Tārakāsura Upākhyāna (Matsya Purāṇa)

Tārakāsura was a powerful dānava (a son of Diti). Brahmā gave him a vara (boon) that no being could kill him except a son of Bhagavān Śiva. Bhagavān Śiva was deep in yoga-nidrā (the sleep of yoga) and seemed unlikely to have a son. So Tāraka thought himself deathless and conquered the three worlds. To destroy him, Bhagavān Śiva had to be awakened through Pārvatī’s love, and Kumāra (also called Skanda and Kārttikeya) had to be born and made Devasenāpati, commander of the deva army. The Matsya Mahā Purāṇa tells this in Chapters 145 to 159. It is the sixth of the twelve Deva-Asura wars.

Background: Diti’s grief and the forty-nine Maruts

The dānavas had been beaten in an earlier war with the devas. Diti, the daughter of Daksha, the wife of Kaśyapa and the mother of the dānavas, was full of grief and resolve. She took up the hardest form of the puṃsavana vrata (a vow for the birth of a son), so that she might bear a son strong enough to destroy Indra and bring back dānava rule.

Her tapas (austerity) was great. For ten thousand years she carried the embryo of her future son and kept every observance without fault. Indra learned of the vow and its aim. He came to Diti’s āśrama (hermitage) and presented himself as her devoted servant, waiting on her with great care. One night Diti fell asleep with her head inside her garment, a posture that is not auspicious, and this let Indra in. He entered her womb through the subtle body, carrying his vajra, and cut the embryo into forty-nine pieces.

Diti woke in terror. But by Indra’s magic each of the forty-nine pieces became one of the Marut-devas, the storm devas who serve Indra, and not an enemy. Diti wept in anguish that her children had become servants of the very deva she wanted to overthrow. Yet she accepted the result, because dharma had prevailed.

Vajrāṅga and Varāṅgī

From Diti’s grief and her continued tapas, Vajrāṅga was born. He was a dānava of great virtue and tapas-power. His name means one whose body is as hard as the vajra. He was a righteous being and was not given to wanton destruction. He married Varāṅgī, a woman of equal spiritual strength.

The two did tapas together at Brahmā’s world. Brahmā appeared, and Vajrāṅga made one request: “Grant me a son who will be strong enough to avenge my mother Diti’s humiliation and defeat Indra.” Brahmā agreed. From this marriage Tārakāsura was born, the most powerful dānava of his age.

Tāraka’s tapas and Brahmā’s boon

Tārakāsura knew his purpose from birth. He did tapas of unimaginable severity to win Brahmā’s boon. Brahmā appeared, and Tāraka asked to be safe from all beings. Brahmā knew that complete deathlessness cannot be given. He offered a changed boon instead: Tāraka would be safe from all beings except a son born of Bhagavān Śiva.

Tāraka accepted gladly. He reckoned that Bhagavān Śiva, the great master of yoga, lost in endless meditation, would hardly have a son. So the boon was, in practice, deathlessness.

Conquest of the three worlds

With this boon and his own strength, Tārakāsura swept through the three worlds one after another. He drove Indra out of Svargaloka and took the throne of the devas. He took over the powers and duties of the lokapālakas (guardians of the directions): their divine vehicles, their divine weapons and their svarga (heaven) pleasures. The Ādityas grew dim, the Maruts withdrew, and the Sādhyas and Pitṛs fled. The three worlds came under Tārakāsura.

The devas had no way out. They went to Brahmā and then to Bhagavān Vishṇu, and lamented that they were helpless. Both gave them the same answer. Bhagavān Śiva must be woken from his yoga-nidrā. He must be led to marry Pārvatī, who would be born for this very purpose. Their union must give the divine son who alone could slay Tāraka.

The battle of Jambhāsura (Chapter 152)

While they waited for the plan to bear fruit, the devas fought Tāraka’s forces. One of Tāraka’s most formidable warriors was Jambhāsura, a dānava warrior of enormous power. A long astra-yuddha (battle of divine weapons) was fought between Jambhāsura and Indra’s forces. Divine weapons, each more destructive than the last, flew one after another and filled the sky with fire and light. In the end Jambhāsura was slain by a Brahmāstra. Even this victory did not change the main problem. Without a Devasenāpati born of Bhagavān Śiva, the deva armies had no lasting commander who could face Tārakāsura himself.

The plan: Pārvatī’s birth and Manmatha’s task (Chapter 153)

Brahmā made the plan. Pārvatī would be born as the daughter of Himavat (the Himālaya) and his wife Menā. Her purpose was to become Bhagavān Śiva’s wife and to bear the divine son. Through the work of Vibhāvarī, Pārvatī was born with beauty beyond compare. Nārada came to Himavat’s court and declared her destiny. Manmatha (Kāmadeva) was then sent to break Bhagavān Śiva’s meditation. But Bhagavān Śiva burned Manmatha to ash with his third eye, and Manmatha was left without a body (anaṅga).

Pārvatī’s tapas and her union with Śiva (Chapters 154–156)

Bhagavān Śiva spoke mockingly about her dark skin and sent her away. Pārvatī then did her own severe tapas in the Himālaya. She stood on one foot, fasted through the seasons, and bore every extreme of heat and cold. Through her tapas she shed her dark skin, which became Kālikā. By Brahmā’s grace she received the golden Gaura form. Now shining like gold, she was accepted by Bhagavān Śiva. Their divine union fulfilled Brahmā’s plan for the worlds.

The birth of Kumāra (Chapter 157)

From the union of Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī came the divine seed of Bhagavān Śiva. It was too powerful for any one vessel to hold. It was carried first by Agni, who could not hold it without being scorched, then by Gaṅgā, and at last it was placed in the śaravana, the thicket of reeds on the bank of the Gaṅgā. From these reeds the child Kumāra came forth, shining with the light of Bhagavān Śiva himself. He had six faces (Shaṇmukha) and twelve arms. The six Kṛttikā stars (the Pleiades) came down as six mothers and nursed the child, and so he received the name Kārttikeya.

The devas were full of joy. They performed the abhisheka (consecration) of Kumāra as Devasenāpati, the commander-in-chief of the divine armies. He was also married to Devasenā, the daughter of Indra. The names fixed at this event are Kumāra, Skanda, Kārttikeya, Viśākha, Shaṇmukha, Śaravanabhava, Agni-putra and Mahāsena.

The final battle and Tāraka’s challenge (Chapter 158)

When Tārakāsura saw the new deva army with young Kumāra at its head, he understood that the son of Bhagavān Śiva had been born, the only one who could slay him under his boon. He did not retreat. He sent a messenger to Indra with a challenge and declared that he was ready for the decisive battle. The deva forces gathered in full, and the battle-lines were drawn. Before the battle the devas offered a great stotra (hymn of praise) to Kumāra:

“O son of Maheśvara! O six-faced Deva! O Skanda, Viśveśa, Kukkuṭadhvaja, Agni-putra — be the Devasenā! O destroyer of enemies, Kumāra, O master! O Skanda, O Bālagraha-svāmin, O conqueror of enemies, O Krauñca-bhettā, O son of Kṛttikās, O beloved of six mothers — salutation!”

The slaying of Tārakāsura (Chapter 159)

In the decisive fight Kumāra used his supreme weapon, the Śakti, against Tārakāsura. The battle was cosmic in scale, with the two warriors meeting each other with equal fury. In the end Kumāra’s śakti pierced Tārakāsura and killed him. So the terms of his own boon were fulfilled: he died at the hands of Bhagavān Śiva’s son. The three worlds were freed from his rule.

The phalaśruti (the verses on the fruit of hearing) of this upākhyāna says that the narrative is supremely purifying. Hearing it destroys all pāpa (sin) and gives the puṇya (merit) of great yajñas (fire rituals).

Sources

• Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 145–159
• Chapter 145: Diti’s vow and the forty-nine Maruts
• Chapter 146: Vajrāṅga and Varāṅgī; the birth of Tāraka
• Chapters 147–148: Tāraka’s tapas and Brahmā’s boon
• Chapters 149–151: the conquest of the three worlds; the devas go to Brahmā and Bhagavān Vishṇu
• Chapter 152: the battle of Jambhāsura
• Chapter 153: the plan; Pārvatī’s birth; Manmatha’s task
• Chapters 154–156: Pārvatī’s tapas and her union with Bhagavān Śiva
• Chapter 157: the birth of Kumāra
• Chapter 158: Tāraka’s challenge; the stotra to Kumāra
• Chapter 159: the slaying of Tāraka; the phalaśruti