Parāçara said:—Before this, once Bāna prayed to the three-eyed deity
saying "O lord I am humiliated by the possession of a thousand arms; let
some conflict take place in which I may make use of my arms. Without any
war what is the use of these arms; they are but a burden to me".
Sankara said:—"When this peacock banner shall be broken thou shalt have
war, the delight of the evil spirits that live on human flesh".
Thereupon pleased and bowing unto Sankara he returned to his house where
he found the standard broken which increased his joy.
At that time the foremost of Apsaras, Chitralekha, came back from
Dwārakā and by virtue of her magic powers brought Aniruddha with her.
Finding him there with Ushā, the warders of the inner apartments
reported it to the king, who immediately sent a number of his retinue to
seize the prince. But taking up an iron club the powerful youth killed
all his adversaries. Thereat Bāna ascended his chariot, proceeded
against him and tried to kill him. Finding however that Aniruddha was
not to be vanquished by power he followed the counsel of his minister
and brought his magical faculties into the conflict, by which he
succeeded in capturing the Yadu prince and binding him in serpent bonds.
When Aniruddha was found missing from Dwārāvati and the Yādavas were
inquiring of one another whither he had gone, Nārada came and
communicated unto them that he was a prisoner of Bāna having been taken
by a female by virtue of her magical abilities to Sonitpura. When they
heard that he had been taken to Sonitpura, by a damsel, conversant with
magical powers, they did not place confidence in his words. Thereupon
Krishna thought of Garuda who immediately arrived there. And mounting
upon him along with Bala and Pradyumna he started for the city of Bāna.
On their approach to the city they were opposed by the attendant spirits
of Rudra; but they were soon slain by Hari and he and his companions
entered the city. Thereupon mighty fever, an emanation of Maheshwara,
having three feet and three heads, fought desperately with the holder of
conch in defence of Bāna. Baladeva, upon whom his ashes were scattered,
was seized with burning heat and his eye-lids trembled—but he obtained
relief by clinging to the body of Krishna. Thereupon fighting with the
holder of bow, the fever, emanating from Siva, was soon driven out from
Krishna's person by the fever engendered by himself; Beholding the Saiva
fever bewildered by the strokes of the arms of Krishna, Brahmā, the
patriarch of the deities, entreated him to desist, upon which the slayer
of Madhu refrained and absorbed into himself the fever he had created.
The rival fever then went away saying to Krishna; "Those men who shall
recollect the fight between us shall be freed from febrile disease".
Thereupon Vishnu overcame and destroyed the five fires and with perfect
ease slew the Dānavas. Then the son of Bali, with the entire Daitya
army, aided by Sankara and Kartikeya fought with Krishna. A dreadful
battle ensued between Hari and Sankara. Scorched by their burning
weapons, all the regions trembled and the celestials thought for certain
that the end of the universe was at hand. With the weapon of Yawning
Krishna set Sankara agape; then the attendant demons and demi-gods
attendant upon Siva were slain on all sides, for Hara, overcome with
incessant gaping, sat down in his car and was unable to fight with
Krishna any longer, who is above the influence of any acts. The deity of
war Kartikeya, wounded in the arm by Garuda, struck by the weapons of
Pradyumna and disarmed by the shout of Hari, fled away. Beholding
Sankara disabled, the demons slain, Guha fled and Siva's attendants
destroyed, Bāna proceeded in his huge car, the steeds of which were
harnessed by Nandisha, to fight with Hari and his associates Bala and
Pradyumna. Attacking the army of Bāna, the valiant Balabhadra wounded
them in diverse ways with his shafts and put them to a shameful
confusion. And their king saw them dragged about by Rāma with his
ploughshare or beaten by him with his mace and pierced by Krishna with
his shafts; he therefore attacked Krishna and a fight took place between
them; they hurled at each other burning arrows that pierced through
their armour; but Krishna intercepted with his arrows those of Bāna and
sundered them into pieces. Bāna however wounded Kesava and the wielder
of the discus wounded Bāna; and both of them, desirous of victory and
endeavouring angrily to bring about the death of his antagonist, hurled
diverse missiles at each other. When a number of weapons had been
sundered into pieces and the weapons began to be exhausted, Krishna
determined to slay Bāna. Thereupon the destroyer of the demons took up
his discus Sudarshana shining with the radiance of a hundred suns. As he
was about to meet it the mystical goddess of Kotair, the magic lore of
the demons, stood naked before him. Beholding her before him, Krishna,
with open eyes, cast Sudarshana to cut off the arms of Bāna. The discus
lopped off successively the numberless arms of Bāna which proved useless
the missiles discharged by the celestials. When the slayer of Madhu
again took in his hand the discus, after ten thousand arms had been
sundered, for the total destruction of Bāna the destroyer of Tripura
came to know it. Beholding blood gushing out from the dissevered arms of
Bāna the husband of Umā approached Govinda and requested him to put off
his hostilities, said:—"O Krishna, the lord of the universe, I know
thee, the excellent Purusha, the supreme lord, the infinite felicity
without beginning or end and beyond all things. This sport of universal
being in which thou assumest the person of god, animals and men is a
subordinate attribute of thy energy. Be propitious, therefore O lord,
unto me. I have given Bāna assurance of safety, do not thou falsify my
words. O thou eternal, this Bāna has grown old under my protection, let
him not incur thy displeasure. I conferred a boon on this Daitya and
therefore I am begging thy forgiveness".
Being thus addressed, Govinda, dismissing his resentment against the
Asura, smilingly said to Umā's lord, the holder of trident "O Sankara,
let this Bāna, the king of demons draw his breath since thou hast
conferred a boon upon him; to honour thy words, I withhold my discus;
the assurance of safety given by thee, is also given by me. Do not
consider me as distinct from thee. The celestials, Asuras and men and
the whole universe are not distinct from us. Those who have been
possessed by ignorance consider me as separate from thee".
Having said this Krishna went to where Aniruddha was; and the snakes
that bound him were destroyed by the breath of Govinda. And placing him
along with his wife upon the celestial bird, Krishna with Pradyumna and
Rāma returned to Dwārakā.