23 – When The Victorious Saviour Spared The Bright Monkeys

Hi Friends!

Today let us finish the story about the (first) battle between Taraka-Asura (“The Strong Saviour”) and the Devas (“The Bright One’s”), fought to avenge the disrespect to Taraka’s mother by Indra Deva in the form of a monkey.

As mentioned earlier, the Deva army was led by eight of the dasa-dikpalas (“Guardians of the Ten Directions”). We enumerated them earlier, and went into the details of ascension of two of them. Let us do a quick recap on these mighty defenders.

Direction	Guardian of the Direction (“dikpala”)	Mount	Important Remarks
North (“uttara”)	Kubera, the Lord of Wealth Son of Sage Vishrava, grandson of Great Sage Pulastya, great-grandson of Lord Brahma	Man, or Chariot drawn by horses with faces of men	Ascended from human life due to piety and devotion (actual as well as accidental) to Lord Shiva
South (“daksina”)	Yama, the Lord of Good Behaviour and Death Son of Vivaswan, grandson of Sage Kasyapa, great-grandson of Great Sage Marichi, great-great-grandson of Lord Brahma	Buffalo	Chose to become the first mortal, in accordance with correct behaviour, and made the judge of good deeds and death
East (“poorva”)	Indra, the Lord of Thunderstorms and King of Devas Son of Sage Kasyapa, great-grandson of Great Sage Marichi, great-great-grandson of Lord Brahma	Airavata, the three headed white elephant	Defeated Vrtra and released the life-nourishing waters. Extremely fickle and vindictive, and would go to any lengths to maintain his rule
West (“paschima”)	Varuna, the Lord of Water, Justice and Truth Son of Sage Kasyapa, great-grandson of Great Sage Marichi, great-great-grandson of Lord Brahma	Crocodile
North-East (“ishanya”)	Ishana, the Great Lord of Space and Destruction, a form of Lord Shiva One of the Supreme Trinity (of four)	Bull	He did not take part in this conflict as he is worshipped by both the Devas and Asuras, and is normally not partisan to any. In addition he was in bereavement of the self immolation of his wife, Sati.
South-East (“agneya”)	Agni, the Lord of Fire and Sacrifice	Horned Wild Sheep
South-West (“nairrtya”)	Nirrti, the Indra of Deva-Rakshashas	Man, or Chariot drawn by horses with faces of rakshashas	Ascended from human life due to his zeal for granting protection (“raksha“) to those who need it
North-West (“vayavya”)	Vayu, the Lord of Winds and Strength	Gazelle
Downwards (“adhah”)	Lord Vishnu, the Lord of Preservation One of the Supreme Trinity (of four)	Garuda, the Eagle headed son of Vinata and Sage Kashyapa
Upwards (“urdhva”)	Lord Brahma, the Lord of Creation One of the Supreme Trinity (of four)	Swan	He did not take part in this conflict as he is great-grandfather to both the Devas and Asuras, and is normally not partisan to any.

The Asura army was led by Taraka-Asura. He was ably supported by Kaalanemi (“The Wheel of Time”), who just like his name-sake was (almost) undefeatable. Amongst his vanguard were such Strong Asuras like Mahisha, Sumbha and Nisumbha, who had boons to be unkillable by any males, and fortunately the opposing army of the Devas hadn’t got the inclusivity memorandum, and was wholly manned by males. To add to it, the army boasted of having amongst its leaders Strong One’s who would literally bite, tear up and swallow any enemies, viz. Jambha (the one who bites), Mathana (the one who churns), and Grasana (the one who swallows).

The battle started with immense bloodshed and brutality as was expected. The devas led by the mighty dikpalas attacked the Asura’s from almost all directions. Vayu threw with his strength. Agni burnt with his flames. Yama punished with his danda (baton). Varuna strangled with his pasha (noose). They were ably supported by Kubera and his yaksha (those who covet) followers, as well as Nirrti and his rakshasha (those who defend or need defending from) supporters.

The Asuras fought back and the battle tilted in their favour with the strength of Kaalanemi. As the Wheel of Time can douse any fire, dull any sword, break any staff, or fray any noose. Then Lord Vishnu, in his role as the Preserver, entered the conflict in earnest. The Lord repulsed Kaalanemi, reminding him that he would soon end his reign of terror. He similarly defeated Mahisha, Sumbha and Nisumbha, and let them go with a warning, that he was sparing them as their death was predestined in the hands of the Mother Goddess. One of the Supreme Trinity (of four).

The One Who Churns, the Asura named Mathana, next stood against Lord Vishnu. He hurled javelins at the Preserver Lord, and hit him with iron rods on the head. Lord Vishnu then summoned his famed mace called Kaumodaki, the “stupefier of mind”. He flung it at his foe, and ironically Mathana-Asura was churned himself. With limbs falling off his body, Mathana fell down and died.

