Rakshasha elections: GREATEST Rakshasha/Asura ever

Okay, this poll is about the real rakshashas and asuras, not our Praphulla or Rakesh Deewana😆

In Hindu mythology, there were asuras and rakshashas through the ages - from Hayagriva (in Matsya avatar) right down to Narakasura. They had a great influence - for better or worse - on the course of events and history. Note that not all of them were evil - while Hiranyakashipu, Ravan, Narakasura et al definitely were, some were very dharmaic (Prahlad and Vibhishan), some were righteous but arrogant (Bali and Banasura), some were distinguished with their valor (Indrajit and Ghatotkacha), some were immortalized (Rahu) and some had the potential to be lethal w/o actually materializing (Lavanasura and Bhimasura). I also included Banasura, since he was considered Shiva's equal, and actually enlisted Shiva and Kartikeya to fight alongside him against Krishna, Pradhyumna and Satyaki, and his daughter Usha continued the Yadava dynasty.

So the question in this poll is - which of the above Rakshashas do you admire the most, for whatever reasons? Here, if you are a saint, you have choices like Prahlad and Vibhishan, while if you are the naughty type, there are choices like Indrajit and Kumbhakarna. Of course, there is the sweet point combination of heroism, power w/o being adharma - like Ghatotkacha. Oh, and if you are more on the evil side, you could even vote for Ravan, or Mahishashur. Whatever the case, you have a diverse field here to choose from.

In case none of the above 9 satisfy you, there is always the choice of others, and you can comment on which ones. Here are some of the choices I couldn't include - Hayagriva for eating up the Vedas in Matsya avatar, Rahu for intercepting Mohini's plot in Kurma avatar, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, any of the myriad rakshashas Rama fought and killed or had them killed, including Lavanasura. Then there are the ones set to fight Krishna in his childhood, the ones Krishna took on as adults, most notably Narakasura. Also, would Bhagadatta have qualified as a rakshasha? There was also the rakshashas Bhima took on and killed - Hidimba, Bakasura, Kirmira, and in the Kurukshetra war, there was Alambusha, who killed Arjun/Uloopi's son Iravana, and was himself slain by Ghatotkacha.

Oh, and there were those asuras who were done in by Shiva and his family - Andhaka and Bhimasura, Mahishashur (listed above) immortalized by Durga, then there was the rakshasha trip of Surapadma, Taraka and Simhamukha for whom Shiva had to marry Parvati and beget Kartikeya, the Tripura asuras who succeeded them, and the myriad other rakshashas and asuras killed by Durga or Kali.

If you vote for other, please mention who, and if it is someone unknown or not listed, tell us more about him. Also, note that I haven't included rakshashis here - Shurpanakha, Pootana, Taraka, Mahishi, et al. I'll have to think of that one. One more thing - I have conflated asuras and rakshashas here, since I wasn't always sure of which one was which😔

Anyway, there is something for everybody in this poll, so vote. Oh, and you can vote for multiple candidates, and with that comes the ability to vote as many times as you like for the candidate of your choice. Tomorrow is the last phase of elections in India, so maybe we can have some fun rigging, booth capturing and all those other exciting things that make elections... elections😆

Chandra, I just realized...you forgot Trijata. I think she's one of the greatest rakshasas ever too, because she was such a support for Sita Mata in Lanka.😳