Tārakāsura Vadha (Śiva Purāṇa)

This account from the Kumāra Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa tells of the great war between the devas, led by Kārttikeya, and the armies of the asura Tārakāsura. It names the warriors who fought each other and tells how Tāraka beat Indra and Vishṇu. It tells of Tāraka’s long speech about the failings of the devas, of Brahmā’s word that only Kārttikeya can kill Tāraka, and of the last fight in which Kārttikeya kills Tāraka with his śakti (spear).

The march and the omen

Kārttikeya had been made Senāpati (commander) at Kailāsa. He then led the armies of the devas against Tārakāsura. The devas marched in order, full of confidence, with all the weapons and gifts they had given their commander. When the two armies came close, an ākāśavāṇī (a voice from the sky) told all who were there that the devas would win in the end.

The battle array

The great battle began with these pairings:

  • Tārakāsura against Indra
  • Śaṃprada against Agni
  • Jambha against Yama
  • Mahāprabha against Nirṛti
  • Bala against Varuṇa
  • Suvīra against Vāyu
  • Pavana against Kubera
  • Śumbha against Īśāna
  • Śumbha against Śesha
  • Kumbhāsura against Candra
  • Kumbara against Mihira (Sūrya)

Each deva faced the asura matched against him.

Tāraka beats the devas

In the battle Tārakāsura could not be beaten by any one deva. He was guarded by the vara (a boon) that only the son of Śiva could kill him. He defeated Indra and badly wounded Airāvata, Indra’s elephant.

Then Bhagavān Vishṇu himself stepped forward to face Tāraka. Tāraka broke Vishṇu’s gadā (mace). He struck Vishṇu down with a blow of his śakti. Then he shattered Vishṇu’s Sudarśana Cakra. In the last exchange Vishṇu had to take up the Nandaka-khaḍga, his sword, to go on fighting.

Brahmā’s word to Kārttikeya

Brahmā came to the battlefield and found Kārttikeya standing back from the main fight. Brahmā told him plainly that only Kārttikeya himself could kill Tārakāsura. This was Tāraka’s vara: no being except the son of Śiva could end his life. Every defeat of the devas, every weapon Tāraka broke and every warrior he struck down could be answered only when Kārttikeya stepped forward. The purpose for which he had been born now stood before him.

Tāraka’s speech

Before the final fight, Tārakāsura gave a long speech on the battlefield. In it he listed the wrongs of the devas, the wrongs done by Indra and Vishṇu across the ages. He gave these as his reason for taking rule over the three worlds. He claimed that the devas had lost their right to rule and that his own rule set things right.

In the midst of this show of strength, Tāraka kicked Indra down and took the vajra (thunderbolt) from him. But the vajra, by its own divine nature, struck Tāraka as it came back. Then Tāraka struck down Vīrabhadra, the warrior attendant of Bhagavān Śiva, who had come into the battle.

Kārttikeya steps forward

Kārttikeya went to Vīrabhadra, who lay struck down, and told him to stand aside. Then he faced Tārakāsura directly. A second voice from the sky said that Kārttikeya would win.

The last fight and the death of Tāraka

Kārttikeya and Tārakāsura fought hand to hand. The fight was fierce, for it was the meeting of the one born for this purpose and the asura who had held the three worlds captive through his vara. At the decisive moment Kārttikeya raised his śakti, the weapon given to him at his abhisheka (anointing) for just this purpose, and hurled it at Tārakāsura. Tārakāsura fell and died.

When Tāraka was dead, the remaining rākshasas and asuras fled to Pātāla. The three worlds were freed from his rule. Bhagavān Śiva and Pārvatī came down to the battlefield to hear the news of victory. A great celebration followed among all the devas, ṛshis and divine beings. Kārttikeya then went back to Kailāsa.

Sources

  • Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7
  • Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 8
  • Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9
  • Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Kumāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 10