Deva-Asura Wars: The Twelve Great Conflicts

The devas (the shining beings who keep order in the universe) and the asuras (powerful beings who oppose them and often stand against dharma) have fought many times. Chapter 73 of the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa lists twelve great wars between them. These conflicts shaped the history of the three worlds from the earliest times up to the Dvāpara Yuga (the third of the four ages).

Each war is a test of dharma (right order) against adharma (its opposite). In several of them Bhagavān Viṣṇu steps in himself through an avatāra (a form in which he descends into the world). Taken together, the list gives a full picture of how conflict and the return of order keep repeating in the life of the universe.

The Twelve Wars

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa records the twelve main wars in this order.

1. Nārasiṃha Yuddha

This war is linked with the avatāra of Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha. Hiraṇyakaśipu, the great king of the asuras, gained boons that made him almost impossible to kill. He set up asura rule over the three worlds. Bhagavān Viṣṇu took the form of the man-lion, Nṛsiṃha, and killed him, bringing back the rule of the devas. Hiraṇyakaśipu’s son Prahlāda, a great devotee, survived and became the model asura king who ruled by dharma.

2. Vāmana Yuddha

This is the war of Bhagavān Vāmana’s avatāra. Bali Cakravartī, the grandson of Prahlāda, won rule over all three worlds through his perfect tapas (spiritual discipline) and dāna (generosity). Viṣṇu took the form of a small brāhmaṇa boy, Vāmana, and with three steps won back the three worlds. With grace, he settled Bali in Sutala, one of the lower worlds.

3. Varāha Yuddha

This war is linked with the Varāha (boar) avatāra of Viṣṇu. The asura Hiraṇyākṣa sank the earth into the great ocean of the universe. Viṣṇu, as the vast boar, dived into the first waters, killed Hiraṇyākṣa, and lifted the earth on his tusks, setting it back in its place.

4. Samudra-Manthana

This is the churning of the great ocean. It is told as a joint effort of the devas and asuras, but in the end it became a conflict. Through his Mohinī form (an enchanting female form), Viṣṇu kept the amṛta (nectar of immortality) away from the asuras. The asura Svarbhānu, who seized some of the nectar, was cut in two by the Sudarśana discus, and became Rāhu and Ketu.

5. Tārakāmaya Yuddha

This great war was fought over Tārā, the wife of Bṛhaspati (teacher of the devas), who was carried off by Soma (Candra, the moon). Śukra, teacher of the asuras, sided with Soma. Rudra sided with Bṛhaspati. The whole universe was split into two sides. Brahmā stepped in. From Tārā was born Budha, the founder of the Candra vaṃśa (the lunar dynasty).

6. Āḍibaka Yuddha

A war against the asura Āḍibaka. He may be connected with the family of the asura Andhaka, or this may be a separate war of the earliest times. The Purāṇa only mentions it briefly as one of the series.

7. Tripura Yuddha

In this war Bhagavān Śiva destroyed the three flying cities of the asura Tripura (also called Tripurāsura). The cities were built by Maya, out of gold, silver and iron, for three asura brothers. Śiva destroyed all three at the same moment with a single arrow (Tripurāstara). Brahmā’s chariot was his chariot, Mount Meru was his bow, and Viṣṇu was his arrow. This is one of the most celebrated events in the Śaiva tradition.

8. Andhaka Yuddha

The war against Andhaka, an asura born from the sweat of Śiva’s closed eye, who desired Pārvatī. Śiva pierced Andhaka with his śūla (trident) and held him there until all his pāpa (wrongdoing) was burned away. In the end Andhaka became one of Śiva’s gaṇas (attendants).

9. Dhvaja Yuddha

A battle connected with the dhvaja (banner or standard) of some asura king or army.

10. Vārhya or Vṛtra Yuddha

Vṛtra was a great asura born from a yajña (fire offering) performed by Tvaṣṭā out of anger against Indra. Vṛtra covered the waters and the light, and a great drought fell on the worlds. Indra, filled with the strength of Viṣṇu and holding the Vajra (thunderbolt) made from the bones of the ṛṣi Dadhīci, killed Vṛtra. The waters and the light were set free.

11. Mauravṛtta or Hālāhala Yuddha

A war against a powerful asura force. The name Hālāhala is also the name of the poison that came up during the churning of the ocean. Here it may refer to a conflict caused by that poison, or to an asura who had such power.

12. Kolāhala Yuddha

The last war in the list. It may be a war of the Kali Yuga (the present age), or the great final war before the universe is renewed.

The Asura Rulers and Their Ages

The Purāṇa also sums up asura rule over the ages:

Hiraṇyakaśipu ruled for a period that, from his point of view, lasted ten yugas (ages).
Bali, son of Virocana and grandson of Prahlāda, was an asura king who followed dharma and was generous beyond compare.
Prahlāda himself also served as an asura king of model dharma.

