ASUR

Asur was a republic known to Panini and mentioned as a race in Mahabharat (I.59.35), (I.65),(I.61.9), (1.67), (III.167.9),(III.170.8),(V.72.12),(VI.20.18), (VIII.51.8),(IX.44.19).

Mention by Panini :

Asur, a warlike tribe, is mentioned by Panini in Ashtadhyayi.

Asurimaya is mentioned by Panini in Ashtadhyayi.

Mythology :

They are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes referred to as demons. They were opposed to the devs. Both groups are children of Kashyap. The name is cognate to Ahura – indeed, the Oxford English Dictionary recognises the use of the term in reference to Zoroastrianism, where "Ahura" would perhaps be more appropriate – and Æsir, which implies a common Proto-Indo-European religion origin for the Asura and the Æsir.

History :

V. S. Agrawala mentions Sanghas known to Panini which includes - Asur, under Parshvadi (V.3.117).

V. S. Agrawala mentions Ayudhajivi Sanghs in the Ganapath, which includes - Asur– It is a generic name but in this case may be identified with the name of the Assyrians, whose country formed part of the Persian empire in the 5th century BC and is mentioned in Behistun Inscription as old Persian Athura, and Susian as Assur.

Behistun Inscription (Line-6) narrates list of countries ruled by Darius, this includes - Assyria (Athurâ).

The negative character of the asura in Hinduism seems to have evolved over time. In general, the earliest texts have the asuras presiding over moral and social phenomena (e.g. Varuna, the guardian of ?tá, or Bhaga, the patron of marriages) and the devas presiding over natural phenomena (e.g. Ushas, whose name means "dawn", or Indra, a weather god).

In Mahabharat :

Asur is mentioned in Mahabharat (I.59.35), (I.65), (I.61.9), (III.167.9), (III.170.8), (V.72.12), (VI.20.18), (VIII.51.8), (IX.44.19).

Adi Parv, Mahabharat / Mahabharat Book I Chapter 59 provides us origin of the celestials and other creatures. Asuras are mentioned in verse (I.59.35), ..."Thus hath been recited by me, as heard in the Purana, of progeny of the gods and the Asuras, both of great strength and energy. I am incapable of counting the descendants of these, countless as they are, are not much known to fame.

Adi Parv, Mahabharat / Mahabharat Book I Chapter 61 gives us Genealogy of the Danavs, Asurs, Kauravs, Pandavs, Gandharvs, Apsaras, Rakshash.

And he who was known as the great Asur Vashkal became on earth the great Bhagadatt. The five great Asurs gifted with great energy, Ayahshir, Ashwashir, the spirited Ayshanku, Gaganamurdhan, and Vegavat, were all born in the royal line of Kekaya and all became great monarchs.

That other Asur of mighty energy who was known by the name of Ketumat became on earth the monarch Amitaujas of terrible deeds. That great Asur who was known as Swarbhanu became on earth the monarch Ugrasena of fierce deeds. That great Asur who was known as Ashwa became on earth the monarch Ashok of exceeding energy and invincible in battle.

Van Parv, Mahabharat / Book III Chapter 167 narrates powers of Asurs in verses (III.167.9,13). And when (their) illusion had been dispelled, some of the foremost amongst the Asurs, of unrivalled prowess, again spread diverse kinds of illusion.

Van Parv, Mahabharat / Book III Chapter 170 mentions the wonderful city of the Daityas:Hiranyapur. Arjun asked Matali saying, 'What is this that looketh so wonderful? Matali replied, 'Once on a time a Daitya's daughter, named Pulama and a mighty female of the Asur order, Kalak by name, practised severe austerities for a thousand celestial years.

And at the end of their austerities, the self-create conferred on them boons. And they received these boons,--that their offspring might never suffer misfortune; that they might be incapable of being destroyed even by the gods, the Rakshash and the Pannagas; and that they might obtain a highly effulgent and surpassingly fair aerial city, furnished with all manner of gems and invincible even by the celestials, the Maharshis, the Yaksh, the Gandharv, the Pannag, the Asurs and the Rakshash.

And celebrated under the name of Hiranyapur, this mighty city is inhabited by the Paulamas and the Kalakeyas; and it is also guarded by those mighty Asurs.

And having slain those mighty Asurs, and destroyed Hiranyapur, and having also killed the Nivat-Kavachs, I came unto Indra.

In Indian epics :

Mitra, Varun and Vritra are the most well known Asurs.

Vairocan, Sumbh and Nisumbh are kings of Asurs.

In later writings, such as the Purans and Itihas, we find that the "devs" are the godly persons and the "asurs" the demonic. According to the Bhagavad Gita (16.6), all beings in the world partake either of the divine qualities (daivi sampad) or the demonic qualities (asuri sampad). The sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita describes the divine qualities briefly and the demonic qualities at length. In summary the Gita (16.4) says that the asuric qualities are pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance.

The Padma Puran says that the devotees of Vishnu are endowed with the divine qualities whereas the asurs are just the opposite.

In an Indo-Iranian context :

The term asur is linguistically related to the ahuras of Zoroastrianism, but has in that religion a different meaning.

For one, the term applies to a very specific set of divinities, only three in number (Mazda, Mithra and Apam Napat). For another, there is no direct opposition between the ahuras and the daevas: The fundamental opposition in Zoroastrianism is not between groups of divinities, but between asha "Truth" and druj "Lie/Falsehood." The opposition between the ahuras and daevas is an expression of that opposition: the ahuras, like all the other yazatas, are defenders of asha; the daevas on the other hand are in the earliest texts divinities that are to be rejected because they are misled by "the Lie" (see daeva for details).

