Questions on the Tripura Myth: Construction and Settlement

The Tripura is one of the mind-boggling architectural structures mentioned in the Puranas such as Shiva Purana, Vishnu Purana, and Skanda Purana. The Tripura was not a single structure but three independent structures made of iron (or bronze?), silver and gold. The Puranas describe them as splendid cities floating in the sky. The architect, Mayasura has been praised for the grandeur of these cities and has been described as the major achievement of the Asuras[1] (humankind?). The destruction of the city, too has been detailed. Lord Shiva using grand chariot, bow and a nuclear-like weapon called the Pashupatastra brings an end to the magnificient cities as well as the Asuras.

My aim here, though is not to feed the readers with the Puranic stories. I have been thinking about the story for some days regularly now (I have my own reasons for contemplation) and suddenly I came to think over the process by which the Tripura was built. It is not only about defying the gravity. There are many other things that seem unachievable that the Asuras achieved by constructing the Tripura. Yet the more I think of it, the crazier it gets. How could the Tripura have been made?

I have presented my questions point-wise and will try to explain them as simply as I can. They are in the chronological order as they appear during the construction and inhabitation of the Tripura. I have not presented any question on the destruction of the three cities. That may make up another article.

THE CONSTRUCTION

Question 1. Who did the penance to please Lord Brahma?

Every version story of the Tripura begins with a penance by three Asuras. But there is no unanimity upon who the penants were. One version tells that they were the sons of Tarak- Tarakaksh, Kamalaksh and Vidyunmali- after Tarak died in the battle from the hands of Kartikeya. The other version presents Tarak himself as the penant along with Maya (mentioned as Mayasura above) and Vidyunmali. Which of the trios pleased Brahma? This question is important to check whether the story we have known is a history or a myth. Had there been a single group of three penants, the story would be consistent. The two groups adds inconsistency and also loses the story's stance as a history. It becomes more inclined towards myth. [2]

Question 2. Where were the cities made?

This is the most difficult question I have come through. There are three possibilities. Within each possibilities, there are also problems which seem to have been overlooked (or I may not have understood).
The first possibility is that the Tripura was made on land. But the Tripura was a floating city- almost like the modern-day International Space Station. (Even grander!) How were three cities established to orbit around the earth. Yeah, their timing must have been different because they were on three different levels. But to establish a city on space, the Asuras must have launched a rocket and with precise calculations set them. Because Maya, Brahma and Shukra were on their side during construction, we can assume that they achieved the feat, but the Earth had been scoured by the Deva-Asura war. There was no chance the Devas would let the Asuras make such huge structures with ease. With the Earth under their rule, Asuras have been said to have resorted to the Patal, the Underworld. Construction of three grand structures on land seems difficult.

So, we move to the second possibility- the sky. If you are making something that floats on space, why not make it on space? But let's observe the modern trend. Do we make satellites on the space or on the land? Obviously, building satellites on sky would be difficult because of the huge number of materials needed to be transported up above the escape velocity. A huge consumption of fuel and time. Also, building anything on space would require huge amount of oxygen supply, and good insulation of workers against the solar flares. Could the A sure have obtained it? Building castle on space is even more difficult that building it on air. And they made three. The possibility of the Tripura being built on sky seems thinner than the atmosphere there.

The third possibility is that the cities were made in Patal. They were shot up in the sky and were fixed on their orbit.The problems mentioned on the first two possibilities are still prevalent.

To have built such grand structures without the intervention of the Devas would be an almost impossible feat. The Asuras did it brilliantly. And that is the biggest wonder ever[3].

THE SETTLEMENT[4]

Question 3. How did the residents of the Tripura reach there?

The Puranas not only describe the construction but also the settlement. A huge numbers of humans including Asuras, Manusyas, Apsaras, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Nagas are said to have lived there. How Maya and his contemporaries provided their need of oxygen and food is the question that actually troubled me. Without the mention of some device that helped them breathe and control gravity, the settlement would be too difficult. How did such a huge number of people migrate to the Tripura? Did they have spacecraft? Of what sizes? Also, the three penants ruled upon the cities. What did they use to travel between the cities? Transportation would be simpler with Vimanas (aircrafts/spacecrafts) but the number of people who lived there must have required a huge number of them. Who would have mass produced them? Maya and his team of scientists? That's a faint light of hope if I would be taken to the mythological Tripura. Everything else looks an almost impossible feat to me.

[N.B.: 1. The Asuras do not necessarily mean evil neither do Devas always mean good. In fact, Indra, Agni, Vayu (Devas) have been called Asuras in the Rig Veda.

2. I disagree with the popular belief that Vyas was the writer of all the Puranas. One person would not have made the mistake of writing different names of the Trios that pleased Brahma. Either the stories were modified with time or  the Sage made a mistake unknowingly.

3. The Tripura was not just an architectural marvel but it was also (and is till date) an advanced technological achievement (considering Puranas speak history). Else it was the best thing that could be imagined by the writer (Vyas?) of the story.

