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One of Krishna's most famous deeds is his killing of the demon Narakasura, which is the inspiration of the holiday Deepavali. Narakasura was tormenting the gods and had even stolen the earrings of Indra's mother Aditi, so Indra sought the help of Krishna. As I discuss in this question, Krishna rode on Garuda, accompanied by his wife Satyabhama, to Narakasura's capital of Pragjyotishpura and defeated him.

But my question is about Narakasura's past. Narakasura is also known as Bhauma, or son of Bhumidevi goddess of the Earth. He was born to Bhumidevi and Vishnu's incarnation Varaha in a place called Kokamukha in modern-day Nepal, as described in this excerpt from the Brahma Purana:

Chaya, the Earth conceived by lord Boar generated asura Naraka known also by the name Bhauma. Lord Vishnu gave him Pragjyotisha, the capital city of Kamarupa.

My question is, how did the son of Vishnu's incarnation Varaha become so evil, to the point where Vishnu's incarnation Krishna had to kill him?

The only potential explanation I've found is the one described in this book:

According to ... the Kalika Purana and other texts, he was the son of Bhumi or Bhudevi (Prithvi) and of the god Vishnu in his Varaha form. The baby was left on the sacrificial ground of King Janaka of Mithila, and brought up by the kings, along with his sons.... He went to Pragjyotisha (Assam) and Naraka conquered the region ... and was made king by Vishnu. Vishnu asked him to worship goddess Kamakhya, and none other. Naraka was a wise and good ruler, but after he came in contact with Bana, king of Shonitapura, he began to pray to Shiva. He neglected the goddess and oppressed his subjects.

For those who don't know, Banasura was the son of Mahabali and king of Shonitapura. As I discuss in this answer, Krishna's grandson Aniruddha fell in love with Bana's daughter Usha, and when Bana found out he kidnapped Aniruddha. So Krishna went to Shonitapura and fought with Bana, with Shiva fighting on Bana's side because Bana was a devotee of Shiva. Finally, the situation was resolved and Aniruddha and Usha got married.

But are there any other scriptures that mention that it was Banasura who corrupted Narakasura? The Kalika Purana is only an Upapurana (minor Purana), so preferably I'd like confirmation of this story from one of the 18 Mahapuranas.

TheLittleNaruto
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Keshav Srinivasan
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    Narakasura was not Varaha's Son. He was Hiranyaksha's Son. When Hiranyaksha contacted mother earth to hide her under the ocean Narakasura was born on. As Hiranyaksha was evil Narakasura was naturally born evil and was expected to be more powerful. You can find the entire story here: http://hindumythologyforgennext.blogspot.com/2012/07/death-of-narakasura-origins-of-diwali.html – Raghavan RV Aug 25 '15 at 19:37
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    @RaghavanRV I think that link is wrong; the Brahma Purana says he was the son of Varaha. – Keshav Srinivasan Aug 25 '15 at 19:58
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    Yes apart from that link I could not find anywhere else similar information. Also I found out that he wasn't killed by Bhagawan Sri Krishna but by Satyabama(incarnation of bhoomadevi). Naraka apparently got a boon from Brahma that he should die only at the hands of his mother. So Bhagawan Sri Krishna tricked him into being killed by an incarnation of his mother (Satyabama) – Raghavan RV Aug 25 '15 at 21:12
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    Also as to how he became evil you have yourself stated he came into contact with Banasura. I guess evil companionship is itself good enough to bring down any noble/good person. – Raghavan RV Aug 25 '15 at 21:19
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    @RaghavanRV No, Krishna killed Narakasura himself; see this chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam: http://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/10/59 "Bhauma, frustrated in all his attempts, took up his trident to kill Lord Kṛṣṇa. But even before he could release it, the Lord cut off his head with His razor-sharp cakra as the demon sat atop his elephant." So I think that link is completely wrong. In any case, I still want to know what Hindu scripture says about Narakasura turning evil. – Keshav Srinivasan Aug 25 '15 at 21:26
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    @Raghavan RV - Keshav is right. Narakasura was killed by Lord Krishna. Sathyabhama did fight Narakasura for some time as she wanted to fight as Krishna allowed her to fight. It was a sport by Lord Krishna. But, puranas clearly say that Lord Krishna killed narakasura with Sudarshana chakra. Satyabhama killing Narakasura at the most might be folklore and some bogus imagination by movie makers. –  Aug 26 '15 at 14:15
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    @Krishna "Sathyabhama did fight Narakasura for some time as she wanted to fight as Krishna allowed her to fight." Where did you get the idea that Satyabhama fought? The Srimad Bhagavatam doesn't mention that. – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 06 '15 at 17:04
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    He was conceived right after varaha destroyed hiranyaksha and rescued bhumata. Since the union had happened in the midst of/post violent battle, at a non-conducive time, the offspring turned out to be a highly agitated one. He was born evil. Refer to conception of hiranyaksha/hiranyakashipu at the wrong time. He was brought up by kings but harrassed the princes etc. He was sent back to Bhumata who took him to Vaikuntha and thrust him upon his father, beseeching him to show his son the way. Vishnu made him king of Pragjyothisha. –  Sep 16 '15 at 18:54
  • @moonstar2001 First of all, the Brahma Purana says that Narakasura was conceived after Varaha rescued the Pitris at Kokamukha, not after Varaha's fight with Hiranyaksha. Second of all, do you know what scripture mentions that Narakasura was born evil, that he was sent back to Bhudevi, etc.? – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 16 '15 at 19:33
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    @Keshav Harivamsa Southern Recension mentions Satyabhama fighting Naraka. As for the evil thing I too recall reading somewhere that it was Banasura's influence, but let me check once more. – Surya Apr 28 '16 at 07:01
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    Kalika Purana mentions reason why he became evil. If you want, i can post. – The Destroyer Mar 08 '18 at 08:48
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    @TheDestroyer I mentioned the Kalika Purana thing in my question. I want to know if any other scriptures discuss it. – Keshav Srinivasan Mar 08 '18 at 12:05
  • I think you have given a wrong link to Narakasura birth excerpt. The PDF doesn't contain quoted content. – Sarvabhouma Dec 19 '19 at 09:29
  • @Sarvabhouma See the verse at the bottom of the page. – Keshav Srinivasan Dec 19 '19 at 14:23

