Who Can Defeat Lord Shiva?

It is a common belief that there is no one who can defeat Lord Shiva, but there is a story in a book named “Navnath Bhaktisar” (Chapter 39) in which it is stated that Lord Shiva was defeated by Charpatinath, one of the nine great sages (Navnath). Other than this story, there are some other stories in which Lord Shiva retreated temporarily from the wars but never was fully defeated.

Charpatinath Defeats Lord Shiva:

Navnath is a collective noun used to address nine great saints who spread Navnath Sampradaya, initiated by Lord Dattatreya, in the world. Navnath Bhaktisar is a devotional book that praises Navnath and depicts them as more powerful than the Hindu Trinity. In this book, there is a story that mentions that one of the Navnath once defeated Lord Shiva.

Once Lord Indra insulted Narada Muni. Therefore, he wanted to avenge his insult. So, he took Charpatinath to heaven, where they ate some fruits and plucked flowers from the garden. When guards in heaven came to know about this, they tried to arrest Charpatinath. Narada Muni immediately vanished from the scene. Charpatinath defeated soldiers, as they were no match for him.

One of the soldiers informed Indra about this. Therefore, Indra sent other gods to look into the matter. The gods attacked Charpatinath, but he defeated them as well.

Indra understood that he couldn’t defeat Charpatinath. Therefore, he went to Lord Shiva and asked for help. Lord Shiva and his ganas came to the scene and attacked Charpatinath, but the yogi used “Vatakarshana Vidya” against them, which stopped their breathing and made them unconscious.

Afterward, Charpatinath defeated Lord Vishnu as well. When Pippalayan came to know about this, he intervened and rescued Lord Shiva and the other gods.

The Harihara War:

Banasura was an asura who propitiated Lord Shiva and got the blessing of having a thousand arms. He also asked Lord Shiva to protect him whenever needed. After a few years, his daughter fell in love with Lord Krishna’s grandson Aniruddha and married him.

Banasura did not like it and kidnapped both his daughter and Aniruddha. Therefore, Lord Krishna attacked Banasura. He was no match for Lord Krishna, so he requested Lord Shiva to protect him. A fierce war began between Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva, which lasted for many days. As both were equally powerful, there was no end to it.

Therefore, Lord Krishna told Lord Shiva that he would not be able to protect dharma if Lord Shiva supports Banasura. Hence, Lord Shiva told Lord Krishna to use Jurumnastra, which put him in a deep sleep for some time. Then Lord Krishna cut off a thousand arms of Banasura, and he accepted his defeat. Lord Shiva woke up after this.

Lord Vishnu Saved Lord Shiva from Bhasmasura:

Bhasmasura was an asura who was born from the ash of Lord Shiva’s body. He did severe penance and propitiated Lord Shiva. He asked for the power to burn anybody to ashes on whose head he placed his hand. After getting the boon, Bhasmasura decided to test the boon by placing his hand on Lord Shiva’s head.

Therefore, Lord Shiva fled the scene and reached Vaikuntha, but Bhasmasura followed him there. Lord Shiva requested Lord Vishnu to protect him from the demon. Therefore, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of an extremely gorgeous woman named Mohini. When Bhasmasura saw her, he was flabbergasted and started to dance with her. He started copying her every move. After some time, when he was off-guard, Mohini put her hand on her own head. Bhasmasura also copied her move and put his hand over his own head. Thus, he was burnt to ashes.

The War Between Lord Rama and Lord Shiva:

After becoming the king of Ayodhya, Lord Rama performed Ashwamedha Yagya. When the holy horse reached Devpur, it was captured by King Veermani’s son. Therefore, a war broke out between Ayodhya’s army and Devpur. When Devpur was about to be defeated, King Veermani requested Lord Shiva to protect his state as he had promised previously.

Therefore, Lord Shiva sent his army to protect him. Ayodhya’s army was no match for Lord Shiva’s army; hence they requested Lord Rama to intervene. Lord Rama used a divine weapon against Lord Shiva’s army. Therefore, they requested Lord Shiva to protect them.

Lord Shiva stopped the weapon, and a fierce war took place between Lord Rama and Lord Shiva. The war was unending, because no weapon was effective against Lord Shiva. Therefore, Lord Rama decided to use Pashupatastra and said, “O Lord! You promised me that anybody who would use this weapon would not be defeated. Therefore, I am using it against you with your permission.”

Pashupatastra went into the heart of Lord Shiva and settled there. Lord Shiva was satisfied with this and asked Lord Rama to ask for a boon. Lord Rama asked him to bring all the dead warriors back to life who died in the war. Mahadeva accepted his request and revived all the dead warriors.