Shiva, the deity is called Tripurari. The destroyer of the Trinity of the universe has numerous names like Mahadev, Mahesh, Shankar, Rudra, Neelkanth, Triloknath, Devendra, Maheshvara, etc. Every name has a story behind and so does Tripurari. Have you ever wondered why Shiva is called Tripurari? Tripurari's name was given to Lord Shiva by Lord Vishnu as the lord with snakes in his neck and moon on his head on the urge of devatas and sages slayed sons of Demon Taraka with one arrow. The stories of Shiva are numerous, and in this blog, we unleash the story behind why lord Shiva is called tripurari.
Story of Tripurari
This is a tale of revenge taken by the three sons of demon Taraka who was lance down by Swami Kartikeya (Subramanya) the elder son of Lord Shiva. Taraka had three children, Vidhyunmali, Tarakasha, and Kamalaksha. To take revenge for the killing of their father, the three demon siblings devoted themselves for years to the veneration of Lord Brahma, the creator. Genuine efforts of even demons were acknowledged and praised by the Trinity, and consequently, sons of Taraka acquired blessings from Lord Brahma. Demons worshipped Brahma on one leg for more than 100 years and starved to please Lord Brahma and get powers for their nasty intentions.
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Boon from Lord Brahma
Lord Brahma, pleased with their worship, asked the sons of demon Taraka about the boons they intended. Immortality was expressed by the three demon brothers. The lord denied complete immortality. The demons did not want the partial blessing of immortality because Hiranyakashyap had died despite the boon. Lord denied immortality enjoyed by deities as mortality is the law of nature and whoever is born is likely to say goodbye to the world. After disagreements, the three Asuras asked for three flying cities with forts of Gold, Silver, and Iron.
Tarakasha was given the boon of owning a gold fort in heaven, Kamalaksha was granted a silver fort in the sky and a third fort of iron was offered to Vidhyunmali on the land. Each fort was bestowed the ability to fly long distances anywhere and was named “Tripura”. Nobody could destroy the fort and their owner residing in it would remain immortal. But, the moving cities would align one in thousands of years for the shortest fraction of time. Brahma said that if anyone could hit all three forts with one arrow when in alignment, the boon of immortality in the fort would vanish and lead to their deaths. Forts were given the boon of moving in a circular path and granted their orbit to be such that they would come in a single line every thousands of years when the Pushya star is in conjunction with the moon. They shall align only for a single moment.
Destruction by Lord Shiva
The three demons ruled in their respective cities designed and created by Maya. Arrogance engulfed the three demons and thereby, lost the path of humanity and benevolence. Sages, deities, and mankind in all three lokas were tormented by them leading to chaos, distress, and ruckus all over the universe. Pissed off from their tortures of them, deities rushed to Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva with the other two Trinity. They all requested the Maheshwara to conquer Asuras and end their cruelty.
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Lord Shiva with the responsibility to destroy adhram and those involved in misdeeds, agreed to take up the responsibility to bring the era of three demons to an end. Nothing could be done, but to wait for the single moment when three becomes vulnerable to destruction. Vishwakarma crafted a golden chariot of Mother Earth. Vishwakarma is known to be a celestial architect who planned heaven. Brahma became the Charioteer. Vasuki snake became the string of the bow, whereas, mount Meru became the arrow. Lord Vishnu took the form of an arrow which was called Pashupatastra. The entire universe waited to witness the destruction of Tripura. Finally, the wait for Trinity and mankind was over, as the three cities were about to align in a row for just a fraction of a second.
Lord Shiva when the city got aligned released the arrow and it hit all three cities at one time. As a result, all three cities and their owners got burnt and turned into ashes. It was the Purnima (full moon day) of Kartika month. Therefore, lord Shiva is named as Tripurantaka. The God smeared his forehead with three horizontal stripes of ashes and danced in delight. The dance performed at that time is known as Tripura Tandava. All devatas and sages who witnessed the rare moment, and went on to take a holy dip in river Ganga in Varanasi city and this is why the ritual of taking an early morning bath in Kartika Maas started. The holy dip taken by the Deities is known as Kartika-Snan. Kartika Purnima is celebrated as Tripurari Purnima.
Chant lord Shiva Mantra for peace, prosperity and harmony in life.
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