Tale behind how Jalandhar was killed by Lord Shiva

The Real Tale

Once upon a time, Lord Indra was going to Kailash mountain to meet Lord Shiva along with sage Brihaspati. Lord Shiva came to know about their arrival and wanted to test Indra’s devotion towards himself.

Indra meets Shiva

So, Lord Shiva met them on their way disguised as a hermit. But Indra did not recognise Lord Shiva. Indra inquired as to who he was and where he lived. Lord Shiva sat quietly without replying to his question. Indra asked him again and again, but Lord Shiva did not reply. Indra became angry and tried to attack Lord Shiva with his vajra (sword).

Divine Power

Lord Shiva, in turn, paralysed the hands of Indra using his divine power. Shiva's eyes turned to red with anger, which frightened Indra. Sage Brihaspati immediately realised that the hermit was none other than Lord Shiva.

Indra pardoned

The sage appealed to Lord Shiva that he should pardon Indra. Lord Shiva indeed became pleased and diverted the power of his open third eye to the sea. Then, Lord Shiva went back to Kailash mountain, and Indra and sage Brihaspati returned back to their own spheres.

A child born of flames

Meanwhjile, the heat from Shiva’s third eye, which was transferred to the sea, resulted in the manifestation of a small child. As soon as he was born, the child began to cry so loudly that all around, fear was created. The deities and sages approached Lord Brahma to seek help, who in turn assured them of a solution.

Child named Jalandhar

Lord Brahma then went to the seashore to check out the child. The sea placed the child in his lap and asked him what name should be given to the unique child. Just then, the child pressed Lord Brahma's neck with such force that tears rolled down from his eyes. For this reason, Brahma named the child “Jalandhar”, according to one legend.

King of demons

Lord Brahma told the sea that the child would become king of the demons and no deity would be able to kill him except Shiva himself. After Lord Brahma returned to his abode, the sea took care of the child.

Vrinda and Jalandhar

Jalandhar grew up and married Vrinda, the daughter of Kalnemi. Later, he became king of the demons. One day, sage Bhrigu came to meet Jalandhar. Jalandhar asked him who had severed the head of Rahu. Sage Bhrigu then told him about Hiranyakashipu, the maternal uncle of Rahu.

Rahu’s head

Sage Bhrigu also told him about Virochana - the son of the mighty king Bali. He also narrated the story of the churning of the ocean and how ambrosia emerged from the churning. He told him how Rahu's head was severed by Lord Vishnu while Rahu was sitting among the deities when ambrosia was being distributed to all the deities.

An angry Jalandhar

Jalandhar became angry after hearing this tale. He sent one of his messengers, named Ghasmar, to Indra - to ask him why he took all the wealth of his father, the sea, which emerged during the churning of the sea.

Warning to Indra

Jalandhar also instructed Ghasmar to warn Indra about dire consequences unless he took refuge. Indra sent back Ghasmar without any specific assurance and this made Jalandhar even more angry and he attacked Indra with his army.

A fierce battle

A fierce battle was fought between the armies of Jalandhar and dieties and many warriors died from both sides. Shukracharya, the guru of the demons, brought back the dead warriors from the demon side back to life with his Mritasanjivani Vidya.

Drongiri mountain

Sage Brihaspati brought back the dead warriors from the deities side back to life with the help of medicinal herbs. When Shukracharya saw that sage Brihaspati was also successfully making the dead deities alive, he instructed Jalandhar to submerge the Drongiri mountain into the sea so that it became impossible for Brihaspati to get the medicinal herbs by the help of which he made the dead deities alive.

Lakshmi and Jalandhar

Jalandhar submerged the Drongiri mountain into the sea and the deities became demoralised and fled from the battlefield. Jalandhar thus captured Swargaloka. Then deities went to Lord Vishnu and asked for his help. Lord Vishnu agreed to help them, but Goddess Lakshmi considered Jalandhar as her brother because both of them originated from the sea.

Plea for Jalandhar

She asked Lord Vishnu not to kill Jalandhar. Lord Vishnu promised her that he would not kill Jalandhar and he went to fight a battle against Jalandhar. A fierce battle was fought between Lord Vishnu and Jalandhar, which remained indecisive till the end. Lord Vishnu became very much impressed by the valiance of Jalandhar and asked him to demand any boon he liked.

Ksheersagar

Jalandhar requested him to make Ksheersagar (sea of milk) the abode of Jalandhar along with his sister Goddess Lakshmi. Lord Vishnu agreed to fulfil his wish and started living in Ksheersagar along with his consort Lakshmi. Being undefeated even by Lord Vishnu, Jalandhar became the ruler of all the three worlds. All his subjects were satisfied by his virtuous rule except the deities.