The commander-in-chief of Taraka‘s army, Asura Grasana, or the One Who Swallows, then faced Lord Vishnu, also known as the One Who Comes from Water or Lord Naarayana. There ensued a long war with arrows imbued with powers of divine personages, including Brahma (“brahmaastra“), Rudra (“raudraastra“), Yama (“kaaladandaastra“), and Naarayana (“naaraayanaastra“). At the end, Lord Vishnu flung at Grasana his most famous weapon, the divine discus called Sudarshana, “the auspicious vision”. Then the Discus of Auspicious Vision cut off the throat of the One Who Swallows, and thus ended the career of that powerful asura. Interestingly in a later age, during Treta Yuga, this divine discus was born as one of the faithful brothers of the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, King Rama. Opinion differs on whether it was the extremely faithful Prince Bharata, or the valiant Prince Shatrughna.

Emboldened by Lord Vishnu‘s prowess on the battlefield the other devas fought with renewed vigour. Indra led from the front, and fulfilled a longstanding prophecy, and used his expert bowmanship to cut off the head of Jambha, the One who Bites.

Seeing this Taraka-Asura entered the fray. He was unstoppable in his prowess with various weapons. All missiles fired by the devas were ineffectual against him. He attacked each one of them with his unparalleled weapons. When they attacked him in turn, he shook off their dreadful missiles like water off a duck’s back. Seeing Taraka‘s prowess, and realising that Brahma‘s boon could not be undone, Vishnu advised the devas to save themselves, and vanished.

The Asuras emerged victorious, and the devas were defeated, made captive and taken to Taraka’s capital city. Taraka went inside and was felicitated by his family. This included his three sons – Tarakaksha, Vidyunmali, and Kamalaksha – who were almost as powerful as their father, and extremely pious and follower of the path of righteousness. We hope to come to their stories as well some time later.

While the captive devas were tied up at the gates of Taraka’s palace, and were being harassed, Lord Vishnu came over in disguise of a daitya, and cryptically advised the devas thus.

This (situation of captivity) is much lesser || than what it seems or can be seen ||

If the king remembers the rightful anger || of his mother worse still could have been ||

While approaching a strong one || Being bowed and humble is key ||

So stay out of trouble O Suras || In the form of a laughable monkey ||

Translation (almost) from Skanda Purana – Kaumarikakhanda

Understanding the smart advice hidden in the sarcastic indication towards Indra’s disrespectful actions in the form of a monkey, the devas took the form of monkeys and started dancing in humorous ways. This was appreciated by the onlooker asuras, including the children and the women. Seeing this change from cruel harassment to jovial enjoyment, Vishnu suggested to the gatekeepers to introduce these funny deva-markas, or bright monkeys to their king, i.e. Taraka-Asura.

When presented into the royal presence, the deva-monkeys danced with great skill. Even Vishnu gave up his earlier daitya disguise, and danced as a monkey. Pleased by their dancing skills, as well as rightful abasement in front of the victor, Taraka laughingly said that if the devas remained as harmless and entertaining as these markas, they could live without fear in his griha or abode. This was what Vishnu was waiting for. He quickly asked what was the limit of this griha of Taraka.

At this Taraka, the newly crowned king of the three worlds, the Under-World (“paataal-loka“), the Mortal-World (“bhu-loka“), and the Heavenly-World (“deva-loka“), rightfully said that all the three worlds were now his abode. He also understood that Lord Vishnu had smartly got him to promise to let the devas roam free and unpunished, as long as they did not raise arms against him.

He accepted this arrangement. Lord Vishnu then led the devas away, and told them to go to Lord Brahma and bide their time, till the conditions of the boon to Taraka were fulfilled.

“O Lord of all Creation from whom all Suras and Asuras claim descent, let it be that I can only be killed by a boy of seven days, who is the son of the Mahadeva, and who is devasenapati (literally meaning the leader of the army of the devas). O Great-great-grandfather of mine, let me be undefeated and unkillable other than that individual.”

Taraka-Asura’s Request for Boon to Lord Brahma

So, the devas waited not-so-patiently for recently widowed Lord Shiva’s unborn son. They all knew that Lady Sati had reincarnated as the Daughter of Mountain, or Parvati. The youngest daughter of Lady Mena and King Himacala, the one her mother called Uma.

In the meanwhile Taraka, along with his faithful Asura supporters as well as the reluctant Devas, ruled over the three worlds.

Let us see how the myriad threads of the narrative come together for the defeat of Taraka-Asura, in the hands of the son of Shiva, the son of nine mothers.

To pique your interest, the mothers (in different maternal roles) of the future devasenapati were, Parvati, Ganga, Svaha, and the six Krittika‘s.