Know your Demons: Were Asuras really demons?

Asuras are referred to as demons in many Hindu and Buddhist texts. But were they really demons? Or were they some sort of gods who got interpreted as demons in later texts?

 

In Hinduism, Devas are termed as gods and Asuras are termed as demons. But Asuras are defined differently in Vedic texts than in the Puranic texts which came later. The Puranas term Asuras as those who didn’t get Sura, meaning liquor, during the event of Samudra Manthan. But in Vedic texts, Asura could mean any powerful personality, spirit, irrespective of being good or bad. Many kings, sages and gods were referred to as Asuras. Gods like Indra, Agni, Varuna, Mitra, and Rudra are termed Asuras in the earliest Vedic texts.

 

So, Deva and Asura were in a sense synonymous before the split. But in later Hindu texts Deva became gods and Asura became demons, and in Zoroastrianism, Ahura became (true) gods and Daiva became demons (false gods). The patron deity of Assyria (in Mesopotamia) and personification of their capital was named Assur. Even the Norse tribe of gods is named Asir, which points towards a common Indo-European origin.

 

Therefore, some narrative that suggests that Asuras were indigenous Dravidians is untrue. Also, there were some benevolent Asuras in the Puranas, like Prahalad, Bali, and so on. Thus, being demonic binary is not true for Hinduism. According to Mahabharata, the Chandravanshi Kshatriyas were all descendants of Puru, who in turn was a son of Sharmishtha, an Asura princess. This makes the Vedic elites like Purus, Bharatas and Kurus descendants of Asuras. Thus, this Aryan-Dravidian binary is pointless.

 

Now that we have understood Asuras, let us know their subtypes.

 

Adityas: As I said, Indra, Mitra and other Adityas, son of goddess Aditi were referred to as Asuras. This makes the Devas very much Asuras.

 

Daityas: Sons of Diti are called Daityas, and yes, they are the demonic tribes mentioned in the Puranas. Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, Prahalad, Virochana, and Bali belonged to this tribe.

 

Danavas: Sons of Danu called Danavas are another demonic sub-type of Asuras. Many times, Daityas and Danavas are used synonymously. But that is incorrect. Some of the famous Danavas were Vritra, Mayasura, Namuchi, Ilvala, and Vatapi.

 

(If you consider the Celtic gods as sons of river goddess Danu, they technically become Danavas too.)

 

Kalakeyas and Nivātakavacas are the other two subtypes of Asuras. But a lot is not known about them. But you must have seen the Kalakeyas tribes in the Baahubali film franchise.

 

Another myth-busting is that Rakshasas are not part of the Asura tribe. They are a type of monster independent of Asuras.

 

So, these were the subtypes of Asuras, who were gods for some cultures (Norse, Assyrian, Zoroastrian), and demons for some (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism). Or were they both as mentioned in the Rigveda?

Stay tuned for the blog on demons in Abrahamic cultures.