Tripura (mythology)

Tripura (meaning three cities, in Sanskrit) was constructed by the great Sura architect Mayasura. They were great cities of prosperity, power and dominance over the world, but due to their impious nature, Maya's cities were destroyed by Lord Shiva. The three cities were made of iron, silver and gold and were located on earth, in the sky and in heaven, respectively.

History of Tripura

Penances of the sons of Taraka

Following the death of Taraka, who was killed by Kartikeya, his sons Tarakaksha, Vidyunmali and Kamalaksha undertook severe penances by which they pleased Lord Brahma. They requested that they be blessed with impregnable fortresses, which would be everlasting. However, as Brahma told them that nothing could be everlasting, they requested that the destruction of the cities could be brought about by a single arrow only, on the hope that it was impossible for anyone to shoot such an arrow, save Lord Shiva, of whom they were great devotees. Brahma then blessed them that such fortresses would be constructed by the architect Maya.

The construction of the three cities

The three cities which comprised Tripura were distributed thus:
*The lowest, with walls of Iron, located on earth,
*The second, with walls of silver, located in the sky, and
*The third, with walls of gold, located in heaven.

The three cities were mobile and moved in such a way that they would never be in a single line, save for a few moments in around a thousand years, when the nakshatra Pushya would be in conjunction with the moon. They were thus reassured that they were quite safe, as it would be an extremely difficult task to destroy the three cities, which aligned only momentarily, by a single arrow!

Asuras from everywhere began to flock to Tripura to live. The cities were extremely luxurious and prosperous.

Forebodings of the fall of Tripura

After several years of joy, the inherent evil tendencies of the Asuras surfaced once again and they began to oppress the good and torment the noble. In the meantime, Mayasura was engaged in the worship of Shiva. The rest of the demons attacked sages and the Devas and shattered the peace of the worlds. Finally, when Indra and the rest of the Devas despondently approached Lord Brahma for respite, Lord Brahma redirected them to Shiva and also informed them of the vulnerability of Tripura to a single arrow. Lord Shiva promised to help them and the Devas returned to combat the Asuras in a mighty war. They were also assisted by Nandi, the leader of Lord Shiva's Ganas. Even though Vidyunmali was slain by Nandi, and several other Asuras were killed in the war, they were revived by water in the pool of Tripura, which had magical powers.

Lord hari descends to help

As the furious war continued between the Asuras and the Devas, even the Earth began to slip from its place. Just as Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva were worrying about the earth's descent, the Protector, Lord Vishnu, in the form of a massive bull, lifted the earth and restored it to its original place. He then entered Tripura and drank dry, the pool of magic water that rejuvenated the dead Asuras.

The destruction of Tripura

As the war raged on, Devas continued to struggle to match the Asuras, who used their magical powers to great effect in the war. Even though the Asuras were anticipating victory, Maya knew that Lord Shiva would enter the war on that day. It was also the day on which the three cities would align momentarily. As battle progressed on the day, Shiva arrived. Vidyunmali approached Shiva but was intercepted and killed by Nandi. Just as the cities aligned for a moment, when the Pushya nakshatra positioned appropriately, Lord Shiva strung his mighty bow, the Pinaka with a powerful arrow and shot at the cities.

Mayasura Protected

Lord Shiva immediately regretted his act, since he had forgotten to protect Maya, a great devotee of his. Realising this, Nandi raced ahead of the arrow and informed Maya of the impending doom. Instantly, Maya fled Tripura, leaving behind the great city he had constructed, which was immediately reduced to ashes, along with its inhabitants, the Asuras, by the great arrow of Lord Shiva. This destruction of Tripura, led to the appellation Tripurantaka (त्रिपुरान्तक), for Lord Shiva.

References

*Matsya Purana
*Shiva Purana