śrī-śukaḥ uvāca - Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; bāṇaḥ - Bāṇa; putra - of sons; śata - one hundred; jyeṣṭhaḥ - the oldest; baleḥ - of Mahārāja Bali; āsīt - was; mahā-ātmanaḥ - of the great soul; yena - by whom (Bali); vāmana-rūpāya - in the form of the dwarf, Vāmanadeva; haraye - to the Supreme Lord Hari; adāyi - was given; medinī - the earth; tasya - his; aurasaḥ - from the semen; sutaḥ - the son; bāṇaḥ - Bāṇa; śiva-bhakti - in devotion for Lord Śiva; rataḥ - fixed; sada - always; mānyaḥ - respectable; vadānyaḥ - magnanimous; dhī-man - intelligent; ca - and; satya-sandhaḥ - truthful; dṛḍha-vrataḥ - firm in his vows; śoṇita-ākhye - known as Śoṇita; pure - in the city; ramye - charming; saḥ - he; rājyam akarot - made his kingdom; purā - in the past; tasya - upon him; śambhoḥ - of Lord Śambhu (Śiva); prasādena - by the pleasure; kinkarāḥ - servants; iva - as if; te - they; amarāḥ - the demigods; sahasra - one thousand; bāhuḥ - having arms; vādyena - with the playing of musical instruments; tāṇḍave - while he (Lord Śiva) was dancing his tāṇḍava-nṛtya; atoṣayat - he satisfied; mṛḍam - Lord Śiva.

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Bāṇa was the oldest of the hundred sons fathered by the great saint Bali Mahārāja, who gave the whole earth in charity to Lord Hari when He appeared as Vāmanadeva. Bāṇāsura, born from Bali’s semen, became a great devotee of Lord Śiva. His behavior was always respectable, and he was generous, intelligent, truthful and firm in his vows. The beautiful city of Śoṇitapura was under his dominion. Because Lord Śiva had favored him, the very demigods waited on Bāṇāsura like menial servants. Once, when Śiva was dancing his tāṇḍava-nṛtya, Bāṇa especially satisfied the lord by playing a musical accompaniment with his one thousand arms.