Defeating Jalandhar

Then deities prayed to Lord Shiva to seek his help in defeating Jalandhar. According to the wish of lord Shiva, Sage Narada came to meet the deities. The deities narrated their woeful tales to him. Sage Narada went to meet Jalandhar and received a grand reception by Jalandhar, which pleased him very much.

Narada’s praise

Narada praised the splendours and prosperity of Jalandhar but said that it was nothing in comparison to Shiva's splendours. Narada told him that inspite of all his authority and splendours, his prosperity was still incomplete, as he did not have a consort. Jalandhar asked him where could he find his consort.

Parvati as his consort

Narada told Jalandhar to make Parvati his consort and Jalandhar fell into Narada's trap. He sent Rahu to Lord Shiva with a proposal to part from Parvati. Rahu went to Lord Shiva and demanded Parvati, which made Lord Shiva very angry. His anger resulted in the creation of a ferocious creature, which ran towards Rahu to devour him.

Rahu was clueless

Rahu had no option but to take the refuge of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva protected the life of Rahu. The hungry creature asked Lord Shiva as to what should he eat to satisfy his hunger. Lord Shiva instructed him to devour his own limbs.

Devouring its own limbs

The creative followed his instructions and devoured his limbs. Lord Shiva was very pleased by his sense of obedience. He thus blessed him saying that he too would be worshipped along with him.

Jalandhar attacks Kailash

Rahu then went back to Jalandhar and narrated the whole thing to him. Jalandhar launched an attack on Kailash mountain with his army. A fierce battle was fought between the Shiva-ganas and the demons. When Jalandhar realised that Lord Shiva had begun to dominate the battle, he created beautiful Apsaras and Gandharvas.

Apsaras cast their spell

By his magical powers to divert the attention of Lord Shiva and his ganas. Lord Shiva and his ganas became enchanted by the beauty of the apsaras. They stopped fighting and started watching their dance and music.

Disguised as Lord Shiva

In the meantime, Jalandhar went to Parvati disguised as Lord Shiva, but was recognised by her. Being enchanted by the beauty of goddess Parvati, he looked at her with evil intention, but was immobilised by her wrath. Goddess Parvati then went to Lord Vishnu and narrated the whole tale.

Vishnu and Jalandhar

Parvati requested Lord Vishnu to go to Jalandhar's wife in the guise of Jalandhar and act in the same way. With the help of his divine powers, Lord Vishnu created many inauspicious dreams while Vrinda was asleep. Vrinda became very restless and when the anxieties become unbearable, she proceeded towards the forest.

Vrinda goes to the forest

Vrinda saw a hermit in the forest who was preaching to his disciples. The hermit was none other than Lord Vishnu. She went to that hermit and prayed to save her husband's life. Lord Vishnu disappeared from the there and reappeared in the guise of Jalandhar, but Vrinda was unable to recognise the real identity of her husband. She was very pleased after finding her husband. Both of them stayed in that very forest as husband and wife for a very long time.

Vrinda curses Vishnu

One day, she came to know about the real identity of the person who was acting as her husband. Realizing that her chastity has been breached, she cursed Lord Vishnu that just as he had cheated her, in the same way somebody would abduct his wife and he too would wander in her search.

Vrinda jumps into fire

After cursing Lord Vishnu, Vrinda ends her life by entering into a fire. On the other side, after the departure of Parvati from Kailash mountain and after the illusionary powers created by Jalandhar had ended, all the apsaras and gandharvas vanish.

Demons Shumbh and Nishumbh

Shiva realised that whatever he was watching, was nothing more than illusion. Lord Shiva resumed his battle. The demons Shumbh and Nishumbh came forward to fight with him, but ultimately, they had to flee from the battlefield. Then, Jalandhar arrived to fight with Lord Shiva.

Fierce battle

A fierce battle commenced between them. Lord Shiva severed the head of Jalandhar using his chakra, which had been created from his toe. After his death, Jalandhar's soul united with Lord Shiva. Then dieties came to Lord Shiva and praised him. Lord Vishnu was very much saddened by the death of Vrinda. He took the ashes from the pyre and after applying them on his body started wondering here and there. The deities became very worried to see the condition of Lord Vishnu.

Deities approach Goddess Parvati

They went to Lord Shiva and requested him to eliminate the false attachment with which Sri Vishnu was suffering. Lord Shiva sent the deities to Goddess Parvati, saying that she would help in this regard. The deities go to Goddess Parvati and pray to her.

Assistance of Goddess Lakshmi and Saraswati

She became very pleased and with the assistance of Goddess Lakshmi and Saraswati, gave some seeds to them. The deities sprayed those seeds on the pyre, on which Vrinda had given up her life. Three holy plants manifested from that pyre - Amla, Tulsi and Malti. Later on, Tulsi and Malti attained Vishnuloka by the virtue of their penance.