Banasura, Rudra, Krishna and Others Fight

Vyasa said

Best of sages, when Aniruddha, Krishna's grandson, was carried off by Kumbhanda's daughter, what did Krishna do? Please tell me.

Sanatkumara replied

When Aniruddha was taken, Krishna heard the women weeping and was distressed. Four months of the rainy season passed this way. Hari and his relatives could not see Aniruddha and grieved. When Narada told them that he was imprisoned, all the Vrishnis and Krishna were deeply miserable. Having listened carefully, Krishna at once summoned Garuda and set out for Shonitapura to fight. Pradyumna, Yuyudhana, Samba, Sarana, Nanda, Upananda, Bhadra and the others followed Rama and Krishna. With twelve akshouhinis the bulls among the Satvatas laid siege to Bana's city on all sides. Seeing that its groves, walls, mansions and turrets had been shattered, Bana grew wrathful and came out with an equal number of soldiers. For Bana's sake, with his son and surrounded by the pramathas, Bhagavan Rudra climbed on the bull Nandi and advanced to fight.

There was a wonderful, tumultuous battle between Krishna and the others on one side and Rudra and Bana's protectors on the other, enough to make the hair stand up. Krishna fought Shankara, Pradyumna fought Guha, Bala fought Kumbhanda and Kupakarna, Samba fought Bana's son and Satyaki fought Bana. Nandi fought Garuda. Brahma and the other lords of gods, siddhas, charanas, gandharvas and apsaras arrived on their vehicles and vimanas to watch. The Yadu line and many kinds of pramathas, including those called Revatis, clashed fiercely. With his brother Rama and wise Pradyumna, Krishna fought a tumultuous battle with the pramathas. Agni, Yama, Varuna, Vimukha, Tripada, Jvara and many kinds of pramathas fought the Vrishnis terribly. Not far off, amid terrible flames, were the powerful, shameless women called Kotaris. With fierce arrows from the Sharnga bow, Achyuta drove off Shankara's brave followers, the bhutas, pramathas and guhyakas, and Pradyumna and the other brave ones destroyed enemy soldiers in the festival of that terrible battle.

Seeing his forces destroyed, Rudra was full of rage and roared loudly in his great energy, and Shankara's ganas roared too. With their own energy raised by Shambhu's energy, they crushed the enemy warriors. Unsurprised, the Pinaka-wielder, trident in hand, quieted each weapon loosed from the Sharnga bow, one by one. He countered brahma weapon with brahma weapon, vayu weapon with mountain weapon, fire weapon with rain weapon and narayana weapon with his own. The enemy heroes beat Krishna's soldiers and drove them away, for with Rudra's whole energy present they could not hold the field. Seeing his soldiers driven off, Krishna, scorcher of enemies, let loose his own terrible fever, called Shitala. As Krishna's army fled, Shitala rushed at Rudra, burning the ten directions. Seeing it advance, Maheshvara released his own fever, and the two, Maheshvara and Vaishnava, fought each other. Suffering under the strength of the Maheshvara fever, the Vaishnava fever was afraid and praised Vrishadhvaja. Hara, kind to devotees, answered Vishnu's Shitala fever, entreated by it: he said he was pleased with it, it should not fear his fever, and anyone who remembered this conversation would never be frightened of any fever. When Rudra said this, Narayana's fever bowed and went away, and Krishna, seeing what it did, was surprised and afraid.

Struck by floods of arrows from Pradyumna, Skanda, intolerant slayer of many daityas, grew angry and struck Pradyumna with a spear. Though strong, Pradyumna bled from his limbs and fled the battle quickly. Kumbhanda and Kupakarna struck Balabhadra with many weapons, and though strong he did not stay in the battle either. Garuda took a thousand bodies and drank up water from the great ocean, to destroy the enemy by raining it down from avarta clouds. Mahesha's mount, the powerful bull, grew angry at this and struck him with both horns. His limbs mangled, Garuda was very surprised, left Janardana and fled the field. Then Bhagavan, Devaki's son, astonished at Rudra's energy, told his charioteer to drive quickly to Mahadeva's presence, because he had something to say. Daruka, supreme among those of good qualities, drove the chariot to Rudra.

Understanding this, Krishna bowed with joined hands and sought refuge in the one who loves his devotees. He said: Lord of the gods, Mahadeva, of infinite powers, in all selves, supreme lord, I bow to you; you are the cause of the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe, true knowledge, a sign of brahman, supreme and serene, the only Parameshvara. Time, destiny, karma, living beings, nature, objects, body, breath, individual self, every transformation, seeds and their growth: all this is your maya. You are the cause, and I take refuge in you. You have many moods and make your own play. You make the immortals shine and harm those who leave the natural path. You are the supreme brahman, your radiance hidden in the words that speak of brahman, seen like the sky only within bright selves. You are the original Purusha, without a second, seen in the turiya state, cause of all causes, Isha seen through transformations. Lord, in your own maya you are known through all the gunas, within everything and undivided; everything is you. Even when the sun is hidden its form can be known through a shadow, and so your radiance can be detected in your shadow. You have no gunas and cannot be known by them, yet are described through them. You are Girisha Shankara, lit by your own lamp. People whose minds are deluded by your maya sink into sons, wives, homes and the rest, attached and plunged in an ocean of sin. A person who, having got this body by destiny, does not conquer his senses and love Shiva's lotus feet is to be mourned, for he deceives his own self. By Shiva's own command, Krishna said, he had come to cut off Bana's hands, since Shiva, who removes insolence, had cursed the haughty Bana. He asked Shiva to withdraw from the battle, or his curse would fail, and to command him to cut off Bana's arms.

Hearing Krishna, Shambhu was pleased and answered. He said Krishna spoke truly: he had cursed the daitya king, and it was by his command that Krishna had come to cut off Bana's arms. But, he said, he was always subject to his devotees, and how could he possibly watch Bana's arms being cut? So Krishna should follow his order and use the jrimbhana weapon to make him yawn, and use that moment to do as he wished. Addressed this way, Krishna, bow in hand, was amazed, and happily returned to where he had been fighting, quickly fixed the jrimbhana weapon to his bow and, skilled in many weapons, loosed it at the Pinaka-holder. Deluded by it, Girisha yawned, and Shouri cut down Bana's forces with swords, clubs and short swords.