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13-479: The term lāsya is derived from the root ‘ las ’ meaning to play or to frolic. It is also translated as lively. According to legend, the Lasya was taught by Parvati to Usha , the daughter of Banasura . Usha, in turn, is regarded to have taught the dance to the milkmaids known as the gopikas , who are believed to have spread the technique to women throughout the land. Described as the prototype of all female dancing,

26-432: A rasalingam given to him by Vishvakarman , on instruction from Vishnu . As an ardent devotee of Shiva , he used his thousand arms to play the mridangam when Shiva was performing the tandavam dance. When Shiva offered Banasura a boon, the latter requested Shiva to be his city's guardian: therefore, Banasura became invincible. As time passed, he became even more cruel and arrogant. One day, Banasura's daughter, Usha, saw

39-468: A great battle. The Yadu princes and their army besieged his kingdom with 12 akshauhinis , surrounding it completely. Banasura staged a fierce counterattack. During the war, Shiva appeared on the battlefield, riding on Nandi , to protect his devotee, Banasura. Balarama fought against Banasura's commander, while Samba fought against Banasura's son. To bear witness, the leaders of the godly souls headed by Brahma came in their celestial vehicles, as also did

52-713: A young man in her dream, made love to him, and fell in love with him. Chitralekha , a friend of Usha and a talented artist, helped Usha to identify the young man seen in her dream by sketching various portraits of the Vrishnis . Usha realised that she had dreamt of Aniruddha , the grandson of Krishna . Chitralekha, through her yogic powers, abducted Aniruddha from the palace of Krishna and brought him to Śoṇitapura. Usha worshipped her lover and furnished him with priceless garments, garlands, fragrances, lamps, and with beverages, dishes, and words. Breaking her vow of chastity with him, she kept him hidden in her maiden quarters, and

65-522: Is an asura king in Hindu mythology , ruling from the city of Śoṇitapura. He is described to be the son of Mahabali . His tale of battling Krishna is described in the Bhagavata Purana . A mighty asura , Bana once ruled over a large kingdom, Śoṇitapura. His influence was so strong and fierce that all the kings – and even some of the devas – shuddered in front of him. Banasura used to worship

78-512: The Lasya is danced in a variety of forms, most of which comprise the small and seductive motions of the feet. Some forms of the Lasya consist of the rapid succession of minor steps, regarded to be erotic. During the performance of the dance, the feet are kept parallel and close to one another, each foot following the other with precision in time. An example of this dance is the Mohiniyattam of Kerala . There are described to be four forms of

91-627: The Lasya: Srinkhala, Lata, Pindi, and Bhedyaka. Professor Inayat Khan in his book Munqar Musicar (1912) wrote: "Women and men both perform this dance and there are a number of recognized masters ( ustad ) of it in India. Lasya is accompanied by two sarangi players and a tabid, and sometimes a manjira (small Indian cymbals). It is danced by one woman, or by two together". Banasura Bana , also referred to as Banasura ( Sanskrit : बाणासुर , romanized :  Bāṇāsura ) ,

104-427: The battlefield on his peacock. After duelling with Satyaki , Bana took up arms against Krishna . However, Krishna blew his conch and instantly, Banasura's charioteer was killed and his chariot broken and shattered. When Shiva's forces had been defeated, Jvara , the embodiment of Shiva's fever, bearing three heads and three feet, attacked Krishna with scorching heat. Krishna produced his own Jvara of frigid coldness, and

117-405: The glories of Krishna , requested him not to kill Banasura, whom he had bestowed with fearlessness. Obliging, Krishna replied that he had never intended to kill Banasura, since he was the son of Bali and the great-grandson of the devout Prahlada . Vishnu had promised Bali not to kill any member of his family, and therefore would not slay him. However, Krishna severed Banasura's extra arms to destroy

130-743: The latter's pride, leaving Banasura with only four arms. Banasura realised his mistake and bowed his head before Krishna, arranging for a chariot to seat Aniruddha and Usha for their wedding in Dvaraka. The genealogy of Banasura is as follows: Banasura's story has been narrated in Indian epic Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana . His story as the rejected suitor for goddess Shakti is present in Tamil Sangam literary works Manimekalai and Puranaanooru ; Bhattavataar's Banasura Katha . Apsara Too Many Requests If you report this error to

143-587: The lovers lost track of the days. Catching wind of his daughter's activities, Banasura rushed to her chambers to find her playing dice with Aniruddha. Even as the prince fended off the guards, Banasura subdued him with the mystical ropes of Varuna . Usha was overwhelmed with sorrow due to this incident. Aniruddha was held captive by Banasura for a month, until Narada informed the Yadus in Dvaraka , who were searching for Aniruddha. The Yadus' army attacked Banasura in

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156-409: The sages, the perfected souls, and the venerable personalities, the singers and apsaras of heaven, and the yakshinis . Krishna and Shiva faced each other. Krishna used a brahmastra against Shiva's brahmastra , a mountain weapon against a wind weapon, a rain weapon against a fire weapon, and his narayanastra against Shiva's pashupatastra . Kartikeya , assaulted by Pradyumna 's arrows, fled

169-445: The two fought each other. Overwhelmed by Vishnu's fever, Shiva's Jvara offered its surrender and obeisance to Krishna and departed. Krishna then put Shiva to sleep using 'Jrmbhunastra'. Meanwhile, Balarama defeated Banasura's commander. Bana rode forth upon his chariot to fight with Krishna, and the latter fought back with his Sudarshana Chakra . When Krishna started chopping Banasura's arms, Shiva returned to his senses and extolled

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