Tripurasura (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरासुर) generally connotes the Asuras who inhabited Tripura, a mythological triplet fortress made of iron, silver and gold constructed by Mayasura and destroyed by Lord Shiva in Hindu mythology.
Story
In the dynasty of King Shalivahana, there were ten kings who went to the heavenly planets after ruling for over 500 years. Then gradually the morality declined on the earth. At that time Bhojaraja was the tenth of the kings on the earth. When he saw that the moral law of conduct was declining he went to conquer all the directions of his country with ten-thousand soldiers commanded by Kalidasa.
He crossed the river Sindhu and conquered the Gandharas, Mlecchas, Shakas, Kashmiris, Naravas and Sathas. He punished them and collected a large amount of wealth. Then the king went along with Mahamada (Mohammad), the preceptor of mleccha-dharma and his followers to the great god Lord Shiva who was situated in the desert. He bathed Lord Shiva with Ganges water and worshipped him in his mind with pancagavya (milk, ghee, yoghurt, cow dung, and cow urine) and sandalwood paste, etc. After he offered some prayers and pleased him.
After hearing the king’s prayers, Lord Shiva said:
O king Bhojaraja, you should go to the place called Mahakakshvara, that land is called Vahika and now is being contaminated by the mlecchas. In that terrible country there no longer exists dharma. There was a mystic demon named Tripurasura, whom I have already burnt to ashes, he has come again by the order of Bali. He has no origin but he achieved a benediction from me. His name is Mahamada and his deeds are like that of a ghost. Therefore, O king, you should not go to this land of the evil ghost. By my mercy your intelligence will be purified.
Upon hearing this, the king came back to his country and Mahamada came with them to the bank of the river Sindhu. He was expert in expanding illusion, so he said to the king very pleasingly: “O great king, your god has become my servant. Just see, as he eats my remnants, so I will show you”. The king became surprised when he saw this just before them.
References
- A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism by Klaus K. Klostermaier. Oxford (One World Pubilications)ISBN 1851681752 ISBN 978-1851681754