Astha SangrahASTHA SANGRAHhttps://asthasangrah.comTripurasura Vadh Katha
The Tripurasura Vadh Katha tells how the three sons of the demon-king Tarakasura won three impregnable flying cities as a boon from Brahma, and how Lord Shiv, on the day of Kartik Purnima, destroyed all three cities and their demon lords with a single arrow, it is in memory of this victory that Shiv came to be called 'Tripurari,' and Dev Deepawali is observed at Kashi.
Chapter 1 · The Penance of Three Demon Sons, and the Building of Three Cities
The demon-king Tarakasura had been slain by Lord Shiv's son Kartikeya. To avenge their father's death, his three sons, Tarakaksha, Kamalaksha, and Vidyunmali, began fierce penance to please Brahma. Satisfied with their austerities, Brahma asked them to name the boon they desired.
Believing this would make them unconquerable, the three brothers asked for an unusual boon: three moving cities, of gold, silver, and iron, placed in the sky, on earth, and in the netherworld, which would come together and merge into one only once every thousand years, and could be destroyed even then only by a single arrow, something thought impossible for anyone to achieve. They were, after all, great devotees of Shiv, and trusted he would never harm them. Brahma granted the boon, and the celestial architect Maya Danava, with his extraordinary craft, built these three cities, named Swarnapuri, Rajatapuri, and Lauhapuri, in the sky, on earth, and in the netherworld.
Read the Shiv Chalisa →Emboldened by the boon, the three demons grew utterly reckless and began wreaking havoc across the three worlds. They disrupted the yajnas of sages, tormented the gods, and set about destroying dharma everywhere. The distressed gods sought refuge with Lord Shiv and begged him to destroy these three cities, now known together as 'Tripura.'
Chapter 2 · The Divine Chariot, One Arrow, and the Title Tripurari
To destroy Tripura, Lord Shiv asked for a war-chariot that would embody the whole of creation. Vishwakarma made the earth the chariot, the sun and moon its two wheels, and Mount Meru the bow. The serpent-king Vasuki became its bowstring, and Lord Vishnu himself took the form of the arrow. Brahma became the charioteer of this divine chariot. But when Shiv mounted this colossal chariot, it would not move under his weight, until Vishnu himself took the form of a bull and set it in motion.
After a thousand years of waiting, on the full-moon day of Kartik, in the Abhijit muhurta, the three cities aligned and merged together in the sky over Kashi. It was in that very moment that Lord Shiv drew the Vishnu-arrow upon his Meru bow and released it. That single arrow reduced all three cities, Swarnapuri, Rajatapuri, and Lauhapuri, to ashes along with their demons, and Tripurasura was destroyed root and branch.
After this extraordinary victory, Lord Shiv came to be called 'Tripurari' and 'Tripurantaka.' It is believed that this was the very first Dev Deepawali in the city of Kashi, when all the gods themselves came down to celebrate Shiv's victory and lit lamps along the banks of the Ganga. In memory of this very tradition, Kartik Purnima is still observed today as 'Tripuri Purnima' or 'Dev Deepawali,' with millions of lamps lit along the Ganga at Kashi and many other places.
Read the Shiv Aarti →How to Read Tripurasura Vadh Katha
On Kartik Purnima, bathe in the Ganga or another sacred river in the morning, worship Lord Shiv in the evening with a lit lamp, and offer lamps at a riverbank. Reciting the Shiv Chalisa and Shiv Aarti holds special significance on this day.
About Tripurasura Vadh Katha
This story is told across two chapters. The first tells of the penance of Tarakasura's three sons, Brahma's boon, and the building of the three cities by Maya Danava. The second describes Lord Shiv's divine chariot, the destruction of all three cities with one arrow, and the origin of the title 'Tripurari' and the Dev Deepawali tradition.
This story is connected to Kartik Purnima (Tripuri Purnima) and the Dev Deepawali of Kashi. This page presents both chapters' full text in plain Hindi, with adjustable text size and print support.
About The Shiva Purana (Yuddha Khanda)
The Tripurasura Vadh Katha has no single authoritative printed 'katha text', it is a well-known Puranic legend narrated in the Yuddha Khanda of the Shiva Purana, and the wording here has been composed independently, so it is not a word-for-word copy of any single website's or publication's text, though the sequence of events follows the Purana's well-established tradition.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Tripurasura?
Tripurasura is not the name of one demon, but the collective name for the three sons of Tarakasura, Tarakaksha, Kamalaksha, and Vidyunmali, who received the boon of three flying cities from Brahma.
How did Lord Shiv destroy Tripura?
With the earth as chariot, the sun and moon as wheels, Mount Meru as the bow, the serpent Vasuki as the bowstring, and Lord Vishnu himself as the arrow, Shiv reduced all three cities to ashes with a single arrow when they aligned on Kartik Purnima.
Why is Shiv called 'Tripurari'?
Having slain the three cities and demons collectively known as Tripura, Lord Shiv came to be called 'Tripurari', the enemy of Tripura, and 'Tripurantaka.'
How is Dev Deepawali connected to the slaying of Tripurasura?
It is believed that all the gods came to Kashi to celebrate this victory of Shiv's and lit lamps along the Ganga, in memory of this tradition, Dev Deepawali is still observed at Kashi every Kartik Purnima.