Banayudham (Bana's Battle) is an Aattakatha (Kathakali play) written by Balakavi Rama Shasthri. It used to be a popular play in the southern (thekkan) style of Kathakali."Tale of love and war" from "The Hindu", 16 October 2014 The Asura king Bana, son of Mahabali, has a thousand arms. His daughter Usha falls in love with Aniruddha, the grandson of Krishna. Bana discovers them together and imprisons Aniruddha. Krishna challenges Bana to a battle, in which he defeats Bana by chopping off all but four of his arms."Battle of the mighty Bana" from "The Hindu", 21 April 2016 An excerpt from the play, depicting scenes involving Usha and her friend Chitralekha, is often presented independently."Shades of romance" from "The Hindu", 20 September 2018"A kathakali performance, based on Usha and Chitralekha's tale" from "The Times of India", 29 August 2019"Kathakali performance titled Usha-Chitralekha enthrals the audience" from "The Times of India", 16 September 2018
References