PURA-SHAMUTRA

Real Name: Pura-Shamutrra

Identity/Class: Extradimensional magical creature, exact nature unknown

Occupation: Sorcerer, warrior

Group Membership: War of the Seven Spheres

Affiliations: Dr. Strange, Trinity of Ashes

Enemies: Jarakk, Urthona, Vishanti

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly the planet Gevaltu;
    undefined home realm

First Appearance: Dr. Strange III#57 (September, 1993)

 

Powers/Abilities: Pura-Shamutra has vast, unspecified magical powers, on a level much higher than Dr. Strange, but presumably significantly lower than beings such as the Vishanti or the Trinity of Ashes. His true form is unknown; he took physical form to manifest on the Earth-616 plane of existence, and as such became susceptible to the laws of the physical universe.
    He has been described as animating and controlling "twice-dead legions," and he channels his life-giving forces through his Pyx. Even when used by others, his Pyx can be used to resurrect the populations of entire planets. It can also be used to fire "razor-sharp psio-plasma bolts," which were able to sever the arm of the magical being Jarakk. His power is tied to the fabric of reality, such that his destruction would upset the cosmic balance.

 

 

 

 

 

History:
Pura-Shamutra's origins are unknown, though he is known to come from an alien dimension, and is thus unaccustomed to laws of the physical universe.

(Dr. Strange III#57 (fb) - BTS) - Pura-Shamutra was enlisted by the Trinity of Ashes to serve as one of their agents in the War of the Seven Spheres; his chosen opponent was the Vishanti's agent Jarakk.

(Dr. Strange III#58 (fb)) - Jarakk's and Pura-Shamutra's powers were evenly matched enough that they found themselves in deadlock in a battle. In order to overcome Pura-Shamutra, Jarakk enlisted the aid of the sorcerer Urthona, who had Jarakk lure Pura-Shamutra to Gevaltu, where he would have to assume physical form and be susceptible to Urthona's spells. Jarakk and Pura-Shamutra used Gevaltu as their battleground, leveling the planet and slaying most of its inhabitants in the process of their months-long struggle. Urthona knew that he could use Pura-Shamutra's Pyx to restore life to return from his exile and restore his world.

(Dr. Strange III#57 (fb) - BTS) - Jarakk defeated Pura-Shamutra's twice-dead legions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Dr. Strange III#57) - Pura-Shamutra seemed to weaken, as Jarakk shrugged off a series of his attacks. Jarakk claimed victory as he struck down Pura-Shamutra with his Spuruuntian Spear, but Pura-Shamutra had only feigned weakness, positioning himself to gain the leverage to fire a blast from his Pyx that severed Jarakk's right arm. Urthona then rushed to his assistance; according to their plan, Jarakk opened the skies with torrents of fire, distracting Pura-Shamutra skyward. Urthona unleashed the planet's manganese sands, invading Pura-Shamutra's body and transforming it into a crystalline prison. As his reward, Jarakk allowed Urthona to claim the Pyx of Pura-Shamutra, with which he restored life across Gevaltu and proclaimed himself its king.
    Dr. Strange sensed the cosmic imbalance caused by Pura-Shamutra's destruction, and he traveled to Gevaltu to investigate.

(Dr. Strange III#58) - Urthona placed Pura-Shamutra's body on display to demonstrate his power. Dr. Strange revealed Urthona's actions to his people. Strange managed to defeat Urthona, and the people of Gevaltu agreed that Urthona's destruction of Pura-Shamutra had been wrong. They allowed Strange to use the Pyx to resurrect Pura-Shamutra; Strange then approached Pura-Shamutra, returning his Pyx and asking him to take no umbrage at his proximity. Pura-Shamutra acknowledged his respect and proper protocol and so took no offense, and he even allowed Strange to speak freely. Strange spoke to him of the cosmic imbalance caused by his destruction and that the end result of the War of the Seven Spheres might mean the destruction of all existence. Pura-Shamutra agreed that the balance of forces must be preserved, and that he must work to see that the Trinity did not reduce its warriors to the levels of savages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments: Created by Geof Isherwood.

On the web, a Pyx was described as "A receptacle for reserving the Blessed Sacrament for use in Communion of the Sick."
    Other definitions are given, but it seems to be a receptacle for Pura-Shamutra's magical powers.

Strange and Urthona spoke of Jarakk and Pura-Shamutra as gods.

    While talking to Jarakk, Pura-Shamutra referred to "our own dimension" which indicates that both gods came from the same unspecified home realm, right?
    It wasn't specified but when I read Doctor Strange III#57-58, I got the impression that the cosmic imbalance which threatened to unravel the fabric of the universe was caused by the fact that a "god" had died and that which of the gods had died was irrelevant.  In other words, that the cosmic imbalance would also have occurred had Jarakk been killed instead of Pura-Shamutra.
    I have a slightly different interpretation of Pura-Shamutra's statement: "The balance of forces must be preserved.  The Trinity would reduce us to the level of savages.  I must work to see that never happens."  I see this as Pura-Shamutra agreeing with Strange that the only end result of the Trinity's victory in the War of Seven Spheres would be the ultimate destruction of everything.  In other words, it wouldn't just be the Trinity's warriors would would be reduced to the level of savages, it would be everybody.  The battle between the Vishanti and the Trinity of Ashes reminds me of the war between the Green Knight and the Red Lord from the KNIGHTS OF PENDRAGON series.  While the Red Lord and his Bane sought to win the war by destroying their enemies, something which would permanently upset the balance between life and death, the Green Knight and his Pendragons sought to win by maintaining that balance.  The Pendragons didn't have to totally destroy their enemies to win and, in fact, they could not do so without upsetting the balance themselves and thus in actuality losing that for which they were fighting in the first place.  It seemed to me that Pura-Shamutra was like a Bane who had suddenly realized what the consequences of a decisive victory by the Red Lord would be for everybody and had then decided to act like a Pendragon and work to preserve the balance.
--Donald Campbell.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

Dr. Strange III#57, p2 (full body, side)
        p10, panel 4 (face, front)
        p11 (crystallized)
         p12, panel 2 (Pyx)

Appearances:
Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#57-58 (September-October, 1993) - Geof Isherwood (writer/artist), Mike Rockwitz (editor)

Last updated: 08/25/05

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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