Tripurari

Epithet of Shiva as the enemy (ari) of the
Triple City (Tripura). According to the
mythic charter, three demons are
dismayed by their continuing defeats at
the hands of the gods, and they begin to
perform harsh asceticism (tapas) to find
the means to counter this. The god
Brahma finally comes to them, willing
to reward them with boons. However,
when the demons learn that absolute
invulnerability is impossible, they lay
down the condition that each of them
should build a city that can move over
the earth, which will come together only
once in a long time, and that these cities
can be destroyed only by a single arrow
that pierces through them all at the
same time.
This boon renders the demons practically invulnerable, and they proceed to
build three magnificent cities—one of
iron, one of silver, and one of gold. They
grow rich and prosperous, but over time
they are corrupted by power and began
to oppress the earth. Finally the gods
petition Brahma for help, and Brahma
informs them that the only one with the
strength to fulfill this condition is the
god Shiva. The gods build him a bow
and arrow, and when the conjunction of
the three cities takes place, Shiva sends a
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Tripurari
An ascetic wearing tripundra markings,
three horizontal lines that indicate he
is a devotee of the god Shiva.
single arrow through all three, kindling a
fire that burns the cities and destroys
their inhabitants.
This story illustrates one important
facet of Shiva’s character—unlike the
god Vishnu, who often manages to trick
those he subdues, Shiva is much less
complex and attains his end by using
power against which no one can stand.
In some of the stories, one of the three
demons is himself a devotee (bhakta) of
Shiva, and when the arrow is loosed and
hurtles to destroy the Triple City, Shiva
himself rescues his devotee and his
family. This is in character, for Shiva is
portrayed as gracious to his devotees
and will do just about anything for
them. It also shows that the demons are
conceived not as completely debased
but as another race of beings with
different powers and capacities, and
who have as much potential as deities
and human beings.