One thing stays the same in all twelve wars: Śukra (Śukrācārya), the teacher of the asuras. His advice, his tapas and his Mṛta-sañjīvanī vidyā (the knowledge that brings the dead back to life) were the asuras’ greatest strength in every age. Śukra kept a thousand-year dhūma-vrata (a vow of breathing smoke) in order to get from Śiva a mantra that would make the asuras invincible forever.

The Old Rivalry Used as a Trick

In the Anuśāsana Parva of the Mahābhārata, the story of Bhaṅgāsvana (the Bhaṅgāsvanopākhyāna) shows Indra himself using the endless enmity of devas and asuras. Both are sons of Kaśyapa Prajāpati, yet they fight forever over who should rule. Here Indra does not speak of it as the story of the universe. Disguised as a brāhmaṇa, he uses it on purpose as a wedge, to create a quarrel between two groups of brothers who lived in harmony, and so to start a war in which brothers kill brothers.

What the Wars Mean

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa does not show the fight between devas and asuras as a simple battle of good against evil. It shows it as a way the universe keeps itself in balance. The asuras are often devotees of Śiva and Brahmā. They stand for power that runs out of control when it is not guided by dharma. The devas usually guard the order of the world, but they too sometimes need correcting, for example when Indra grows proud. Viṣṇu’s avatāras are the final way of setting dharma right again. He enters the world when nothing else can bring back the balance.

The Vāyu Purāṇa: Viṣṇu Māhātmya and the Śukra-Bṛhaspati Story

The later half (Uttarārdha) of the Vāyu Purāṇa has a long section called the Viṣṇu Māhātmya (“the greatness of Viṣṇu”). It gives its own account of the cycle of deva-asura wars, as the background to Viṣṇu’s many births. The frame is the Bhṛgu-śāpa, the curse of the ṛṣi Bhṛgu on Viṣṇu, which makes Viṣṇu, who is beyond the world, take human births again and again.

Śukra and Bṛhaspati

This cycle of wars turns on one key event. Śukrācārya went away to do a thousand years of tapas to Śiva, to gain a stronger weapon against the devas. While he was gone, Bṛhaspati, the teacher of the devas, saw his chance. He took on Śukra’s appearance and went to the asuras, pretending to be their teacher. He taught them in a way that quietly turned them away from their dharma and their strength.

When the real Śukra came back, the asuras could not tell which one was their true teacher. Śukra cursed them for not trusting him: “You shall be defeated and lose your wisdom.” Bṛhaspati then showed his true form and left. Weakened by Śukra’s curse, the asuras were defeated by the devas. The devas won back svarga (the heavenly world), and the asuras went down to Pātāla (the lower world).

Jayantī and Śukra

The Vāyu Purāṇa adds an earlier part to this story. Before Śukra went to Śiva for tapas, Jayantī, the daughter of Indra, stayed with Śukra through his tapas and served him with devotion. Pleased with her, Śukra agreed to spend ten years with her in seclusion. During those ten years Bṛhaspati took Śukra’s form. The daughter born to Jayantī and Śukra was Devayānī. This story shows how Devayānī is Śukra’s daughter, which matters for the later story of King Yayāti.

The Ten Avatāras

This section of the Vāyu Purāṇa then gives an orderly account of Viṣṇu’s ten births. All of them come from Bhṛgu’s curse, which made Viṣṇu take human birth again and again:

Nārāyaṇa: born in the Cākṣuṣa Manvantara (the age of the Manu Cākṣuṣa); the first form.
Nṛsiṃha: born in the sea in the fourth yuga; he destroyed Hiraṇyakaśipu.
Vāmana: born in the seventh Tretā Yuga; he brought Bali under control and won back the three worlds.
Dattātreya: in the tenth Tretā Yuga, when dharma was in danger; born as the avadhūta (a ṛṣi free of all worldly rules).
An unnamed fifth birth: in the fifteenth Tretā Yuga; linked to the age of Māndhātā Cakravartī.
Paraśurāma: in the eleventh Tretā Yuga; destroyer of all the kṣatriyas (the warrior class), with Viśvāmitra as teacher.
Rāma: in the fourteenth yuga, with Vasiṣṭha as purohita (family priest); born as Daśaratha’s son to destroy Rāvaṇa.
Vyāsa: in the twenty-eighth Dvāpara Yuga; born of Parāśara, with Jātūkarṇa before him; he arranged the Vedas and the Purāṇas.
Kṛṣṇa: in the twenty-eighth Dvāpara Yuga; born to Devakī and Vasudeva, with Brahma-Gārgya before him; he destroyed Kaṃsa, Śālva, Narakāsura and other asuras, and cut off the arms of Bāṇa.
Kalki: yet to come; to be born in the family line of Parāśara, with Yājñavalkya before him; he will destroy the mlecchas (those outside Vedic ways) and bring back the order of the world.

