Rakshasha elections: GREATEST Rakshasha/Asura ever

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Who do you consider the GREATEST rakshasha/asura ever?

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Vrish

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Posted: 16 years ago

#51

Originally posted by: Kal El
Tough question. I find Ravana the most interesting Rakshasa, if not one of the most interesting characters in all of mythology. He was a man of many shades. Knowledge and power: he had it all. His own empire was prosperous too. No other rakshasas had as much influence over mythological history as he did. To defeat him not only was an incarnation needed but also treachery from his own brother, not to mention loopholes in boons. He is still seen as as a hero in some cultures and even worshipped in some.

In terms of influence, you do seem to be right - no other Rakshasha evoked the magnitude of fear that he did - not the Hiranya brothers, not Mahishashur, not Surapadma, et al. Although we did discuss Vibhishan's role extensively during the serial, and I think it was actually overblown. Aside from the killing of Meghnad, Vibhishan's role in getting the Rakshashas defeated was actually pretty minimal. In the non-Valmiki versions, his role is magnified in order to showcase him as a devotee, but in the process, such authors unwittingly paint him in a very unfavorable light.

Originally posted by: Kal El
Most of the other "demons" were pretty one-dimensional when you think about it. Either pure evil or pure good. Show some variety people! 😆

I agree with that, w/ the exceptions of Bali and Ghatotkacha, which we discuss below. Oh, also throw in Madhu, who was powerful but virtuous, as well as the other Bali who humiliated Ravan when the latter tried to lift Hiranyakashipu's earring. There were some other mixes of good and bad - Simhamukha, for instance, and Kumbhakarna. The only pure good were Prahlad and Vibhishan, and maybe Virochan.

Originally posted by: Kal El
Ghatothkacha was selfless and heroic no doubt but at the end of the day he was merely used as a tool by the Pandavas. Sure he invokes sympathy but he's not that interesting.

I think he is - even aside from his sacrifice, he was a major help to the Pandavas not only during the war, but also during the vanvas. On a few occasions, when the Pandavas were exhausted, he carried Draupadi, and his Rakshasha companions carried the other Pandavas to the place they needed to (forgetting it at the moment). Also, in the war itself, he killed the brother of Bakasura - Alambusha, whom even Bhima couldn't defeat. I wouldn't characterize his sacrifice as being a tool used by the Pandavas - they had no idea of what Krishna was doing until it was done.

Originally posted by: Kal El
From a saintly perspective, I have to admire Bali. He is referred to as sinless, a mahatma, even by the texts that glorify the devas and Vishnu. He stood his ground and did not stray from his principles and his path of dharma despite what I feel was discrimination towards him. He is still seen as a great man in South India.

Not just from a saintly perspective, but valor as well. Like his father and grandfather, he was a devotee of Vishnu, and was perfectly happy to co-exist, until Indra decided to assassinate his father, who had done nothing to provoke any enmity. Once he was provoked, he did his yagnas and overran Devalok, and which self respecting being would have done any different? And once he had to do that, he was an all conquering hero.

Initially, Vishnu did the right thing, but was tricked into supporting the devas by Aditi. 😡 She deserved to have her earrings snatched from her by Narakasura 😡 At any rate, Vishnu did make it up to him by making him immortal and promising him an entire manvantara.

Originally posted by: Kal El
Back to Ravana: if we go by the standard interpretations, then it was arrogance which brought him down. Then again, with boons of pseudo-immortality and almost universally undefeated (rare occasions include Vali and Sahasrarjuna), wasn't it inevitable that the power would mess with his head some day? I also find it a bit odd that a lot of the negative elements are elaborated on in the Uttarakanda, as opposed to the main narrative. Were they added later? An interesting thought to dwell upon.

I've wondered that as well. Only thing I can think of is that had the Ramayan started with Ravan's birth and so on, he, and not Rama, would have been the central figure in the epic, just like the Pandavas, and not Krishna, are central in the Mahabharat.

Originally posted by: Kal El
We must also consider the fact that history is usually written by the victors. Isn't it possible that the so-called "demons" have been grossly disfigured in the chronicles? Perhaps what we are seeing is the aftermath of the clash of two different cultures where the Rakshasas were not pure evil but simply different? Look at the rest of the world and how different religions and cultures clash and end up with shockingly different ideas of the same thing. For example: Jesus is God for some, a false prophet for others, and a human prophet for yet others. Likewise, Ravana may have been a demon for his enemies but perhaps a hero for his own people. Was he a Rakshasa as in a demon or as in "protector": protecting one or more tribes against another civilization that they had come in conflict with?

I happen to believe that as well. Usually, in a simplistic casting of the 2 sides, the devas are cast as the virtuous, and the asuras/rakshashas are evil. But we've seen cases where virtuous rakshashas did exist, but were discriminated against, like in the case of Bali above, or Vishnu tricking the asuras from getting the amrit, despite involving them in the samudra manthan. On the deva side, Indra did a number of horrendous things, like trick Ahalya into having sex with him, murdering Virochan, steal the horse of Sagar and cause the death of his 60000 sons by Rishi Kapila, stole Dileepa's horse secretly (it was the divyadhristi he got from Nandini that enabled Raghu to find out), protect the Naga ruler Takshasha against Janamejaya who wanted to punish him for killing Parikshit, insult Shiva and Sati by attending Daksha's yagna, among others. He deserved to get his butt kicked by the Hiranya brothers, Ravan, Narakasura and every other asura and rakshasha who managed it.

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