THE STORY
AS TOLD BY
KACHCHIYAPPA SIVACHARYAR OF KANCHI
PART IV
PALZAMUDHIR SOLAI MURUGAN
Kashyapa is a very great rishi who is a leading figure among them.
One of his wives was Thithi. Through her, Kashyapa fathered 660 million asuras. They were also known as the Thaithyas.
The Thaithyas were led by a son called Asurendra.
The Asuras were the sworn enemies of Devas. There were frequent wars between Asuras and Devas. Though at times the Asuras gained power, they would lose it to the Devas after their leaders were no more.
The Asuras were often helped by VishNu.
The Guru of the asuras was Sukrachaarya. He was the son of the rishi, Bhrigu. Hence he was known as Bhargava. Through much penance and austerities, he had attained very great powers. So much so that, at times, he could single-handedly control and advise and help the asuras become invincible. He had attained a planetary position also through the grace of Siva.
Asurendra had a daughter called Surasai. She became an ardent disciple of Sukra and learned all the various types of vidyas. Sukra gave her the name 'Maayaa'.
About this time, Sukra was perplexed with the downward turn of the fortunes of the asuras. and the ascendancy of the devas. During the course of time, the asuras had lost many wars with the devas and had weakened numerically and in might and power. But Sukra felt that the time was about ripe.
But Sukra felt that the time was about ripe.
Just earlier, Daksha Prajapathi had performed a yaaga.
He had a daughter Daakshaayini who was an incarnation of AmbaaL Uma. She was given in marriage to Siva. Daksha did not respect Siva and did not invite Him for the yaaga. But he had invited all the devas and gave them their yaaga paagam.
The devas attended the yaaga, even though Siva had been excluded and insulted. Daakshayani went to the yaaga against the wishes of Siva. She was insulted and so She gave up Her body.
Siva was infuriated and dashed his matted hair-locks against the ground.
From that, the fury and anger of Siva emerged as Viirabdra. KaLi also
appeared. They were sent by Siva to destroy Daksha's yaaga. The yaaga
was destroyed.
Daksha lost his head which was replaced with a goat's head.
All the devas were hurt and injured by Viiarbadra and KaaLi. The devas
were cursed so that they would lose their eminence and might and power.
Sukra remembered all this. He started planning meticulously. The effect of
Nandi's curse of the devas was about to manifest itself. The instruments had
to be there.
AsuraGuru Sukrachaaryaar decided upon who and what and how will
be the instruments of implementation.
He told Maayaa about all this important issue and commanded her to perform very severe Tapas for vanquishing the devas.
She was to produce off-springs through the Sage Kashyapa and make them
very powerful. They would be instrumental in the downfall of the devas. They
alone will be the Masters of Universe one day.
So she sought out Kashyapa and gave birth to many off-springs.
SuuraPadman, Simhamukaasuran, Thaarakaasuran, Ajamuki, and hundreds
of thousands of asuras with various forms were born to them.
Singgamukaasuran had lion-heads, Thaarakan - elephant,
and Ajamuki - goat-head.
Kashyapa was overcome with trepidity and advised his off-springs to go and
do penance to Lord Siva and do good and attain mukthi.
But Maayaa, their mother told them not to follow Kashyapa's advise, but to strive hard to achieve riches, power, glory, might, invincibility, valour, and overlordship.
She guided them to a place in the extreme north called 'Vata Dviipa' and gave them guidance to observe severe austerities and do great yaagaas for Siva. She herself provided everything for the performance of the yaagaas.
Kandha PuraaNam describes in detail, the intricacies which were involved in
the yaagaas that Suran and his asuras performed.
When they found that Siva did not appear even after one thousand years,
Suuran flew into the sky above the yaaga kundam and started chopping off
parts of his body which he cast into the sacrificial pit.
Even after doing it Siva did not appear.
So Suuran threw himself into the sacrificial fire.
Singgamukan started to cut off his heads and threw them into the fire. But
the heads kept growing.
The other asuras followed suit.
Then Siva appeared as an old man and stopped them from doing such acts. Suuran was aroused from the pit.
Siva appeared with Uma on the Nandhi.
Suuran asked Siva for overlordship 1008 galaxies and invincibility. He wanted
all the powerful weapons of the devas in his possession. He also attained the
power of instantaneous transportation to all the galaxies.
Siva granted him the overlordship for a limited period -108 yugas. He created
a great host of asura armies that he gave to Suuran together with very powerful
and unique weapons. He also gave him a lion and Indra Vimanam for travelling;
a very powerful body which cannot be wounded; invincibility; and all the Divine Asthras like the Paasupatha.
