Jalandhara, the demon who almost killed Lord Shiva

Mahadev, Jalandhara and the true story

The Shiva-Sati story has been one of the most beautiful epics explained in Hindu scriptures. Like every love story, here also comes a villain: Jalandhara. He accuses Shiva of hypocrisy, pointing out that Shiva claims to be an ascetic but keeps a wife, Parvati. Jalandhara then proposes that Shiva hand over Parvati to him.

Jalandhara, the King of Demons

Jalandhara was the king of demons and a very powerful person. He possessed amazing powers that threatened to overpower all the Devas (Hindu Gods). Jalandhara was also egoistic and wished to conquer everything he desired. The demon Jalandhara's wife was Vrinda. Vrinda was a devotee of Lord Vishnu but she was also loyal to her demon husband.

Vrinda, Jalandhara's wife

Vrinda, Jalandhara's wife, was supposedly one of the most beautiful women in the entire universe. Vrinda was also a devotee of Lord Vishnu and Shiva. Demon Jalandhara was proud of his wife's beauty and was glad that the world envied the fact. Vrinda, on the other hand, was humble and considered Goddess Parvati as the most beautiful one.

Lust and Ego, the usual cause of destruction

Egoistic Jalandhara would get curious after listening to wife Vrinda's praises of Goddess Parvati's beauty and the sheer charismatic self that the Goddess was. Jalandhara, being the kind of demon he was, went straight to Kailash to acquire the much talked about beauty without thinking much about the consequences.

Jalandhara, the crook and the mastermind

One of the powers that Jalandhara had acquired after defeating all Devas (Gods) was to transform himself to look like anyone on earth. So, he imitated Lord Shiva's face and went to Kailash to meet Parvati. Goddess Parvati recognised the fake and immediately called up Lord Shiva and Vishnu for help.

The Angry Mahadev..

Once Shiva learnt about this, he became very angry and his eyes turned red with fury. He went into battle to kill the demon Jalandhara. However, each time, the demon Jalandhar survived because of his powers. He also remained alive because of his wife Vrinda's sheer determination to remain a suhagin (married) and the blessings she had received from several Gods that her husband can never die till the time she remains loyal to him.

Vrinda, the Pativratha..

Lord Vishnu, known for his tricky moves, went to Jalandhara's house and pretended to be Jalandhara. Vrinda could not identify the fake Jalandhara and her Pati Dharma (loyalty towards husband) ended. Consequently, the longevity of the demon also came to an end.