Aghasura (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: अघासुर) is an asura featured in

Hindu literature Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindu texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Itihasa. Scholars ...

, most notably in the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

. He was one of

Kamsa Kamsa (, ) was the tyrant ruler of the Vrishni kingdom, with its capital at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura. He is variously described in Hindu texts, Hindu literature as either a human or an asura; The Puranas describe him as an asura, while ...

's generals, and the elder brother of the demoness

Putana In Hinduism, Pūtanā () is a Rakshasa, rakshasi (demoness), who was killed by the infant-god Krishna. Putana disguises as a young, beautiful woman and tries to kill the god by breast-feeding poisoned milk; however Krishna sucks her milk as well ...

and

Bakasura Bakasura (, ), also rendered Baka, is a rakshasa featured in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The rakshasa lives in a forest which nowadays known as "Gangani" located near Garhbeta town of the Indian state of West Bengal. In exchange for prote ...

. Agha is stated to be as one of the tribes that was in alliance with Kamsa. The killing of Aghasura by Krishna is narrated by the sage

Shuka Shuka ( , also Shukadeva ) is a rishi (sage) in Hinduism. He is the son of the sage Vyasa and the main narrator of the scripture ''Bhagavata Purana''. Most of the ''Bhagavata Purana'' consists of Shuka reciting the story to the king Parikshit ...

to King

Parikshit Parīkṣit (, ) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period (12th–9th centuries BCE). Along with his son and successor, Janamejaya, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic ...

in the

Legend

King Kamsa made many attempts on the life of Krishna, all of them failing. He then sent Aghasura to kill Krishna, a deed which Aghasura willingly attempted to carry out, knowing that his younger siblings

and

were killed by Krishna. He assumed the form of the 8-mile-long serpent, disguising his open mouth against a mountain. All the cowherd boys entered the mouth of the demon, mistaking it to be a cavern. When the serpent closed his mouth, the victims generally suffocated to death. Krishna entered the serpent upon his arrival and then increased the size of his own body. In response, the demon also extended his own body's size, but started suffocating as Krishna was expanding more quickly than him, causing his eyes to pop out. The demon's life force, however, could not pass through any outlet, and therefore burst out through a hole in the top of Agasura's head, meeting his end in Krishna's hand.{{Cite web, date=2021-08-26, title=Krishna Kills the Snake Demon Aghasura, url=https://www.4to40.com/folktales-for-kids/folktales-in-english/krishna-kills-the-snake-demon-aghasura/, access-date=2021-10-17, website=Kids Portal For Parents, language=en

References

External links

"The Killing of the Aghasura demon"
-

, 10th Canto, translated by

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (; ) (1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was a spiritual, philosophical, and religious teacher from India who spread the Hare Krishna (mantra), Hare Krishna mantra and the teachings of "# ...

. Asura People related to Krishna Legendary serpents

Legend

See also

References

External links