Maya, before handing over to them the charge of the three cities had instructed them not to stray from the path of righteousness or create acrimony with gods. But the conceited and arrogant Tripura forgot it and began indulging into things which were contrary to righteousness. Ultimately Lord Shiva resorted to 'tandava', killed Tripura with His arrows, rocked all three cities with the beats of His dance moves and burnt them with the fire emitting from His third eye.
This form of 'tandava', which accomplished 'tripurasamhara' or the annihilation of Tripura, is known as 'tripurantaka', the dance that brought Tripura to an end. In both, 'tripurantaka' and 'tandava', Shiva is known to have lifted one leg, nearly parallel to his body, reaching up to his forehead. It is indeed a marvellous body sculpted by both yoga and tapas. Shiva's body is extremely fluid, but the strictly structured set of movements point to an effortless grace on his part.
In iconographic representations of 'tripurantaka' Lord Shiva crushes under His feet a dwarf demon identified as Apasmara, representative of all evil. On the two sides of the dominating figure of Bhagawan Shiva can be seen here the images of a fluting Krishna and Brahma ji playing cymbals, both in veneration of Lord Shiva.
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