The Devas and the Asuras or daityas are stepbrothers. They are the progeny of Aditi and Diti, the wives of sage Kashyapa. They are however always at war; the Puranas contain innumerable accounts of the battles between them. The Asuras propitiate the gods to gain boons and become powerful. When they misuse the power they so gain, they meet their end sometimes at the hands of the very same gods they have propitiated and the Devas emerge victorious. Our Chitra Katha on the Tripura episode is based on material drawn from the Shiva and Matsya Puranas.