Introduction

By far some of the most fascinating aspects of Indian mythology are the stories of the demons.  However, it is important to keep in mind to separate the concept of Western demons from the Eastern demons.  In Western mythology, demons are the archetype of 'pure evil.'  They have no interest in doing anything other than causing death, pain and destruction.  However, in the Indian epics, demons can vary significantly.  There are some that qualify as being pure evil, but there are also even benevolent demons.  In the case of some of these Indian mythological stories, therefore, you will see that the word demon is not necessarily synonymous with evil.

As we learn more about Ravana, I cannot help but think that it is merely scratching the surface.  This is a being who managed to defeat all of the gods due to his cunning, gain control of all of the worlds, and then lose it to a human.  By far one of the most fascinating stories of this demon is when Shiva captured him, rather effortlessly I might add, and then released him due to his singing voice.  This makes the reader want to learn more about Ravana, and more about what are his motivations.  Is he a charismatic being, a true warlord who will kill his nearest friends when he thinks they're encroaching on his power, or is he simply a young boy who was denied something as a child and is now taking it out on the world?  Ultimately, it's a question for the ages and you can make your own conclusions as you read my interpretation of this story.

Maricha is an excellent example of a demon who is somewhat neutral.  While his story starts and ends with evil, he learns along the way the differences of the world and where he could potentially fit within it.  This is a perfect example of the humanity of these demons.  While humans can consistently be evil and cruel creatures, there is always the potential to learn to be a better being.  We see the same adaptation in the story of Maricha: Maricha learned, from dealing with jealously, anger and greed, that not everything is solved with these emotions and that therefore he must focus on other components of the world.  His story is also a perfect example of how unfortunate it can be if we are involved with the wrong person.  Maricha learned along the way to temper his evil ways, but he was never able to fully extract himself from the world Ravana had created.

Ghatotkacha is a fascinating story primarily because of who his parents are.  As the son of Bhima and the giantess Hidimbi, Ghatotkacha's story indicates that a human and a rakshasha can at the very least have a half-rakshasa child.  This is important because it implies that the two can get along without having bloodthirsty thoughts of killing one another.  Due to this, it reinforces the concept that rakshasa are not necessarily evil creatures, but rather creatures that can either give into their more animal sides or, on the other hand, maintain their self-control.

In their ability to choose between these extremes of behavior, the Indian rakshasas have a lot in common with the gods of India.  To show you what I mean, I want to tell you a story of Indra, Karna, and the guru Parashurama. At one point while Karna was training under the guru Parashurama, a large bee landed on Karna and began to sting him.  As it turns out, Indra was actually masquerading as the large bee, and it was obviously for nefarious reasons.  Karna's bitter rival was his own brother, Arjuna, who was Indra's son.  In the case of this story, it reinforces the concept that the gods were self-serving, and even cruel in these Indian epics due to their interference in human affairs.  They were not above manipulation, causing strife and even death to help one of their favored humans.  This is important because the gods were not rakshasas, but certainly have displayed traits that would make them very similar to rakshashas - just the opposite of what we expect from demons and divinity in Western traditions.

Rakshasa.  Websource:  ImageShack