Tarakasura

Indian mythology · asura · invulnerability by technicality

The demon whose boon allowed death only at the hands of a son of Shiva, secure while the great ascetic remained unwed. The gods' entire campaign to marry Shiva to Parvati exists to produce his destroyer, Kartikeya.

Stories

The Birth of Kartikeya

Only a son of Shiva can kill the demon Taraka, and Shiva has been in meditation since Kamadeva burned for interrupting him. Parvati's austerity finally wins the god; the child's unbearable seed passes through Agni and Ganga to be born as six-faced Kartikeya, who takes command of heaven's armies and ends Taraka.