3 Answers3

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As per 3rd Canto, Chapter-3 and Verse-6 of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) the commentator says that it was due to bad association with Banasura that he became evil and was killed by the Lord himself as Krishna.

सुतं मृधे खं वपुषा ग्रसन्तं
दृष्ट्वा सुनाभोन्मथितं धरित्र्या ।
आमन्त्रितस्तत्तनयाय शेषं
दत्त्वा तदन्त:पुरमाविवेश ॥ ६ ॥

sutaṁ mṛdhe khaṁ vapuṣā grasantaṁ
dṛṣṭvā sunābhonmathitaṁ dharitryā
āmantritas tat-tanayāya śeṣaṁ
dattvā tad-antaḥ-puram āviveśa

Translation

Narakāsura, the son of Dharitrī, the earth, tried to grasp the whole sky, and for this he was killed by the Lord in a fight. His mother then prayed to the Lord. This led to the return of the kingdom to the son of Narakāsura, and thus the Lord entered the house of the demon.

Purport

It is said in other Purāṇas that Narakāsura was the son of Dharitrī, the earth, by the Lord Himself. But he became a demon due to the bad association of Bāṇa, another demon. An atheist is called a demon, and it is a fact that even a person born of good parents can turn into a demon by bad association. Birth is not always the criterion of goodness; unless and until one is trained in the culture of good association, one cannot become good.

The full story about how Krishna killed Narakāsura is given in the 10th Canto Chapter 59th.

Prakash K
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The story is as follows:- Once Narkasur inspired by his desires wanted to marry Devi Kamakhya. Goddess playfully put a condition before h that if he able to build a staircase from the bottom of nilachal hills to the temple within one night before the cock crowd to indicate dawn, then she would surely marry him. Narak accepted and tried al with his might but to do this huge task. He was almost about to accomplish the task before it was dawn. When Kamakhya Devi got this news she made a cock to crow to the impression of dawn to naraka. Duped by the trick even naraka thought that it was afutile job and left it half way through. Later he chased the cock and killed it. Now the place is known as kukurkata situated in Darrang. The incomplete staircase is known as Makhelauja path.

Drunk with the power,as he knew himself to be unrivelled in prowess, he conquered all kingdoms on earth. Then he went to conquere swarglok. Indra could not withstand to the assault of this mighty son of Vishnu and flew to lord Vishnu. Narakasyr became the lord of heaven and earth. Addicted to power he stole the wealth of Aditi, the mother of gods and kidnapped 16000 apsaras. After this, Indra and Devas went to vishnu to ask him to deliver them from Narakasur. Vishnu promised to attend this matter in Krishna incarnation. Further we all know that he was killed by Krishna before the Diwali.

Sanatan Darshan
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    Welcome to Hinduism SE. Answers on this site should be cited with references from Holy texts like Vedas, Puranas, Upnishads, etc. There are several folklores that might/might not be true, we cannot check the authenticity of the same. So Hinduism SE goes by the way of references from books/scriptures in oder to make the answer more reliable. – Aby Oct 31 '19 at 08:17
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There is a mention of demon Naraka who was killed by Vishnu in the Valmiki Ramayana. Kishkinda kand. Section 42, verse 31.How was he killed again by Krishna. Or are these two different stories.?

Neeta Raina
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