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Nepal JyotishTraditional Science
Place Names

Shleshmanatak Ban

The story of how Shleshmanatak Ban came to be after Krishna and Pradyumna dried up the demon's lake and brought Prabhavati away.

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Shleshmanatak Ban

The demon king Banasur of Shonitpur had three valiant sons named Shankasur, Durdharsha and Kachchhapasur. The eldest son, Mahendradaman, who had received a boon after performing severe penance to Shiva, defeated even Indra and carried on his unbroken rule in Suprabhapuri.

His sister Prabhavati was immensely beautiful. For his sister's water sports and amusement, Mahendradaman dammed the water of the Bagmati river and made a vast reservoir. Shankasur was assigned to oversee the release of the water, and Kachchhapasur to guard the reservoir. When the water was dammed, the city of Manjupattan was flooded and there was an outcry among the people.

Once the divine sage Narada described Prabhavati's beauty and charm to Shri Krishna's son Pradyumna. Pradyumna quietly went there and saw Prabhavati engaged in water sports. Love arose between the two at first sight, and they married by the Gandharva rite.

Meanwhile the dammed Bagmati river pleaded with Shri Krishna to release her waters. When Pradyumna went to break the dam, a fierce battle took place between him and Shankasur. After a long struggle in water and sky, Pradyumna slew Shankasur.

Hearing the news of his brother's death, Mahendradaman came to the battle. Shri Krishna hurled his Sudarshan Chakra and broke the dam completely, and the pent-up water began to flow with great force.

Seeing his lake about to dry up, Kachchhapasur tried to block the outlet by uprooting the Dolachal and Swarnashringa mountains. But Shri Krishna installed Kileshwar and Swarneshwar Mahadev on the peaks of both mountains and made those hills stable.

Then Kachchhapasur came to wrestle with Pradyumna. It was impossible to defeat that tortoise-shaped demon in the water. So Pradyumna dragged him onto land, turned him on his back, and killed him. Later the body of that great demon turned into the Kachchhapalagiri mountain.

After the lake's water flowed away, countless lapsi trees grew along the banks of the Bagmati and formed a dense jungle. Because lapsi is called shleshmatak in Sanskrit, that beautiful forest came to be named Shleshmanatak Ban.

Note: These are traditional Nepali folk tales (kimbadanti), passed down orally through generations. They may or may not reflect actual historical events, but they are told and believed as part of Nepal's cultural heritage.

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