Lesson 4: The Hindu Pantheon - Part Two.
The Evil Ones & Conclusion.
There are two principal sets of evil beings in the Hindu world - The Asuras, who are extraterrestrial, and The Rakshasas, who are an Earth-bound evil. As in Christian demonology, the Hindu evil beings were also created by the Gods but they ran out of control because of their innate evil nature. Since then the Gods and the Evil Ones have been involved in a continuous cosmic struggle for dominion of the universe. There is a running concept of human beings committing sins while under the influence of evil beings - mostly ghostly impure souls that reside in the intermediate regions between heaven and earth - but, today, this is widely regarded as superstition. Such superstitious beliefs are mostly prevalent in remote rural regions because of misinformation and ignorance - Avidya. There are still reports of shamanistic followers of Goddess Kali - Tantriks and others practicing witchcraft being called upon to exorcise people but the Indian Government takes stern measures to discourage such practices.
The principal concept of karma in Hinduism precludes humans committing sins under outside influence. Both good and bad are due to personal action - karma - and no-one can be blamed or credited.
The Asuras
At first, as the myth goes, the Asuras were considered at par with the Gods (Devas). They took part in all sacrifices and considered themselves to be the equal of the Gods. In fact the word “asura” means nondrinkers. Gradually though, because of their greed and foolishness, the asuras fell in stature and became inferior to the Gods. This story is much akin to that of Lucifer in Christian Mythology.
At the time of the churning of the milk ocean for the extraction of amrita, the asuras’ help was enlisted by the Gods for greater force but later, the Gods feared that allowing the asuras to drink amrita would make them immortal and a threat to the divine dominion. So they were tricked by the Gods, especially Vishnu in the form of a beautiful maiden Mohini, and deprived of the celestial drink. Thereafter the asuras weakened and were banished to the nether regions - Patala.
Nevertheless, once in a while, an asura will acquire great virtue through sacrifices and austerities and will persuade a God, mostly Brahma who is the kindest of them all, to grant them a boon of invincibility and, with the help of that strength, will threaten all existence till he is somehow vanquished by the Gods.
The common belief is that the asuras are beings of evil and Hindus take great pleasure in watching dramas based on ancient texts in which a God or Goddess slays an asura with great pomp and fanfare.
Some of the asuras are called Daityas and Danavas and they are reputed to be born of the sage Kasyapa by his wives Diti and Danu. The asuras, together with the more terrestrial Rakshasas, are the the principal forces of evil in the Hindu universe and they are involved in a constant cosmic struggle with the Gods for dominion of the universe.
Brahma’s Creation Myth also says that Brahma first created the Asuras but they were so evil that they went out of His control and started to attack Him. The other Gods saved Brahma but the harm was done and the Asuras were let loose upon the universe to threaten it from time to time.
The Rakshasas:
The Rakshasas, unlike the asuras, are terrestrially-bound and are the principal forces of evil in the human world though Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka, gained enough power through penance to threaten even the Gods and the universe before he was executed by Rama and His three brothers in the avatar of Ramachandra.
Most of the Rakshasas are reputed to be grotesque creatures with ugly deformed bodies and atrocious habits though, once in a while, like Supranaka, the sister of Ravana, the female ones may acquire beauteous woman-like forms to entice and fool humans, especially men. Most of the Rakshasas use disguise to fool humans and it is their favorite ploy to inflict unpleasant surprises on humans.
Rakshasas are reputed to be human-eaters and prefer young children, as every little Hindu boy or girl knows. Savoring stories of Rakshasas being killed by heroes is a favorite pastime for children as well as adults.
The Rakshasas are also descended from the sage Kasyapa by his wife Khasa who herself is a daughter of Daksha.
Conclusion
In conclusion to the two pantheon lessons I must mention that the common Hindu saying is that there are 330 million Deities in their pantheon. Not even the most ardent worshipper can pay homage to all of them. It is the normal practice to offer worship and sacrifice to the deity or deities one empathizes most with and maintain an ambience of respectful silence for all the others.
Thus, it has not in any measure been possible to include all the deities and other entities in the pantheon and mythology but I have certainly contrived to inform the student of all the major entities that Hindus currently offer worship to most frequently and regularly. Thus, studying these two lessons the student will acquire a very thorough idea of the basic constituents of the Hindu pantheon.
As footnote I add that though the Male Triad is regarded as being at the apex of worship yet actual worship is mostly willy-nilly and an entirely personal matter with no universal guidelines on which deity is the greater and thus more powerful and worthy of worship. A deity’s popularity is usually generated by important individuals like sages, rishis and other holy men and other sources of popular appeal like films, as in recent times, and sects and cults are formed around that particular deity. Otherwise, generally, each deity oversees a particular sphere of influence on human existence and if an individual Hindu faces some difficulties in that sphere the patron deity is propitiated through ritual worship. Advice on worship is sought from priests, elders and other knowledgeable persons and the rituals are usually performed either by a priest or any other knowledgeable person including the person affected and seeking worship.
Thus, I have presented a flat structure of the pantheon without emphasizing on any particular deity. Worship, with the Hindus, is largely a matter of personal choice.
Reference Material Utilized for the Entire Lesson:
Books:
1. Indian Mythology by Veronica Ions, ISBN: 0 600 34285 9
