Vidyunmāli

Vidyunmāli was one of the three dānava rulers of the Tripura, the triple fortress that Maya built after he received a vara (a boon) from Brahmā. His name means “one garlanded with lightning.”

Tapas and the silver city

After the defeat of the dānavas, Vidyunmāli joined Maya and Tārakāksha in hard tapas (austerity). From Brahmā’s boon came his city, Rajata-pura, the silver city. It floated in the mid-sky. It shone like the moon and gleamed like masses of lightning in the clouds. He settled there with crores of dānavas and their families. (Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 127–128)

He ruled a portion of the dānava forces. He was slain in the battles that came before Śiva’s final destruction of the Tripura.

Sources

• Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 127–139