Sunda (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: सुन्द) and Upasunda (

: उपसुन्‍द) are

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhi ...

brothers featured in the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

. They are the sons of Nikumbha. They are the descendants of the powerful

Hiranyakasipu Hiranyakashipu (; also known as Hiranyakashyap) was an Asura king of the ''daityas'' from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. His name literally translates to "clothed in gold" (''hiranya'' "gold" ''kashipu'' "soft cushion"), and is often inte ...

Legend

The brothers Sunda and Upasunda once performed severe austerities upon the

Vindhya The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India. Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...

mountains. Finally,

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

agreed to grant the brothers a boon, and they sought immortality. This boon was not granted by Brahma. The inseparable brothers chose the boon of being completely invulnerable, except that they could be killed by each other. Leaving the mountains, Sunda and Upasunda slaughtered a number of

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

s, and threatened the existence of the Vedic religion. Brahma was stirred into action. He instructed

Vishvakarma Vishvakarma or Vishvakarman ( sa, विश्वकर्मा, Viśvakarmā, all maker) is a craftsman deity and the divine architect of the devas in contemporary Hinduism. In the early texts, the craftsman deity was known as Tvastar and the ...

to produce before him the perfect courtesan, who created the beautiful

apsara An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, literat ...

Tilottama Tilottama ( sa, तिलोत्तमा, Tilottamā), is an apsara (celestial singer) described in Hindu mythology. "Tilasma" is the Sanskrit word for a small particle and "uttama" means the ultimate. Tilottama, therefore, means the being ...

. This damsel was instructed to cause dissent between the brothers. Tilottama found Sunda and Upasunda in the countryside with their retinue, drinking, and celebrating their victories. Beholding

, they immediately fell to fighting over her, and ended up killing each other. Hence, order was established once more.

References

Daityas {{Hindu-myth-stub