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The Evil Ones.<br />
There are two principal sets of evil beings in the Hindu world - The Asuras, who are extraterrestrial, and The<br />
Rakshasas, who are an Earth-bound evil. As in Christian demonology, the Hindu evil beings were also created by the<br />
Gods but they ran out of control because of their innate evil nature. Since then the Gods and the Evil Ones have been<br />
involved in a continuous cosmic struggle for dominion of the universe. There is a running concept of human beings<br />
committing sins while under the influence of evil beings - mostly ghostly impure souls that reside in the intermediate<br />
regions between heaven and earth - but, today, this is widely regarded as superstition. Such superstitious beliefs are<br />
mostly prevalent in remote rural regions because of misinformation and ignorance - Avidya. There are still reports of<br />
shamanistic followers of Goddess Kali - Tantriks and others practicing witchcraft being called upon to exorcise<br />
people but the Indian Government takes stern measures to discourage such practices.<br />
The principal concept of karma in <strong>Hinduism</strong> precludes humans committing sins under outside influence. Both good<br />
and bad are due to personal action - karma - and no-one can be blamed or credited.<br />
The Asuras<br />
At first, as the myth goes, the Asuras were considered at par with the Gods (Devas). They took part in all sacrifices<br />
and considered themselves to be the equal of the Gods. In fact the word “asura” means nondrinkers. Gradually though,<br />
because of their greed and foolishness, the asuras fell in stature and became inferior to the Gods. This story is much<br />
akin to that of Lucifer in Christian Mythology.<br />
At the time of the churning of the milk ocean for the extraction of amrita, the asuras’ help was enlisted by the Gods for<br />
greater force but later, the Gods feared that allowing the asuras to drink amrita would make them immortal and a threat<br />
to the divine dominion. So they were tricked by the Gods, especially Vishnu in the form of a beautiful maiden Mohini,<br />
and deprived of the celestial drink. Thereafter the asuras weakened and were banished to the nether regions - Patala.<br />
Nevertheless, once in a while, an asura will acquire great virtue through sacrifices and austerities and will persuade a<br />
God, mostly Brahma who is the kindest of them all, to grant them a boon of invincibility and, with the help of that<br />
strength, will threaten all existence till he is somehow vanquished by the Gods.<br />
The common belief is that the asuras are beings of evil and Hindus take great pleasure in watching dramas based on<br />
ancient texts in which a God or Goddess slays an asura with great pomp and fanfare.<br />
Some of the asuras are called Daityas and Danavas and they are reputed to be born of the sage Kasyapa by his wives<br />
Diti and Danu. The asuras, together with the more terrestrial Rakshasas, are the the principal forces of evil in the Hindu<br />
universe and they are involved in a constant cosmic struggle with the Gods for dominion of the universe.<br />
Brahma’s Creation Myth also says that Brahma first created the Asuras but they were so evil that they went out of<br />
His control and started to attack Him. The other Gods saved Brahma but the harm was done and the Asuras were let<br />
loose upon the universe to threaten it from time to time.<br />
The Rakshasas:<br />
The Rakshasas, unlike the asuras, are terrestrially-bound and are the principal forces of evil in the human world<br />
though Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka, gained enough power through penance to threaten even the Gods and the<br />
universe before he was executed by Rama and His three brothers in the avatar of Ramachandra.<br />
Most of the Rakshasas are reputed to be grotesque creatures with ugly deformed bodies and atrocious habits though,<br />
once in a while, like Supranaka, the sister of Ravana, the female ones may acquire beauteous woman-like forms to<br />
entice and fool humans, especially men. Most of the Rakshasas use disguise to fool humans and it is their favorite ploy<br />
to inflict unpleasant surprises on humans.<br />
Rakshasas are reputed to be human-eaters and prefer young children, as every little Hindu boy or girl knows. Savoring<br />
stories of Rakshasas being killed by heroes is a favorite pastime for children as well as adults.