Tārakāmaya Yuddha (Padma Purāṇa)
The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells of the Tārakāmaya war between the devas and the asuras. The asura Tāraka had won great varas (boons) and was troubling the three worlds. The devas gathered in a great army under Indra, with Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera and Bhagavān Vishṇu, and the dānavas came against them with the war-chariots built by Maya. In the middle of the war, Varuṇa tells Indra of the ṛshi Aurva, who was born from a thigh, and of the Aurva-agni, the fire of the ocean’s depths.
Background: Brahmā’s creation
The Tārakāmaya war comes after the great creation (sṛshṭi) told in chapter 40. Brahmā had defeated Madhu and Kaiṭabha with the help of Bhagavān Vishṇu and had made the earth from their meda (fat). Then he went on with the work of creation. He made the sons of creation (Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ and Suvaḥ). He made the great ṛshis Daksha, Marīci, Atri and others. He made the eleven Rudras from Sabhī, the ādityas (the twelve sons of Aditi), and the whole order of devas and asuras. From within this creation the great asura Tāraka rose to terrible power. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in chapter 40 of the Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa.
Tāraka’s power
Through his tapas Tāraka had won varas that made him almost beyond harm and far stronger than the devas. He became lord of the asuras and began to conquer the three worlds. He drove the devas from their places and set asura rule over the realms of the devas. The devas had no power against him and begged Brahmā and Bhagavān Vishṇu for help. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in chapter 40 of the Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa.
The army of the devas
The forces of the devas gathered for the Tārakāmaya war in grand order.
- Indra rode his great elephant Airāvata, armed and shining as king of the devas.
- Yama came with his dreaded daṇḍa, the rod of death, which rules over mortality and the results of karma in battle.
- Varuṇa carried his pāśa (noose), with which he binds those who break dharma.
- Kubera came on the divine Pushpaka vimāna, bringing the wealth and resources of the yaksha hosts.
- Bhagavān Vishṇu came himself, seated on Garuḍa. In his four hands he held the śaṅkha (conch), the cakra (discus), the gadā (mace) and the padma (lotus). His coming was the best sign the devas could have, for Nārāyaṇa himself had joined the battle.
The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in chapter 41 of the Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa.
The asura forces and Maya’s chariots
On the side of the dānavas, Maya, the great asura daivajña (knower of divine craft) and builder of divine vehicles, had made remarkable chariots for the dānava forces. He could build flying cities and war-machines that could not be beaten. The chariots he made carried fearful powers. Tāra’s army moved with these war-vehicles and with the full strength of the dānava forces. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in chapter 41 of the Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa.
The great battle
The Tārakāmaya war was among the most terrible wars of the ages. The devas and asuras fought with divine weapons and with the full force of their powers. The account dwells on the terror of the battle and the great destructive power of those who fought. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in chapter 41 of the Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa.
Aurva and the fire of the ocean
During the battle, Varuṇa tells Indra the account of the great ṛshi Aurva. It explains where the Aurva-agni comes from. This is the fire hidden in the depths of the ocean, also called Vāḍava-agni or Baḍavāgni.
Aurva was a brāhmaṇa ṛshi. He was born from his mother’s thigh (ūru), and so he has this name. His mother was fleeing enemies who wanted to kill him before he was born. From the moment of his birth, Aurva’s anger at those who had tried to destroy him was held inside his body as a blazing fire of tapas-śakti (the power of austerity). After long tapas, Aurva took up this fire, the Aurva-agni, and set it in the ocean. There it lives in the depths as the fire beneath the sea (Vāḍavāgni). It steadily drinks the ocean’s waters, and at the end of the kalpa (a day of Brahmā) it will blaze out and burn up the whole ocean.
In the Tārakāmaya war, the dānavas, among them Hiraṇyakaśipu, drew on the Aurva-agni as a weapon of māyā (magic power) against the devas and let the ocean fire loose as a force of destruction in the battle. Varuṇa and Candra fought against this dānava māyā. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in chapter 41 of the Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, chapters 40–41