fratricidal war killed most of the Yadava clan. The surviving Yadavas took refuge in Indraprastha. Vajra, the great-grandson of Krishna and son of Usha-Aniruddha, was coronated as the Yadava king.
This is a love story, where Krishna and Shiva fought amongst themselves and could have destroyed all creations. This is also a love story that crossed across the Bharatvarsha or Indian-subcontinent. Sonitpur is from the north-eastern part of India and Dwarka is on the western shoreline.
You can read the story of Banasura here → https://acceleratetofly.blogspot.com/2021/12/banasura.html