Mura was a very powerful asura (demon) mentioned in Hindu scriptures,[1] who served as a general in Narakasura's army. Narakasura was the evil demon King of Pragjyotisha, and Mura along with his daughter Ahilavati played an important role in defending the Kingdom of Pragjyotisha from invaders.
Biography
Mura was born to the sage Kashyap and his wife Danu. Once Mura was shocked to see a heap of dead bodies of the asuras and danavas who died in battle against the Devas. He became sad and was afraid that he too would die in battle one day. So he did penance for many years to propitiate Lord Brahma who was also his great-grandfather. Eventually, Brahma appeared before him and offered him a boon. He asked for invincibility in battle, even against the devas who were immortal. After attaining special powers he defeated the Yakshas and the Gandharvas in battle. Then he challenged the Devas, but no one dared to stop him. So he went to Amaravati where Indra ruled the heavens and forcefully usurped his kingdom. Mura also took possession of the Vajra and Airavata from Indra. All the devas were terrified and were banished from the heavens. For many years he ruled unopposed as the King of the heavens and all the asuras and danavas prospered under his rule. After attaining so much success he became extremely arrogant due to the power of his boons. Maddened with power he went to Vaikuntha to challenge Lord Vishnu. But upon reaching there he came to know that Shri Krishna had been born as an incarnation of Vishnu and was about to attack the Kingdom of Pragjyotisha where another powerful danava King Narakasura was ruling. Narakasura was said to have abducted 16,000 women from the earth and made them captives. So Mura decided to go to earth and become Narakasura's general and defend his kingdom. But Shri Krishna and Satyabhama on hearing about the misdeeds of Naraka decided to go and defeat him in battle and emancipate the 16,000 captive princesses. Sri Krishna was also aware of Mura's presence and his special powers. So he took Satyabhama (incarnation of Bhudevi) along with him to defeat the combined forces of Mura and Narakasura.[2][3] Both Narakasura and Mura were killed in the battle by Krishna. For this feat Shri Krishna earned the epithet 'Murāri' (enemy of Mura). This day symbolizes the victory of good over evil and is celebrated by Hindus each year as 'Naraka Chaturdashi' and is the first day of diwali.
Hindu Scriptures
The story of Mura finds mention in the Hindu epic Mahabharta,[4] the Bhagavata Purana[5] and the Vamana Purana.
References
