Upasunda

Upasunda was the younger of the two asura brothers Sunda and Upasunda. They were the sons of Nikumbha. The two were inseparable and acted as one from birth. Their story is told in the Sunda-Upasunda Upākhyāna (the story of Sunda and Upasunda) of the Mahābhārata.

His story

Upasunda’s story is the same in its events as the story of his brother Sunda. The two always acted together, and they died together in the same moment.

• Together they performed fierce tapas (austerity) on the Vindhya mountain.
• Bhagavān Brahmā gave them a vara (a boon): only they could kill each other.
• They conquered the three worlds.
• Both of them desired the apsarā Tilottamā, whom Bhagavān Brahmā created to bring about their end. In a single instant of mutual desire, they destroyed each other.

Nārada told this story to the Pāṇḍavas. It shows how desire, left unchecked, can break even the deepest bond of brotherhood.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 210–211