According to religious texts, Kartik Purnima is the day when Lord Shiva destroyed the Tripuras of Patal -Tarakaksh, Kamalaksh and Vidyunmali. Tripurari, a name of Lord Shiva, is also famous because of the destruction of Tripuras. The entire story of how Lord Shiva destroyed Tripura is as follows.
Sons of Demonking Tarakasura
According to Shivpuran, the demon Tarakasura had three sons – Tarakaksh, Kamalaksh and Vidyunmali. When Lord Shiva’s son Kartikeya killed Tarakasura, his sons felt very sad.
To take revenge from the gods, he pleased Lord Brahma by doing severe penance. When Brahmaji appeared, he asked for the boon of becoming immortal, but Brahmaji asked him to ask for some other boon other than this.
Boon of Brahma
Then all three of them said to Lord Brahma that you should build three cities for us. Let us sit in these cities and roam around the entire earth through the sky. Let us meet at one place after a thousand years. At that time, when our three cities come together and become one, then the God who can destroy them with a single arrow will be the reason for our death. Brahmaji gave him this boon.
They created a Havoc
Tarakaksh, Kamalaksh and Vidyunmali were very happy after receiving the boon of Brahmaji. At the behest of Lord Brahma, Maydanav built three cities for him. One of them was of gold, one of silver and one of iron. The city of gold belonged to Tarakaksh, the city of silver belonged to Kamalaksh and the city of iron belonged to Vidyunmali. With their might, all three of them captured all the three worlds. Fearing these demons, all the gods like Indra went to seek refuge in Lord Shankar.
Lord Shiva ended Tripuras
Hearing the words of the gods, Lord Shiva got ready to destroy the Tripuras. Vishwakarma built a divine chariot for Lord Shiva. Moon and Sun became its wheels, Lokpal like Indra, Varun, Yama and Kuber became the horses of that chariot. Himalaya became the bow and Sheshnag became its string. Lord Vishnu himself became the arrow and Agnidev became its tip. When Lord Shiva rode on that divine chariot to destroy Tripura, there was an uproar among the demons. A fierce war broke out between the demons and the gods. As soon as the Tripuras came in a straight line, Lord Shiva destroyed them by firing a divine arrow. As soon as Tripura was destroyed, all the gods started praising Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is also called Tripurari because he ended the Tripuras.