Murāsura
Murāsura, also called Murā, was a dānava, a son of Kaśyapa and Danu. Brahmā gave him a vara (a boon): anyone he touched with his hand would die. With this power he took the three worlds, drove the devas out of svarga (heaven), and ruled from Amarāvatī.
Vasishṭha sent him to Yama, and Yama sent him on to Bhagavān Vishṇu. Bhagavān Vishṇu slew Murā with his cakra, which pierced his chest without touching him. This gave Bhagavān Vishṇu the name Murāri, “the enemy of Murā”.
Birth and the vara
Murāsura was born to Kaśyapa and Danu. From their union the line of the dānavas comes, so he was a dānava in the closest sense. Brahmā gave him an extraordinary vara: whoever he touched with his hand would die at once. Nobody could fight a being whose touch was deadly. This made Murā very dangerous. Chapter 34 of the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa tells this.
The conquest of the three worlds
With his deadly touch, Murāsura defeated all the devas and entered Amarāvatī, the capital of Indra. He took Indra’s throne and the divine elephant Airāvata. All the devas were driven from svarga. They had no home and no power. They could not fight Murā, because going near him meant death. They could not win back their place by ordinary means. In exile the devas made a temporary camp near the river Yamunā. This is also from Chapter 34.
Vasishṭha’s advice
Near the Yamunā, where the devas had taken refuge, the great ṛshi Vasishṭha was serving as the kula-guru (family teacher) at a yajña (fire ritual) of a king of the Raghu line. Murā came into contact with Vasishṭha. The ṛshi saw that this asura had to be turned toward the one power that could end him. He did not face Murā himself. He told Murā to challenge Yama, the lord of dharma and death, if he truly wanted to test the limits of his vara. Murā was driven by ambition and followed this advice. This is from Chapter 34.
Yama sends him to Bhagavān Vishṇu
Yama met Murā and saw that the ordinary forces of death could not fight a being whose touch kills. He sent Murā to the highest power, Bhagavān Vishṇu, who rests on Ādiśesha in the Kshīrasāgara (the Ocean of Milk). If Murā wanted to test his vara to the very end, the eternal Bhagavān Vishṇu was there. This is from Chapter 34.
Death at the Kshīrasāgara
Murā went to the Kshīrasāgara and came before Bhagavān Vishṇu. Bhagavān Vishṇu knew the nature of Murā’s vara and where it failed. He sent out his cakra, the Sudarśana, and it went through Murā’s chest. This cakra travels through space by the will of Bhagavān Vishṇu alone, and he does not need to touch the target himself. Murā’s vara, which made touch deadly, had no power against a weapon sent from afar. The cakra pierced Murā’s chest and the dānava was slain. This is from Chapter 35.
Murāri, the enemy of Murā
From this victory Bhagavān Vishṇu received the name Murāri, which means “the enemy (ari) of Murā”. It is one of the most widely used names of Bhagavān Vishṇu and Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in the devotional tradition. Chapter 35 gives this.
Sources
- Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 34, 35