The notion of an "inverted morality" and the supposition that a dichotomy between ahuras/asuras and daevas/devas already existed in Indo-Iranian times is not supportable from either the Iranian or Indian perspective. Not only is such a dichotomy not evident in the earliest texts of either culture, neither the Rig Ved's asuras nor the Gathas' daevas are Demons. The demonization of the asuras in India and the demonization of the daevas in Iran both took place "so late that the associated terms cannot be considered a feature of Indo-Iranian religious dialectology."

The idea of a prehistorical opposition between the *asurás/*devás, originally presented in the 19th century but popularized in the mid-20th century had for some time already been largely rejected by Avesta scholars when a landmark publication (Hale, 1986) attracted considerable attention among Vedic scholars. Hale discussed, "as no one before him" (so Insler's review), the attestations of ásura and its derivatives in chronological order of the Vedic texts, leading to new insights into how the asuras came to be the Demon that they are today and why the venerated Varuna, Mithra, Indra, Rudra, Agni, Aryaman, Pusan and Parjanya are all asuras without being demonic. Although Hale's work has raised further questions - such as how the later poets could have overlooked that the RigVed's asurs are all exalted gods - the theory of a prehistoric opposition is today conclusively rejected.

Following Hale's discoveries, Thieme's earlier proposal of a single Indo-Iranian *Asura began to gain widespread support. In general (particulars may vary), the idea runs as follows: Indo-Iranian *Asur developed into Varun in India and into Ahura Mazda in Iran. Those divinities closest related to that "asura [who] rules over the gods" (AV 1.10.1, cf. RV II.27.10) inherit the epithet, for instance, Rudra as devam asuram (V 42.11).

In Buddhism :

Asurs also appear as a type of supernatural being in traditional Buddhist cosmology.

An Interesting Article in Hindi about Asurs :

Author - Swami Omanand Saraswati

It is needless to say that the Rakshash were a particular caste of ancient India, who were the children of the Brahmi sages. The Vedas of Ravanadi Rakshash, being proficient in Shastraadi Arya literature, performing Yagya Yagas are clearly proved by Ramayan. The Rakshash were Indians, they were not inferior to Indians in civilization and material progress. They had gone to the countries of America etc. for political reasons (Vishnu's persecuted). Through them, Vedic civilization was well publicized in Patal Desh (America). The story of Quetsalakatla or Salkatankut returning from the land of hell again is also written in great detail in the eighteenth canto of Uttarakhand of Ramayan.

Chiratsumali Vyacharadasatalam, S Rakshaso Vishnubhayarditastada.

In this way the Rakshash were the children of the Aryans, but these Indras used to haunt the deities.

Tattastu te Rakshaka Pungavastrayo, Nishacharai Putrashashtashvata

Suranshendranrishinagayaksan, Babadheera tha Bahuviryaadarpita :

The three great Rakshash Sumali, Mallyavan and Mali, etc., living with their many sons and other Rakshash, began to torment Indra and other gods, sages, serpents and Yakshs, with pride of their muscle power. (Uttarakhand 5.7)

Then Lord Vishnu , in consultation with Lord Shankar, destroyed these Sumali Rakshash several times and disrupted them and drove them away to Himalayas (America). After the resettlement of Lanka by Vaisravan, these Rakshash returned from America and settled in Lanka.

In this way we briefly described the Rakshash, their stories and genealogy are described in detail in Ramayan and Mahabharat. He got the name of demon because of protecting creatures. When Prajapati Brahma asked who would protect these living beings, then those who took over the protection were called Rakshash . Yagnis who perform Yajna are called Yaksh .

‘Raksham’ Iti Yairuktam Rakshasasthe Bhavantu Vah.

'Yaksham' Iti Yairuktayaksha and Bhavantu: 7139

(Answer Case Canto 4)

You who it is said will we protect those monsters admitted to both known and sacrifice who they directly are known. Thus, both these names are named after Brahma Prajapati.

The Rakshash who protect and perform the yajna are called Yakshs. All these happened in the lineage of Brahma etc.

Rakshash of Ravan etc.

Rakshahraj Raja Sumali's daughter got married to Vaisravan (Kuber) at the behest of her father. They had children like this.

Vishrava (wife - girl child of Sumali) :

• Ravan, • Kumbhakarna, • Surpanakha, • Vibhishan

It is known that both Ravana and Kumbhakarna were going to generate udveg (movement) in the Mahabali demon world. Vibhishan was a god from childhood. He was always stable in religion. Self control and regular diet kept the senses under control.

Vibhishanastu Dharmatma organized every day.

Self-reliance uvas vijendendriya: 4396

(Answer Case 4 canto)

It seems that many sages named Vishrav and Vaisravan have been in this dynasty. Only one of them was Ravan, the demon, child of Vishrava. It was a custom in ancient literature that after giving names of famous people, they used to leave the names of ordinary people. The same has been done here.

This proves that Dev, Asur , Kinnar, Rakshash, Vanar, etc. are the children of all the sages. Maharishi, who is the only child of Brahma's disciples (Manasputras), had many disciples, all the devasuradi creation and tradition started from his children. This is attested by ancient literature. His children settled the countries like America and spread the Aryan civilization there. By educating agriculture, he mobilized the means of material progress. Also teach food, drink, muffling, wearing, building construction, animal husbandry and many types of art skills.