Who Can Defeat Lord Shiva?

Battles of Shiva

As we said earlier, this blog will deal with many pieces of evidence from a few ancient spiritual literature like Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana, Vamana Purana, Kurma Purana, Harivamsa Purana, Linga Purana, and others. To get the answer to “Who can defeat Lord Shiva”, let’s go through epic battles of Shiva and other mighty heroes and demons.

Battle with Andhaka

Andhaka, the man who darkens. In fact, he’s a son of lord Shiva as per Shiva Purana Chapter 46. As per the Puranam, one day goddess Parvathi was playing with Shiva by covering his eyes. While touching lord shiva, Parvati’s hands started to sweat and a drop fell to the ground and turned into a boy who was blind. As he was born at the time when lord shiva’s eyes were covered (at the time the whole universe was dark), he was named “Andhaka” (in Sanskrit, it means a person who can make the dark) by lord shiva. As he was born due to the touch of Parvathi and Shiva, they accepted him as their son. But later, The child is handed over to a childless asura (demon) king Hiranyaksha due to his sincere austerity.

As the Purana, in later days, the child got a boon from lord Brahma to be immortal (except when lord Shiva kills him), and for his eyesight. He won many kingdoms and also worlds. He also has a desire to possess the goddess Parvathi. When he was trying to kidnap Parvathi the battle began. The undefeatable champion was knocked out. Before his death, he chanted lord Shiva. As he realised his fault, the deities forgave him and made him the chief of the Gana pack. That means, Shiva won the game! 

This battle is not only described in Shiva Purana but also in Vamana Purana, Kurma Purana, Harivamsa Purana, and Linga Purana in detail. Each Purana has described this battle in different aspects. But in all  Puranas, the lord Shiva won!

According to the Puranas, Andhaka was a powerful demon who was born blind and later gained sight through the blessings of Lord Brahma. He became fascinated with Parvati and attempted to abduct her. Lord Shiva intervened and engaged in a fierce battle with Andhaka, ultimately defeating him. This story is found in various Puranic texts such as the Shiva Purana and the Matsya Purana.

Let’s check out the next battle of lord Shiva with Tripurasura.

Battle with Tripurasura

In Hindu mythology, Tripurasura was a trio (Tarakaksha, Vidyunmali and Kamalaksha) of powerful demons and sons of the demon king Tarakasura. After he was killed by lord Muruga (Skanda), his three sons were involved in severe austerities for Brahma. Lord Brahma appeared and asked them for a boon. They asked three cities for each one that was made up of gold, silver, and steel. The best part was these three cities couldn’t be destroyed by anyone including Devas except lord Shiva. 

Once they got this boon, they started conquering three worlds. Then, Lord Shiva, upon the request of the gods, destroyed the cities and defeated Tripurasura in a battle known as the Tripura Samhara. This story is mentioned in the Puranas, including the Vishnu Purana and the Shiva Purana Chapter 3 – The Virtues of the Tripuras. 

The list of battles has just begun now. In addition to this battle, the lord Shiva did battle against Jalandhara, Daksha, and Arjuna mainly. 

Battle with Jalandhara

This epic battle has been depicted in Shiva Purana and also in Skanda Purana. As per Shiva Purana (chapters 13 to 24), Jalandhara was a powerful demon king who challenged the gods and sought to conquer the three worlds. Lord Shiva engaged in a fierce battle with Jalandhara, ultimately defeating him with the help of Lord Vishnu and other deities. This story is recounted in various Puranas, including the Skanda Purana and the Shiva Purana.

The fire that came out of lord Shiva’s third eye took the form of an infant at the confluence of the river Ganga with the ocean. Lord Brahma gave a boon to the child to become a strong adult immediately and no one will be able to defeat him except only. Later Jalandhara started to fight against Devas and was involved in the action to capture three worlds. In the end, Jalandhara and lord Shiva entered the battleground one-on-one. In this battle, after a long fight, lord Shiva won. Unlike other demon kings, Jalandhara has special abilities and strength as he was created from the fire of the third eye of Shiva. So, defeating him was lengthy and tough.  

Following this epic battle, we can also trace other battles with Daksha and Arjuna. 

Battles with Daksha and Arjuna

Daksha was a powerful king and the father of Sati, the first wife of Lord Shiva. Daksha held a sacrificial ceremony (yagna) to which he did not invite Lord Shiva, leading to a conflict between them. In retaliation, Lord Shiva disrupted the yagna and engaged in a battle with Daksha and his followers. This story is found in the Shiva Purana, the Vishnu Purana, and the Mahabharata.

The battle between Arjuna and Shiva has been explained in the Mahabharata. The story where Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers, seeks to obtain divine weapons from Lord Shiva. To test Arjuna’s devotion, Lord Shiva engages him in a battle disguised as a hunter. Arjuna emerges victorious after demonstrating his valour and devotion to Shiva. This story is found in the Mahabharata, particularly in Chapter 3 of Vana Parva.

In addition to this, a lot of battle details have had a place in many ancient works. But, in any of them, we couldn’t find the defeat of lord Shiva. That means we found the answer to your question “Who can defeat Lord Shiva” That is… “No one can”. Wait…. But Shiva’s consort Parvathi… Can Shakthi defeat Shiva?

Who Can Defeat Lord Shiva? The Conclusion

In case you visit any Kali temple, probably you see the following image, in this Shakthi in the form of Kali stood over Shiva with utmost range. When seeing this picture many people thought, Shakthi can defeat Shiva in the form of Kali. But actually, it’s not like that. 

Ancient Hindu mythological stories give us another perspective for this picture. Once upon a time, Devi (Parvathi) got the form of Kali with full rage to knock down demons and their army to save three worlds. But even after winning the battle the rage of Kali didn’t settle. She was very angry and wouldn’t calm down. It kept going on, against all logical actions at that time. To calm her down, Shiva entered into the field and in a loveable way he laid down and let Kali stand on him. He did so to calm down and make devi realise herself. It worked! Simply, the love won!