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa: The War against Tāraka

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa (Chapters 16 to 21) gives the fullest account of the war against Tārakāsura. He was an asura born of Vajrāṅga and Vārāṅgī. Brahmā gave him a boon that only a seven-year-old child could kill him. This made him, in effect, impossible for any living being to defeat.

Tāraka Prepares for War

With his boon in hand, Tārakāsura gathered his armies. He spoke to them with scorn for the devas, and called on them to defend the honour of his mother Vārāṅgī, who had suffered at Indra’s hands. His general Grasana beat the great war drum. Ten mighty commanders went with Grasana:

Jambha (lion banner, with a hundred lions)
Kujambha (donkey banner)
Mahiṣa (jackal banner)
Kuñjara (vulture banner)
Megha (rākṣasa banner)
Kālanemi (Mahākāla banner)
Nimi
Madhana
Jambhaka (crow banner)
Śumbha (wolf banner)

Tāraka’s chariot had sixty-four wheels, was four yojanas (an old measure of distance) wide, and was pulled by a thousand garuḍas (great eagles).

Grasana against Yama: The First Great Duel

The first part of the war was ruled by the duel between Grasana, Tāraka’s chief commander, and Yama. They fought first with weapons, then by throwing gadās (maces), then hand to hand in bāhuyuddha (wrestling). Grasana threw Yama’s gaṇas in every direction, overpowered Yama in the wrestling, and made the deva army run. Jambha struck Yama with a biṇḍipāla (a kind of javelin), and Yama fell. Later Yama recovered and gave Grasana a crushing blow.

Kālanemi’s Magic of False Suns

Candra (the moon) froze the daitya (asura) army with a storm of snow, his candra-hima-māyā. Kālanemi answered with his own magic. He grew his body until it filled every direction and made countless false suns inside it. The three worlds blazed with false fire, which burned away Candra’s magic. Then Sūrya (the sun) used the śambara-astra, a weapon that scrambles how things look, so that devas looked like daityas and daityas looked like devas. In the confusion Kālanemi began killing his own side. When the mistake came to light, Kālanemi used a brahmāstra (Brahmā’s weapon) to cancel the śambara-astra.

Viṣṇu Chooses When to Strike

Viṣṇu fought with great power but with care. He knew which death was fated to come by whose hand. He spared Mahiṣa, saying “a woman shall slay you”, and Śumbha, saying “a woman shall slay you within days”. When he defeated Kālanemi with the Sudarśana discus, he laughed and let him go: “Live at ease, but I shall complete this very soon.” When Grasana came back to fight, Viṣṇu’s Sudarśana discus cut through his neck and killed him. In this war Viṣṇu acts within the order laid down for the universe. What he does is set not by how strong he is, but by what dharma has already arranged.

Jambha’s Death by the Aghora-mantra Arrow

This was the longest single fight of the war. Jambha alone could knock out both Viṣṇu and Garuḍa at once. Viṣṇu revealed that the ṛṣi Durvāsā had cursed Jambha to die only by Indra’s hand, and urged Indra to face him. The duel between Indra and Jambha was a long exchange of astras (divine weapons), move after move:

Bowstrings were cut and maces struck each other down.
The mausala-astra was met by the tvāṣṭra-astra.
The śailāstra and the āgneya-astra (fire weapon) were used.
Jambha took the form of a mountain and the form of a serpent.
He swallowed three lakh (three hundred thousand) kinnaras and gandharvas (heavenly musicians).

When Jambha’s magic was at last used up, Indra fired the deciding weapon. It was a half-moon arrow (ardhacandra) blessed with the Aghora-mantra, a boon from Śiva himself. It cut off Jambha’s head.

Tāraka’s Complete Victory

When Tāraka himself came onto the field, every weapon of the devas failed. The Sudarśana discus bounced off Tāraka like a lotus thrown against a stone. Indra’s vajra shattered into a hundred pieces. Tāraka stepped down from his chariot and beat the devas with his bare hands. He kicked Vāyu down and struck Kubera’s head with the end of his bow. Viṣṇu called out, “Devas! Flee!” and vanished.

The three worlds fell under Tāraka’s rule. Only the birth of Śiva’s son, Kārttikeya, not yet born, could change this. Brahmā declared that only a seven-year-old child born of Śiva and Pārvatī could do what all the devas and all of Viṣṇu’s power could not.

Sources

Brahmāṇḍa Mahāpurāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 73
Vāyu Mahāpurāṇa, Uttarārdha, Viṣṇu-Māhātmya-Kathana section
Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 16 to 21
Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 12