The Demon with a Thousand Hands
Bansura, the demon, had a thousand hands with which he played the mridanga, while Shiva danced the tandava. Pleased with his talent,
Shiva became his protector. Banasura became very arrogant and powerful
after this. Banasura had a daughter named Usha. One day, she saw a man
in her dream and fell in love with him. Usha's friend, Chitealekha,
painted a picture of the man of Usha's dreams based on the description
given by her. The picture resembled Anniruddha, Krishna's grandson. Usha
asked her friend to help her get the man of her dreams. Chitralekha
flew to Anniruddha and brought him to Usha. They fell in love with each
other. Banasura did not approve of this and imprisoned Anniruddha.
Hearing this, Krishna came to rescue his grandson and fought
Banasura. In the end Krishna defeated Banasura. Finally, at Shiva's
request, Krishna spread Banasura's life but cut off his thousand hands
leaving only four.
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