Akhirsen, the king of the Asur, had a daughter named Surasai. To avenge the defeat of the Asur at the hands of the Devtaa, the Asur Guru Shukraachaarya taught Surasai all the Arts of Maayaa. Surasai became an adept in those Arts, and was herself aptly called Maayaa. To bring back the lost glory of the Asur, Maayaa determined to beget children through a great sage, so that her children could be more powerful than the Devtaa. With this in view, she approached the place where Kashyap Rishi was doing rigorous Tapas.

By her magic spells, she created a beautiful garden in the forest; and there she was, dancing and enjoying herself as part of the beauty of nature. Disturbed by this interference, Kashyap Jee woke up from his meditation and saw a beautiful woman before him. By the secret powers of Maayaa, the Rishi fell victim to her charms and easily yielded to her proposals. Both the Rishi and Maayaa spent happy days together, roaming about daily in the forest. Maayaa bore three sons and a daughter to the Rishi. The first son was Shoorapadm, the second was Sinhmukh and the third one was Taarakaasur. The daughter’s name was Ajaamukhee. Of the sons, Sinhmukh had a lion’s face and Taarakaasur had an elephant’s face; and Ajaamukhee had the face of a goat. Along with them there arose a huge army of Asur to help these leaders in their oncoming fight with the Devtaa.

Shoorapadm and his brothers, while they were yet young, requested their parents to prepare them for a life of glory and victory. Kashyap Rishi told them to lead a virtuous life and do rigorous Tapas with intense devotion to the Lord. He cited the story of Maarkandeya Muni to show how the power of his devotion to Lord Shiv had protected him even from the grip of Yam Raaj. But Maayaa, mindful of her mission, was not satisfied with this advice to her sons. She entreated her sons to do rigorous Tapas on Shiv and to obtain boons by which they could have suzerainty over the Devtaa and live happily and gloriously.

After some time, Kashyap Jee realized his folly in having allowed himself to become the victim to the wiles of Maayaa and left them all and went his own way. As advised by their mother, Shoorapadm and his brothers proceeded towards North to perform intense Tapas. After making every arrangement carefully for the performance of their penance, they commenced their Tapas. Years passed. They obtained no results. Hence Shoorapadm and his brothers doubled their austerities, cut off every limb of their body and threw them one after another as an offering into the sacrificial fire before them. Even then Shiv did not appear. Finally Shoorapadm offered himself in the fire and died. The other brothers were also preparing themselves for a similar sacrifice when Shiv appeared before them, brought Shoorapadm back to life and granted a number of boons asked by them.

Having thus achieved their aims, they came back triumphantly to their mother who gladly welcomed them home. Maayaa sent them to Shukraachaarya Jee for further advice and guidance. Shukraachaarya gave them detailed instruction for leading an extremely sensuous life of pomp and glory. He addressed them thus: “When people say "everything is done by the one Supreme Being and He dwells everywhere," they are telling a stupendous lie. The Lord has created all other creatures and plants simply for man’s enjoyment. Might is Right. No one will derive any pleasure by acting up to the high-sounding precepts like "Do always good, avoid evil things".

“The so-called Lord’s Leelaa are just like the places and persons we experience during a dream. Everyone is the same in the creation of the Lord. To favor some as saints and sages and condemn others as ignoramuses and sinners is nothing but injustice and partiality. As the Lord has granted you all the boons you desired, it is up to you to utilize them in the proper way. You have got immense power now. You can do and undo things. Hence start at once on the mission of your life for which your mother Maayaa has been yearning so much. Fight against the Devtaa. Overthrow them from their power. Strip them of their riches and glory. Lord it over them. Make them your slaves.

Live a life of ease and pleasure, using every object you could conceive of for your sensual enjoyment. Eat, drink and be merry. Live gloriously. Extend your sway over all the worlds created by Lord Shiv. You should reign not only over them, but also establish your dynasty to rule over everyone for generations to come. Thus you will restore the glory now lost to the Asur dynasty.”

After having received the benedictions and final exhortations of their Guru, Shoorapadm and his brothers began their career of conquest over the Devtaa. Shoorapadm established his capital at Mahendra Puree, in the South. Sinhmukh had his capital in Asuram, in the North. Taarakaasur built his capital near Emaakoodam. These cities were duly planned and perfected by the Divine architect, Vishwakarmaa. The three brothers had their own independent kingdoms established around their capitals and were reigning over them, to the terror and dismay of the Devtaa.

Not satisfied with the vast kingdoms they had established, the brothers then proceeded to the habitation of the Devtaa to deprive them of their sovereignty and freedom. Shoorapadm invaded Indra Lok, took Indra prisoner and made him work as a fisherman in the capital. Brahmaa Jee was asked to officiate as the Purohit. Vaayu, the god of wind, was appointed as the sweeper of the streets of his capital; to Varun, the god of rain, was assigned the task of sprinkling gentle drops of water over the streets to lay the dust; the Sun was given to his son, Baanukopan, as a toy to play with; Lord Vishnu alone was left undisturbed. In this way Shoorapadm, along with his brothers, subjected the Devtaa to every kind of ignoble persecution and insult. These privations and dishonor they had to undergo as a punishment for cowardly indifference they showed when Daksh blasphemed Shiv. The curse of Nandee had come home.