Bāṇa, the mighty king, once approached Lord Śiva and spoke with a troubled heart. “You have given me a thousand arms,” he said, “but they have become a great burden. Nowhere in the three worlds do I find anyone equal to fight, except you.” Eager for battle, Bāṇa would scratch himself with his restrained arms, and in his frustration, he fought the elephants guarding the directions and crushed mountains, but even those mighty creatures fled before him. Hearing Bāṇa’s words, Lord Śiva became angered and replied, “O fool, when your flag is broken, then you will find an opponent equal to you in battle—one who will humble your pride.” Bāṇa, delighted by these words yet misguided, returned to his house, awaiting the command of Giriśa (Śiva), foolishly expecting the destruction of his own strength. Bāṇa had a daughter named Ūṣā. One night, she dreamed of union with the son of Pradyumna—a handsome youth she had never seen or heard of before. When she awoke among her friends, she was agitated and deeply embarrassed, calling out, “Where are you, beloved?” Her friend Citralekhā, the daughter of Bāṇa’s minister Kumbhāṇḍa, questioned her out of curiosity, “Whom are you seeking, O beautiful-browed one? What kind of man fills your thoughts? Princess, I have not seen anyone take your hand.” Ūṣā replied, “I saw a man in my dream—dark, lotus-eyed, clad in yellow, with great arms—who captivates the hearts of women. I seek that beloved, who made me drink nectar from his lips, but then, desiring me, vanished somewhere, casting me into an ocean of sorrow.” Citralekhā comforted her, saying, “If your misfortune is destined in the three worlds, I will remove it. Tell me who this enchanting one is, and I will bring him to you.” Citralekhā then drew the forms of gods, gandharvas, siddhas, charanas, serpents, demons, vidyadharas, yakshas, and humans as they appeared. Among the humans, she depicted the Vrishnis, Shura, Anakadundubhi, and, seeing Pradyumna, became embarrassed while drawing Rama and Krishna. When she drew Aniruddha, Ūṣā turned her face downward in modesty and, smiling, said, “That one, that one.” Understanding her friend’s longing, Citralekhā, a yogini and granddaughter of Krishna, departed through the sky to Dvaraka, protected by Krishna. There, using her yogic powers, she took Aniruddha, Pradyumna’s son, who was sleeping on a fine bed, and brought him to Shonitapura to show him to Ūṣā. When Ūṣā saw the handsome hero, her face lit up with joy, and she enjoyed his company in her own home, which was difficult for others to enter. Aniruddha was honored with excellent garments, garlands, fragrances, incense, lamps, seats, drinks, food, delicacies, and words of service. Hidden in the maiden’s palace and always attended by her growing affection, Aniruddha, whose senses were captivated by Ūṣā, did not notice the passing days. As Ūṣā enjoyed the company of the Yadu hero, her vows broken, the palace guards observed her, delighted, by subtle signs. They reported to Bāṇa, “We have noticed suspicious behavior in your daughter, a disgrace to the family. Though protected by us, O lord, in her house, we do not know how the maiden, difficult to approach, has been defiled by a man.” Distressed upon hearing of his daughter’s disgrace, Bāṇa quickly entered the maiden’s quarters and saw the Yadu prince. He beheld Aniruddha—the son of desire, the most beautiful in the world, dark-complexioned, clad in yellow garments, lotus-eyed, with broad arms, radiant with earrings and curling locks, and a face adorned by smiling glances. Aniruddha was playing dice with his beloved, who was eager for him; her body was adorned with a garland stained by the kumkuma from her breasts, and he held in his arms a garland of jasmine. Seeing him seated at her side, Bāṇa was astonished. As Mādhava (Aniruddha) was surrounded by hostile guards and troops, he raised his club and stood ready, like Death wielding his staff, intent on killing. Those who rushed to seize him from all sides were struck down by Aniruddha, like a leader of boars slaying dogs; those being killed fled from the palace, their heads, thighs, and arms broken. Then Bāṇa’s powerful son, using serpent bonds, bound Aniruddha, who was slaying his own troops in anger. Ūṣā, overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, seeing him bound, wept with tear-filled eyes. Thus ends the sixty-second chapter, entitled “The Binding of Aniruddha,” in the tenth book of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the great Purāṇa, in the section for the supreme renunciates. Śuka continued: O descendant of Bharata, while Aniruddha and his relatives were not to be seen, four months passed for them, filled with constant grief. Hearing from Nārada the news of Aniruddha’s captivity and the deeds involved, the Vrishnis, for whom Krishna is the deity, set out for Shonitapura. Pradyumna, Yuyudhāna, Gada, Sāmba, Sāraṇa, Nanda, Upananda, Bhadra, and others, all followers of Rama and Krishna, went forth. Joined by twelve divisions of troops, the foremost of the Sātvatas surrounded Bāṇa’s city on all sides. Seeing his gardens, ramparts, towers, and gateways being destroyed, Bāṇa, seized by anger and with an equal army, came out to fight. For Bāṇa’s sake, the blessed Rudra (Śiva), together with his son and the Pramathas, mounted the bull Nandi and engaged in battle with Rama and Krishna. There arose a tumultuous, wondrous, and hair-raising battle between Krishna and Shankara (Śiva), and also between Pradyumna and Guha (Kartikeya). Kumbhāṇḍa and Kūpakarṇa fought with Balarāma; Sāmba fought with Bāṇa’s son, and Sātyaki with Bāṇa himself. Brahmā and the other lords of the gods, sages, perfected beings, celestial singers, nymphs, and yakṣas came in their aerial vehicles to witness the battle. Krishna drove away the followers of Śaṅkara—spirits, pramathas, guhyakas, ḍākinīs, rākṣasas, and vināyakas—as well as pretas, mātṛs, piśācas, kuṣmāṇḍas, and brahmarākṣasas, with sharp arrows released from his Śārṅga bow.