4. No city can flourish without human settlement and their activities. A lot of resources are needed to sustain lives. How they were provided would provided in a satellite city could be a topic of debate.

5. This article is in fact an arrow in the darkness. I may not get an answer here. Yet, it is a beginning and I expect someone to go through this article and begin questioning on the things that they might have overlooked in the story. I also expect(with rare probability) the logical and more scientific answers to these questions. That means, divinity will be out of the equation. "Divine interference/involvement" is an answer that kills our reasoning abilities.]

References

i. http://www.apamnapat.com

ii. http://talesfrommythology.blogspot.nl

iii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripura_(mythology)

iv. Shree Swasthani Vrat Katha (A part of Magh Mahatmya of Skanda Purana)

Goma's Birth and Curse on Her

The nineteenth chapter of Shree Swasthani Vrat Katha (derived from Magha Mahatmya of Skanda Puran) deals with the birth of Goma and the curse given to her. In both cases, there are plenty of myths.

First, let us look at the birth of Goma. Her parents Shivabhatta and Sati are poor Brahmans and devotees of LordGanesh. They worship Him every Tuesday in the hope of getting wealth as boon. Happy with their devotion, Lord Ganesh apparates and says, “Next Tuesday, when you come over here for worship, you shall find something. Take it home and keep it on a plate covering with another plate. After 4 days, that shall turn to gold.” And then he disapparates. Next Tuesday, they find a laddoo and keep it as instructed. What a wonderful surprise! They find a piece of gold in its place and soon become rich. They even donate the riches to the poor and their popularity also increases. But they do not have a child. So they worship Ganesh again. He appears and says, “Next Tuesday, when you come to worship, you shall see a cow. She shall look at you and after a while she shall defecate. At that moment, before the dung hits the ground, catch it and take it home. Keep it on a plate covering with a plate. Then you may find a daughter. You shall not get a son though, because you had not kept that in your previous life.” Then he disappears. They do as instructed, and a daughter is born out of cow-dung and that is the reason why her name becomes Goma.  

This is what the story says and its too mythical. The same thing could have been recorded, which I believe is much close to truth, as:

The Brahmans Shivabhatta and his wife went to worship Lord Ganesh every Tuesday. As they were poor, they were in want of riches. One day, they found a big piece of gold mistaking it for a laddoo, took it home. When they found out that it was gold, they became happy and started trading on gold which gave them riches and money enough to live securely and also to donate to the poor. Being poor was one small problem but having riches without heir or protector was a greater one. One day, as they were worshipping Ganesh, they happened to see a newly born, abandoned girl beside a heap of cow-dung. They adopted the child and named her Goma.

Please take a look at the original text and my suggestion. The original one looks like a story made up by Shivabhatta and his wife to explain their sudden prosperity and begetting of a daughter. And our Guru Ved Vyas kept it in Puran without even double checking the probability of the story. Still, some Pundits say he was a historian and Purans speak history. Shameful, it is that we have been misled by our greatest teacher! What would intellectuals say if we believe in stories in which a girl is born out of cow-dung—fools? Also, the statement of not getting a son because of the Karma of previous life--who has ever seen the previous lives and proved that? Does it not imply gender discrimination?

Now, let’s look at the circumstances at which Goma is cursed. As popularity of Shivabhatta increased, Indra, along with his brothers (Gods/Devas) goes to Lord Shiva’s abode Kailash and says, “O Lord! Shivabhatta and his wife worshipped your son Ganesh and gained enormous wealth which they have also been donating to the poor. This has brought a threat on to Amaravati (Heaven’s capital). They also gained a daughter from your son’s blessings. So, please do something O Lord! And help us protect Amaravati.” Lord Shiva immediately agrees and goes to Shivabhatta’s house in the guise of a sage and asks alms with a five-year-old Goma. As she is busy in her chores, she keeps him waiting for sometime but does give the alms. The sage then asks rice grains to be used for daily Pooja (worship) to which she refuses. Then all of suuden, enraged sage curses,”May your parents’ wealth diminish, may you be married to a 70-year-old, may you suffer a lot and may your parents die soon.” And then he goes away giving tears to the little girl.

Why such harsh curse for such a small innocent child? The question is not asked by me alone but also by her mother Sati and many people who have read it. And I have some possible reasons: Insecurity of Indra (seen in many stories where he cannot rule well but still wants the post of “Dev Raj”), and the jealousy of Shiva with Ganesh. Questions arise- Was Lord Shiva  jealous of Ganesh? Does the provocation by Indra mentioning the name of his son as the God worshipped by the Brahmans and the action taken by him not suggest jealousy? And the curse- of course, it was planned. Otherwise the sage may have cursed the little girl only saying she did sin by making him wait, he would not have cursed her parents.

    
Why should we blindly believe that God loves us? If poor becoming rich brings their reign in difficulty, how are they different from present day leaders? To hide the inefficiency of the rule of Devas, myths were made. Because we are led to believe that they were true, we blindly say, “Yeah, that was what had happened.” It’s high time we change the way we think.