Usha Aniruddha Story
The son of the demon king Bali, Banasur was a great devotee of Lord Lord Shiva. Banasur ruled over the kingdom Sonitpur. By the grace of Lord Lord Shiva, he had received thousand arms. Even all the gods including Indra used to serve him. Thus blinded by his physical strength, Banasur sought a boon from Lord to meet a match for his strength. Lord Shiva said: “O fool, your thirst for war shall be quenched when your flag is broken.”
Banasur had a daughter named Usha. Once she had a dream in which Anirudh was making love with her. She was very much perplexed by the dream. After a few days with the help of her friend Chitralekha, Anirudh sneaked into her palace. He stay there and enjoyed the company of Usha for long. But Anirudh’s clandestine stay could not remain hidden from the eyes of Banasura. So he put Anirudh in prison. There in Dwaraka, everyone was worried by Anirudh’s long absence.
Usha Aniruddha ka Vivah
It was Narada, who ultimately revealed the fact that Anirudh was in the prison of Banasur. Hearing the news, Lord Krishna launched an attack on Banasur. His armies surrounded Sonitpur. During Ghurabandi the flag of Banasur’s palace fell. Lord Shanker arrived to assist Banasur. Lord Krishna cut all the arms of Banasur. At the request of Lord Shiva, he left only four of his arms intact. Banasur bowed his head before Lord Krishna and brought Anirudh and Usha respectfully before Him. With them Lord Krishna returned to Dwaraka where formal marriage of Usha and Anirudh took place.