Lavanasura () is an

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...

. He is slain by Shatrughna, the youngest brother of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

, in the Hindu epic

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...

Legend

During Rama's reign, while peace prevailed in most places, Lavanasura continued to torment the innocent and destroy many sacrifices of sages and terrify them in many ways. Many kings were defeated by him and they were all afraid. Therefore, one day, the sages headed by sage Chyavana (a descendant of sage Bhrigu), came all the way from Madhupuri to Rama with a plea to protect them. Lavana was the son of an asura king named Madhu and his wife, Kumbhini. Madhu was kind and compassionate to Brahmanas, and made personal friendships with

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band) Deva ...

, and therefore established peace between the asuras and the devas. He pleased the deities so much that that on one occasion,

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

granted him his

trishula The ''trishula'' () is a trident, a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Hinduism. In Nepal and Thailand, the term also often refers to a short-handled weapon which may be mounted on a ''daṇḍa'' "staff". Unlik ...

. Madhu built a palace and named the place as Madhupuri. Madhu had a son named Lavana, who had the qualities opposite to those of his father.

Childhood

Lavana was so evil that even as a child he would beat play mates, kill them, and eat them. Madhu handed everything over to his son including his trident and drowned himself in the ocean because of shame. The sages further described Lavana. There was a king named Mandhata who was a descendant in the dynasty of

Iksvaku Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain co ...

. Mandhata had dominated the whole planet and he became so proud that he wanted to rule heaven also. So he challenged Indra to either turn over the kingdom to him or fight with him in battle. Indra proclaimed that he would grant his realm to the asura if he slew all the kings of earth. Lavanasura defeated Mandhata's army with the trident. Hearing all this, Rama promised that he would protect the sages, and the kingdom of Madhupuri.

Death

Bharata volunteered to fight against Lavanasura. Shatrughna expressed his wish to fight Lavanasura, wanting an opportunity to serve Rama, stating that Bharata had served Rama very well in the past. He prepared to leave for the war. Shatrughna then left with a huge army to fight with Lavanasura. Rama warned his brother to find a way to fight with Lavana without his holding the invincible trident. Shatrughna stood before the gate where Lavana resided and positioned himself alone. As Lavana returned home after hunting animals for eating each day, Shatrughna challenged him to fight. Lavana was very happy to accept the challenge because it was his dinner time. Lavana uprooted many trees and threw them on Shatrughna, and a great battle ensued. Later, Shatrughna removed the special arrow (used for killing Madhu and Kaitabha, given as a gift by

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...

) that Rama had given him. As Shatrughna strung his bow, the whole universe started to tremble. He struck Lavana right in the heart, slaying him. Rama then crowned Shatrughna as the king of Madhupuri, where he ruled for several years.

References

* {{Ramayana Daityas Characters in the Ramayana Asura