Failure Like Success Is Also Natural

Matsarasura, after receiving a boon from Lord Shiva following a long and arduous tapas that he would become the chief of the universe, conquered Patala, Varuna Loka, Bhumi, Kubera Loka, Yamaloka, and Swarga.

Brahma left Satyaloka and took refuge in Kailasa. Vishnu left Vaikuntha and took refuge in Kailasa. They were hoping that since Matsarasura was a Shiva bhakta, at least he would not attack Kailasa. But then Matsarasura said, 'Who is Shiva? Who does he think he is? I am the emperor of the universe, and I have won this position through hard work. It is nobody's mercy.'

Then he attacked Kailasa. The guards at the gate of Kailasa, after putting up a fight, ran inside and reported that Matsarasura and his huge army were attacking Kailasa. Lord Shiva got ready for battle, mounted on his great bull, along with Bhairavas, Veerbhadra, Nandi, Bhringi, Pushpadanta, Mahakala, Mahakali, and also the other Devas.

As they faced the Asuras, they started raining arrows on them. The Devas also retaliated. So much dust filled the air that they were not able to make out whether the one standing next to them was an enemy or a friend. They fought each other with astras, shastras, clubs, and swords. There were corpses all around. A river of blood, filled with severed heads, bones, and damaged weapons, started flowing.

The Asuras started losing. They wanted to run away, but the weapons of the army under Lord Shiva surrounded them like a fort from all around. The important members from both sides started fighting one another:

• Namuchi and Kamadeva
• Shambara and Vayudeva
• Nishumbha and Chandra
• Virochana and Kartikeya
• Kalabhairava, an Asura by that name, was engaged by Kalabhairava of Kailasa.
• Kalagni fought Mahishasura.
• Viprachitti and Surya fought each other.
• Durbuddhi and Agni
• Brahma and Vishayapriya
• Shambhu and Sundarapriya

Matsarasura kept on watching. The duels and fights between pairs were happening in hundreds of thousands. Lethal weapons like Agneyastra and Vayavyastra flew around. You should remember that all the Devas, except Indra, who was in captivity, had assembled again in Kailasa. They had gained confidence under Lord Shiva and were fighting the Asuras. The three worlds trembled at the impact of the fierce astras.

This went on for seven days and seven nights without a break. The Asura Sena was devastated. They started running in all directions. Even Matsarasura’s sons fell unconscious on the battleground, injured. Matsarasura himself alighted in the battlefield, roaring loudly. Arrows flew from his bow. Many Devas were grievously injured. He hit Kartikeya with five arrows on his chest, Agni with seven arrows, and Nandi with ten arrows. He hit Veerabhadra with ten arrows, Surya Deva with eight arrows, Chandra with seven, and Vayudeva with nine. Kubera was hit with ten arrows, Brahma with a hundred arrows. All these Devas fell.

Upon seeing this, Sri Hari came and attacked Matsarasura with thousands of arrows together. Matsarasura fought back, and a hundred arrows shot by Matsarasura made Sri Hari fall. Lord Shiva came with his trishula. The trishula also failed in front of Matsarasura. Matsarasura tied up Lord Shiva with a rope and asked him, 'What are you so arrogant about? You said you gave me something because of which I am strong. Now, do you understand what makes one strong? One’s own effort. You are only as strong as your effort. I am as strong as my effort. I am the lord of the entire universe today through my own effort, not because of anything else.'

Thus, Matsarasura tied up everyone—Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, and all other Devas—and became the ruler of the whole universe after conquering Kailasa as well.

Are you able to see this? Failure—Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, all the Devas. Clearly and neatly conveyed. They all lost. And this is not something from another religion. This is from Sanatana Dharma itself. Because Sanatana Dharma doesn’t distort facts. Sri Hari taking refuge in Kailasa, all of them losing to Matsarasura and getting tied up—this is not blasphemy. This is Sanatana Dharma. Truth and only truth. This is why you can blindly go by our scriptures. They don’t run reputation campaigns or reputation propaganda. Truth and only truth. Whatever happened, as it is.

One more point—failure is not so bad. Failure is natural. Failure is normal. Failure is not the end of the world. Don’t get stressed about failures. They, like success, are natural. Nothing can be done about them. See, even our gods have failed. Your failures are nothing compared to their failure. Don’t get worked up about your failures.

Another very important point—the Asuri nature. Now, Matsarasura says, 'It’s all hard work. Lord Shiva has got nothing to do with my power and position.' We know very well how he did 1,000 years of tapas, focusing only on Lord Shiva. He propitiated Lord Shiva, the Lord came before him, and gave him the boon. Remember how Matsarasura praised Lord Shiva with a stotra? Now, he says, 'This is all my hard work.'

If it was only hard work and he didn’t want to give credit to someone, then why did he do Lord Shiva’s tapas? Why involve him at all? He could have meditated upon a tree or a stone for a thousand years and achieved this. Why Shiva? Because he knows it wouldn’t happen then. That’s why he did Shiva's tapas. And now, the thanklessness, the arrogance—this is called Asuri nature.

That’s how it is. If you look around, you will find a lot of people with this attitude. In them, the Asuri nature is predominant.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi