One of the famous stories associated with the warrior form of Shiva is that of him destroying Tripuri. Tripura or Tripuri were the flying cities
of demons made of Gold, Silver and Iron. Demons Tarakaksha, Maya and Vidyunmali
ruled over the three cities. The three demons were the son of Tarakasura who
was defeated by Kartikeya. The three demons had propitiated Brahma and as boon
asked for immortality which was denied and later they asked for three fortified
cities which could fly around and could only destroyed with one shot of an
arrow.
The demons then with the help of Maya, master architect,
built three cities in sky, air and earth. With safety of the boon, the demons
defeated the devas and invaded cities in the universe. They started propagating
Adharma.
Indra tried to bring down the city with a single arrow but
failed. Finally, Devas, saints and human approached Shiva.
Shiva agreed to put an end to the rule of the flying cities.
Vishwakarma built the chariot for the mission. The Charioteer was Brahma. Earth
was the body of the chariot. Sun and Moon where the wheels of the chariots. The
four Vedas became the four steeds.
Brahma raised the chariot up and waited for the cities to
align in a single line. This happened only for a split of a second.
Even this split of a second time was more for Mahadev Shiva,
who shot the arrow through the three cities burning them down. The asuras were
killed and Dharma restored.
The story of the flying cities is found in the
Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana.
This victory is annually observed on the Kartik Purnima as Tripurari Purnima as it is believed that Shiva destroyed the cities on the particular Purnima day.
This victory is annually observed on the Kartik Purnima as Tripurari Purnima as it is believed that Shiva destroyed the cities on the particular Purnima day.