respite, Lord Brahma redirected them to Shiva and also informed them of the vulnerability of Tripura to a single arrow. Lord Shiva promised to help them and the Devas returned to combat the Asuras in a mighty war. They were also assisted by Nandi, the leader of Lord Shiva's Ganas. Even though Vidyunmali was slain by Nandi, and several other Asuras were killed in the war, they were revived by water in the pool of Tripura, which had magical powers. The destruction of Tripura As the war raged on, Devas continued to struggle to match the Asuras, who used their magical powers to great effect in the war. One day the three cities aligned. Shiva ordered that a chariot be made from which he would battle the three demons. The war-chariot designed for Shiva was different. The Earth or Prithvi became the chariot with the Sun and Moon its wheels. Brahma was holding the reins. Mount Meru became the bow and the serpent Vasuki was the bow string. Vishnu was the arrow, and Agni was the tip of the arrow. Vayu was inside the feathers on rear of the arrow. All other Devas had their own places and forms in the chariot. Just as the cities aligned, when the Pushya Nakshatra positioned appropriately, Lord Shiva was about to strung the mighty bow, the Pinaka with the arrow, the Devas were overjoyed that Tripura was going to be destroyed because of them (because they were part of the war-chariot, without which Shiva cannot destroy). Lord Shiva, knowing what the Devas were thinking, did not fire the arrow and just smiled. All the three purams were burned immediately. Shocked at this act, Brahma pleaded that Devas thought wrong and that Shiva should forgive and release the arrow, or else the Devas would have a permanent bad name and the reason behind making this chariot would become meaningless. Shiva then fired the arrow on the already burning Cities. When Lord shiva seated on the chariot before heading to war, chariot was unable to move forward due to the lord's weight, Lord Vishnu took form as bull and dragged the chariot and then became the bull flag on top of chariot. After destroying three cities Lord Shiva started tandava nritya on debris which is also called as "Tripura Nasha Nartana". The Devas then understood: 1. Shiva can take the power of anyone/anything because it