Tripurasura explained
Things get complicated real fast.
How can I already be stumped on my own blog?!
Honestly, I’m feeling a bit humbled at the moment. After learning about karthik purnima and the story of Tripurasura and the three cities, I imagined there would be something written about the symbolic meaning behind it all. Surprisingly, there isn’t much out there and what I could glean from the internet and books wasn’t very reassuring. At the same time, the story doesn’t sit right with me for all the reasons I mentioned at the end of that post. With that said, here’s what I found.
The moving cities. Really, if any of you could conjure this up in your head please stop what you’re doing and go into filmmaking. Frankly, I couldn’t wrap my head around this one. One explanation I found on Quora threads was that the three cities are representations of the 1) ego, 2) what we think is ours, and 3) what is not ours.
In short, the ego is who we are in our everyday lives - the labels we place on ourselves that dictate how we move about in the world: postal worker, mom, dad, aunt, neighbor, the great cook of the family, etc. On top of that we create two distinctions in our heads: things that belong to us or that we believe we deserve. These can be material like wealth or personal like our family. Naturally, the other category is things that don’t belong to us and are out of our control like nature.
One of the foundational teachings of Vedic philosophy is that the categories, labels, and beliefs about ourselves are created by the mind and, in fact, are not our true selves. Our minds get comfortable with these labels. These labels then serve to solidify who we are in this material world. They also serve to differentiate us from “others”, whether that’s other people, other species, other places. The reality, according to Vedanta philosophy, is that there is really no difference between you, me, or the natural physical world we live in. From a scientific perspective, we are all stars - we are the result of universes colliding, exploding, and reforming. Mass is mass. Carbon is the basis for us all.
So the cities represent the false or illusory view we carry with us that we are all separate, here to prosper for “me and mine.”
Shiva and the insane chariot. There’s another part of this story that I didn’t really delve into in my last post. At the end of the story, Shiva, driven by a Transformers-like chariot, destroys the three cities with a single arrow. However, a Tamilian version of this story says that Shiva actually does not destroy them with an arrow. Instead, he simply smiles and with his smile is able to decimate the entire population. Then, I suppose because he has it handy, he does shoot the arrow and destroy the cities.
I came across a few threads and posts that explained the reasoning this way. Shiva, as god of destruction, is in no need of any other weapons. He is destruction personified. His stare alone can destroy universes. And he wanted to prove that point to the other gods accompanying him.
There are some really interesting god-politics here that I won’t get into. Suffice it to say, that the popularity of different gods has waxed and waned over the thousands of years of storytelling. Many of have melded into other more recent gods. For example, the god Rudra is an ancient one, preceding Shiva, but now considered by some as a version of Shiva.
At one point, Indra, Surya, and Brahma were much more powerful and revered. Nowadays, they play second-fiddle to Vishnu and Shiva. It could be that part of this story reflects the idea that these gods were not as powerful as Shiva (and he wanted to make that known by destroying the cities on his own first).
The asuras vs the devas: Green with envy. This is the part that sticks in my craw. Why are we celebrating with the devas that they destroyed a civilization that was prospering? What’s more, why did Vishnu agree to send false prophets to earth to purposely mislead people. It’s like the central theme of a bad Bollywood movie - why are we rooting for a violent protagonist?!
Sigh. This was a tough one for me. From many threads on Quora, the general mythic consensus is that the asuras tend to be favored by Shiva, who is impartial and grants wishes (boons) to anyone who shows devotion to him. Vishnu, on the other hand, is only interested in preserving mankind and is not a friend of the Asuras. I also came across one article purporting that the devas were based on the Aryan tribes that came into India. They created stories of asuras to explain their contact with indigenous tribes…meh, maybe? There are many threads purporting that the role of Asuras kept changing over time depending on geopolitics on the subcontinent. But what does that mean for me, in Marietta, in 2022??
Okay, so here’s my stab at it: The asuras and devas represent different aspects of ourselves. The asuras, in general, are happy with life as is. They pray for prosperity in this world, follow the rules generally speaking, and don’t look too deeply into anything. The devas, on the other hand, don’t settle for happiness in this world alone. They pursue more knowledge and understanding than asuras. We contain both of these qualities in ourselves. At many (ahem, most) times in our lives, our wealth and
prosperity, our connection to others, and our goals for a “good life” are paramount. At other times we are faced with deeper questions. Instead of striving for a “good life”, we are striving for a meaningful life. Perhaps we are all asuras in our youth, gradually developing into devas… just a thought.
The false religion. I find it hard to find any deeper meaning in Vishnu creating a false religion or the false prophet (Arihan). I feel that this happens all the time in our everyday lives. False religions abounds to dictate what is healthy living these days (no carbs, only raw foods, no raw foods, butter in your coffee, sleeping alone, fitness wearables or digital detoxes, really…). They dictate where are allegiances lie - family, politics, environment, god, which god… Perhaps they are all just the distractions that clamor for our time on earth.
If you’ve heard this story or have more to add, I would love to hear your version (and your interpretation)!
We are living in end times of Tripurasuras. These vampires entered Earth realm around 400AD as foretold in Bhavishya purana. We all know what is the state of earth now - Divided, polluted, humans literally showing vampiric mindset i.e, to steal someone work and claim its their work. for all reasons Vampires love viruses. This is how they spread, jack into a host and feed their energies.
It was during the Coronavirus period the counter operation to take down the Tripurasuras worldwide infrastructure has started. All per plans already mentioned in Siva Purana - especially the arrival of Masked man. 2 of the 3 cities has been fully taken over Devas via infiltration. The establishment of total control of the 3rd city continues.
The final blow with Lord Siva on current Ratha Yatra finally releasing the Narayan Astra(Rods of God) from his Pinakini is what pending.
Thanks for taking time to read.
Ghanesh
Singapore
I think the biggest theme is this: All that harms comes from within.
While the asuras were virtuous in religion and behavior, nothing outside them could cause them harm. The asuras hadn't done anything wrong (yet) but Indra and his retinue feared them because they were a known threat to the Devas power and supremacy over the three worlds.
You notice that every time the Devas fall, time and time again, it's after Asuras do incredible penance and are granted a boon? That just means the Asuras (impure beings) decide to focus their minds. Once one focuses one's mind with great intensity, they can accomplish anything (get a boon). The Devas always get complacent, and instead of continuing in practice/tapasya, they hang out with the Gandharvas and Apsaras and party.
So, the Devas get usurped over and over by Asuras who spend years focusing their minds with intent, rather than partying. Once one has a fully focused mind, one is very difficult to destroy. If you have mastered your mind and are virtuous, you are indestructible. That's why Vishnu sent a prophet of a false religion to undermine their virtue, because they could not be harmed until they were corrupted from within. And why did Vishnu do this, when the Asuras were behaving morally?
While the Asuras weren't behaving in a blatantly immoral way at the time the Devas asked the Mahadevas for help, the Asuras foundational intent was selfish. While the Devas too are flawed, and often motivated by fear or insecurity, the Asuras core motivation was greed. They followed all the rules, sure, but they weren't doing it for the benefit of any of the other beings. This is in contrast with the Devas, who always act in the interest of humans who offer yagnas and in defense of dharma when instructed to by Mahadevas. So, after all the energetic/karmic changes had run their course, the Asuras had to fall, again, the Devas had to rise, again, and the whole thing goes on and on as dharma and adharma within living populations rises and falls in intensity.