10. Asur Raj Bali : He was a very powerful warrior. He was very generous and used to donate a lot of wealth to people. His only flaw was that he was very proud of his strength. He was a great opposer of the Devtas. He had conquered all the three lokas. He had led the asuras during the Samudra Manthan. Later he donated everything to the Vaman Avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu and settled in Patal Loka and in return , he received a boon from Bhagwan Vishnu to be the next Indra.
9. King Prahlada : He was the son of Hiranakashiyapu. He wanted the asuras to rule over all the three worlds. He had succeeded in conquering heaven by defeating Devraj Indra.Prahlada too had conquered all the three lokas. This is mentioned in Santi Parva of Mahabharata.
In days of yore, the Daitya Prahlada, by the merit of his behaviour, snatched from the high-souled Indra his sovereignty and reduced the three worlds to subjection.
Source : Santi Parva : Rajadharmanusasana Parva : Section CXXIV.
8. Dambhodava: He had conquered the whole world and was very proud of his strength. He used to ask people , if there was anyone in this world who could match his strength? With passing of each day, his pride kept on swelling and he started thinking that there was no one equal to him. Finally he was defeated by Nara Narayana. Even Udyoga Parva of Mahabharata mentions about Dambhodava.
There was a king of yore named Dambhodbhava, who was the Head of the earth. It hath been heard by us that his sovereignty extended over the whole world. And that mighty car-warrior, rising every morning after the night had passed away, called the Brahmanas and the Kshatriyas unto himself and asked them, saying, 'Be he a Sudra, a Vaisya, a Kshatriya, or a Brahmana, is there any one who is superior or even equal to me in battle?' And uttering these words that king wandered over the earth, intoxicated with pride and thinking of nothing else.
Source : Udyoga Parva : Bhagwat Yana Parva : Section XCVI.
7. Vritrasura : Vritrasura had become very powerful and had even defeated Devraj Indra and had driven him out from Swargaloka. He had a boon which had made him invulnerable to any weapon. Then Sage Dadichi his life and then a weapon was made out of his bones which came to be known as Vajra. Devraj Indra then successfully managed to kill Vritasura with the help of Bhagwan Vishnu. Then Devraj Indra became famous as the slayer of Vritasura. The Udyoga Parva of Mahabharata mentions about the killing of Vritasura by Devraj Indra.
Image Source : Bhanu Kiran bhaiya.
And as Indra thought of all this, bearing Vishnu in mind he beheld at that instant in the sea a mass of froth as large as a hill. And he said, 'This is neither dry, nor wet, nor is it a weapon; let me hurl it at Vritra. Without doubt, he will die immediately.' And he threw at Vritra that mass of froth blended with the thunderbolt. And Vishnu, having entered within that froth, put an end to the life of Vritra. And when Vritra was killed, the cardinal points were free from gloom; and there also blew a pleasant breeze; and all beings were much pleased.
Source : Udyoga Parva : Section X.
6. Hiranyaksha : He was the elder brother of Hiranakashiyapu. He was very powerful. He had conquered the whole world. Even the Gods feared him. Finally Bhagwan Vishnu had took Varaha avatar and killed him.
5. Hiranakashiyapu : He had obtained a very powerful boon from Brahma Deva, which had made him invincible and thus he had become a nightmare for Gods. Harivamasa Purana mentions about the boon of Hiranakashiyapu. Due to this boon he had become very proud and had demanded that people should worship him as God. When his son Pralahada refused to obey him, then he tried to kill his son several times but he failed due to the grace of Bhagwan Vishnu on his son . He was finally killed by the fierce Narasimha avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu.
May gods, asuras, gandharvas, humans and pishachas be unable to kill me. O grandfather of the worlds! May rishis not be able to curse me in rage, even when their austerities enable them to curse me in this fashion. This is the boon that I wish for. Let my death not come from any weapon, anything used to strike, a mountain, a tree, anything dry, anything wet, or any other object. Let me be the lord of the sun, the moon, wind, fire, the water, the firmament, the nakshatras, the ten directions, ego, anger, desire, Varuna, Vasava, Yama, the granter of riches, the supervisor of riches,yakshas and kimpurushas.” Brahma said, “O son! This is a divine and extraordinary boon and I am conferring it on you. O son! There is no doubt that you will obtain everything that you desire.”
Source : Harivamsa Purana Ch 31 translated by Bibek Debroy.
4. Mahisasura : He is one of the strongest demons of all time . He had defeated the Devas including Devraj Indra and had conquered Swarga Loka. Then all the Devas had gone to Brahma Deva to find a solution. Then from the combined energies of Brahma Deva, Bhagwan Vishnu and Bhagwan Shiv , Devraj Indra and all the other Devas together Ma Ambika was manifested. Then all the Devas gave their best weapons to Ma Ambika. Mahisasura had the ability to change himself to any form he desired. He had turned into a lion to fight Ma Ambika. He then converted himself into a man, held a sword and disappeared. Afterwards the goddess pierced him with her arrows, he with his sword and shield turned into a mighty elephant. The elephant pulled Goddess Ambika's lion with his trunk. Afterwards Mahishasura assumed the form of a buffalo. Ma Ambika finally struck him with her Shula(Trident) and then beheaded him with her sword.
Source : Markandeya Purana.
3. Nara Narayana : Nar and Narayan defeated a mighty king Dambhodbhava who was the head of the earth. Dambhodbhava fell at the feet of Nar and Narayan and accepted his defeat.
Dambhodbhava with all his troops, desirous of slaying that ascetic, covered all sides with a shower of arrows. That ascetic, however, by means of those blades of grass, baffled all those terrible shafts of the king that were capable of mangling the bodies of hostile warriors. The invincible Rishi then let off towards the king his own terrible weapon made of grass-blades and which was incapable of being counteracted
Source : Udyoga Parva : Bhagwat Yana Parva : Section XCVI.
2. Bhagwan Varaha : Bhagwan Varaha rescued mother earth(Bhu Devi) from Hiranyaksha. The war went on for many years and finally Hiranyaksha was brought down by Varaha avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu.
- Bhagwan Narasimha / Ma Ambika :
(i) Bhagwan Narasimha : Bhagwan Vishnu took the form of Narasimha and killed Hiranakashiyapu. Hiranakashiyapu had fired Pashupatastra, Sudarshan Chakra etc at Bhagwan Narasimha but they had no effect on him. Bhagwan Narasimha finally killed him with his bare hands. He tore the stomach of Hiranakashiyapu and then garlanded himself with his intestines.
(ii) Ma Ambika : She manifested by recombining the energies of Brahma Deva, Bhagwan Vishnu , Bhagwan Shiv , Devraj Indra and other Devas. She killed Mahisasura after a fierce fight. She pierced him with her sula and then finally beheaded him with her sword. Thus she came to be known as Mahisasura Mardini after killing Mahisasura , who is one of the strongest demons of all times.
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