Narāntaka

Narāntaka, whose name means “destroyer of men”, was the elder son of the asura king Raudraketu and his wife Śāradā. He was the first of the two great asura foes of Mahotkaṭa, the Kṛta-yuga avatāra (descent) of Gaṇeśa.

With his younger brother Devāntaka, he did tapas (austerity) for 10,000 years and won a vara (a boon) from Śiva of invincibility against all kinds of beings. Devāntaka conquered the upper worlds. Narāntaka conquered Bhūloka and all seven Pātālas. Later he besieged Kāśī with a huge army, burned the city and took Kāśirāja captive. Then Mahotkaṭa made the Kālapurusha, who devoured Narāntaka’s army, and Mahotkaṭa himself killed Narāntaka in his Virāṭ form. Narāntaka’s severed head fell in the courtyard of his father Raudraketu. This began his younger brother’s campaign of revenge.

Birth and tapas

Narāntaka was born to Raudraketu and Śāradā. He was the elder of the two brothers. His name, “destroyer of men”, showed his part: his field was the world of mortals and the worlds below. With Devāntaka he did tapas for 10,000 years. Śiva gave them invincibility against all kinds of beings. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–2)

The conquest of the lower worlds

The two brothers shared the conquest of the cosmos between them. Devāntaka took the upper worlds: Svarga, Satyaloka and Vaikuṇṭha. Narāntaka turned his campaign downward and across the middle world:

• Bhūloka: he conquered all the kings and kingdoms of the human world.
• All seven Pātālas: he overcame the nāga kings and the rulers of the world below.

With Devāntaka’s conquest of the upper worlds, the whole cosmos came under the rule of the asuras. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 4)

The siege of Kāśī

For years Mahotkaṭa had been killing Narāntaka’s generals and thousands of his soldiers in Kāśī. Narāntaka’s spies brought him the full report of the losses. The spies Śūra and Capala, whom Mahotkaṭa had set free, gave him a complete list of the asura dead. The report filled Narāntaka with rage, and he took command himself. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 56)

Narāntaka gathered a huge army and marched on Kāśī. He surrounded the city on every side and ordered it burned. The buildings of the city were set on fire, and women were taken captive. The minister of Kāśirāja advised talks, but could not stop the attack. Kāśirāja himself fought bravely but was captured. Queen Ambā wept in grief. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 57)

Death at the hands of Kālapurusha and Mahotkaṭa

Ambā’s tears roused Mahotkaṭa. He told Siddhi to create the Kālapurusha, a being with total power to devour. Kālapurusha ate Narāntaka’s whole army. Then he chased Narāntaka through all three worlds, through every realm Narāntaka had conquered. At last he caught him by the hair and dragged him before Mahotkaṭa.

Narāntaka challenged Mahotkaṭa to fight him face to face. After a fierce battle with weapons of māyā (illusion), Mahotkaṭa showed his Virāṭ rūpa, his vast form that holds the whole world. He crushed Narāntaka with his toenail, as one crushes a bedbug. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 58–61)

The head in Raudraketu’s courtyard

Narāntaka’s severed head fell into the courtyard of the home of his father Raudraketu. When Raudraketu and Śāradā saw their elder son’s head, their grief became the fuel for the revenge campaign of the younger son Devāntaka. This began the last and fiercest stage of the war of the Kṛta-yuga. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 62)

Sources

• Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–4 and 56–62