Madhusudana — Slayer of the Demon Madhu

At the dawn of creation Lord Vishnu destroyed the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, and so he is called "Madhusudana". Arjuna uses this name many times in the Gita.

"Sudana" means destroyer, so Madhusudana is the one who slew the demon Madhu. The story is told in the Puranas and the Mahabharata. After the cosmic dissolution, while Lord Vishnu lay in yogic sleep upon the ocean and Brahma sat on the lotus springing from his navel, two mighty demons named Madhu and Kaitabha appeared and rushed to kill Brahma and seize the Vedas. At Brahma's prayer the Lord awoke, fought them for a long time, and finally destroyed them both, protecting creation.

Since Krishna is the complete manifestation of Vishnu, this name belongs to him as well. In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna calls him Madhusudana again and again: in the first chapter, in the second when he shrinks from fighting Bhishma and Drona, in the sixth when he speaks of the restless mind, and in the eighth as he asks his questions. Sanjaya also uses the name when he says that Madhusudana spoke to the grieving Arjuna.

Devotional tradition gives the name an inner meaning too: the Lord also destroys the demons within us, such as delusion, pride and attachment. The great Advaita teacher Madhusudana Saraswati, author of the Gudhartha Dipika commentary on the Gita, bore this name and was known for his love of Krishna.

Name Sa

मधुसूदन

Name Roman

Madhusudana

Meaning

slayer of the demon Madhu

Gita Refs

1.35, 2.4, 6.33, 8.2

Source

Mahabharata; Puranas (Madhu-Kaitabha episode)