Siva stipulated that that at the end of the 108 yugas, Suuran will be destroyed
by Siva's own Sakthi.
After this Suuran and his asuras were met by Sukra, their hereditary guru.
Sukra took them into his own power of influence so that they will always obey
him and then told them about the Supremacy of Lord Siva. He also initiated
them into the deeply mystical ways of worshipping Him within their own selves.
He also indoctrinated them into materialism and inculcated into them very firmly, the notion that the results are more important than the means. He also showed
them the nature of the galaxies by taking them on a tour.
The asuras, then went on a rampage of the whole universe and enslaved all
the devas after soundly defeating them.
They then went to Mount Kailas and offered worship to Lord Siva.
After conquering the devas, SuuraPadman ordered the divine architect VisvaKarma, to construct a city of cities that was too wondrous even to be imagined.
VisvaKarma created it and it was called Viira MahEndra Puram.
Surrounding this, an additional eight satellite cities were built.
Kanda PuraaNam gives a very vivid and detailed description of the galaxies,
the cities, and whatever was found in them.
Even the wildest imagination by an unsophisticated and uninformed mind
cannot conjure up such tallying, interconnected, rational, and stupendous scenes.
Even the most limitless hallucination would not capture such a baffling, mind-boggling, and marvellous vista.
Visva Karma was the architect of the devas. His counterpart on the Asuras'
side was Mayan.
There is an architectural and Silpa Saastric work called 'Maya Matha'. It is
still in use for creative arts like statutory, buildings, temples, etc.
Apart form the capital Viira MahEndra Puram, two more co-cities called MaayaaPuri and AsuraaPuri were also created. Auxilliary cites and townships, cantonments and colonies were built in every island and ocean. All of them
served as residential areas for billions and trillions and zillions of asuras.
This would look like something right out of a sophisticated futuristic science fiction.
Or is it really?
Suura Padman married Padma KOmaLai, the daughter of Visva Karma. He
begat the sons Baanu GOpan, Agni Mukan, Hiranyan, and Vajra Baahu through
her.
He intermarried with hundreds of maidens belonging to other celestial races like the dEva, asura, raakshasa, siddha, vidyaadhrara, gandarva, naaga, kinnara, kimburuda, garuda, etc. He begat three thousand cross-bred super beings as sons, through them.
Suura's younger brothers, Singga Mukan and Thaarakan were established
with armies of twenty million asuras each in Asuraa Puri, and MaayaaPuri respectively.
Singga Mukan married Yama's daughter Vibhuudhikai and got sons.
Thaarakan married Niruthi's daughter Saurikai. His son was the sage-like
and noble asura - AsurEndra.
He was the only one who kept himself alive in order to perform the last rites
for the entire asura clan when they were totally annihilated.
When Suura had completed the conquest of all the other worlds, he colonised them with millions and millions of asuras and their armies.
They were all under great asura leaders.
Suura also nominated the ablest, noblest, worthiest, and wisest of all the asuras as his ministers and counsellors.
After a very very long time, it came to pass that SuuraPadman felt an unquenchable lust for Indra's wife, Indrani.
He immediately sent ninety million asura women to incapacitate Indra and capture Indrani and bring her to him.
Indra came to know of this, and fled to a place called Brahmaapuram or Siirgaalzi and hid within a strand of fibre of a lotus stem.
The devas came in search of Indra and beseeched him to come with them to seek Lord Siva to save them all.
Indra left Indrani in the custody of Saastha Aiyanaar, the Hari Hara Putra who was the Chief of the Bhuta ganas and the Lord of the Worlds.
While Indra was in Kailas, Ajamukhi found out the whereabouts of Indrani.
She wanted to abduct her and take her to Suura Padman. She caught her and tried to drag her.
But Mahaa KaaLa, the aid de chambre of Saastha, who was guarding her as
her personal guard, rushed forth.
He chopped off Ajamukhi's hand that held Indrani.
The lamenting Ajamukhi went to Suura and fell at his feet and told him about her misery.
Suura ordered the celestial physicians to replace Ajamukhi's hand which was promptly done.
Then he ordered his son Baanu Gopan to capture Indra.
Indra took Indrani and hid in a cave in the Mount MEru.
He performed Tapas towards Siva. That was the only and best
thing that he could do under the circumstances.
Baanu GOpan captured Jayanthan, the son of Indra and imprisoned him along with all the other devas.
The Deva Guru Brihaspathi thus gave a full discourse about SuraPadman and
the history of the Asuras.
When the recital of the history of the asuras was completed, Murugan gave solace to all the devas and decided to send Viira Baahu as a spy to Viira Mahendra Puram.
VIDYALANKARA
DR.S.JAYABARATHI
JayBee
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