Sunda and Upasunda perform austerities and receive a boon
Resolved to conquer the three worlds, the asura brothers Sunda and Upasunda undertake terrible penance in the mountains. They withstand starvation, temptation, and terrifying illusions sent by the frightened gods, until their power forces Brahma to appear and grant them a wish.
Sunda and Upasunda, the two sons of the daitya lord Nikumba, were of one mind. They grew up with an identical resolution: to conquer the three worlds. After consecration, they went to the Vindhya mountains to practise terrible austerities.
They stood on the tips of their toes, arms raised, eyes unblinking. Exhausted by hunger and thirst, with matted hair and bark garments, they covered their limbs with filth and lived on air. They offered pieces of their own flesh into the fire. They continued until they acquired power, and the length of their penance grew so intense it heated the mountains—the Vindhya began to belch smoke.
The gods saw the terrible power of these austerities and were frightened. To prevent the brothers from attaining their vows, they created obstacles. They sent temptations of jewels and beautiful women. The two stood firm. Then the gods employed the power of Maya. They conjured an illusion where the brothers' own sisters, mothers, wives, and relatives appeared, trembling and frightened, chased by a rakshasa with a spear. The women's hair and ornaments were dishevelled, their garments falling loose as they seemed to run towards Sunda and Upasunda, crying, "Save us!" Even this horrific vision, designed to shatter their focus with familial terror, could not break the vows of those who were great in their vows. They showed no shock, no grief. The illusion vanished.
Then Brahma himself, the grandfather of all worlds, appeared before the great asuras. He asked them to seek a boon.
Seeing the god, Sunda and Upasunda, firm in their valour, stood with joined hands. Together they made their request: "O grandfather! If you are pleased with our austerities, grant us the knowledge of delusion and the knowledge of all weapons. May we be strong and have the power to change our form at will. If the illustrious lord is pleased, may we be immortal."
Brahma replied, "Except for immortality, everything else will be as you wish. Choose a means of death that will make you the equal of the immortals. You performed these austerities with the objective of conquering the three worlds. For that reason, I cannot grant the boon you desire."
The brothers then formulated their condition: "O grandfather! Then let us not face any fear from any being, anything mobile or immobile, any object in the three worlds—other than each other."
Brahma said, "I can grant this boon as you have wished it. Your deaths will occur as you have indicated." He granted them the boon, asked them to refrain from further austerities, and returned to his world.