asura
असुर asuraIn the oldest Veda an honorific ('lord, mighty one') applied to high gods; later the term for the devas' rivals. Asuras are the gods' kin, not evil incarnate, and are often devout.
Where this term appears
- Devas and Asuras Deities
Great and one is the asura -hood of the gods." — Ṛgveda 3.55.1 Read the last clause again.
- The Navagraha: The Nine Planetary Powers Deities
…e Brihaspati is the teacher of the gods, Shukra is the teacher of the asuras , their demon-enemies.
- Who is Shiva? Deities
When the gods and the asuras churned the ocean of milk to win the nectar of immortality, the churning first threw up Hālāhala , a poison so virulent it threatened to destroy all creation, long before any nectar…
- What is the Hanuman Chalisa? Worship
bhima rupa dhari asura samhare, ramachandra ke kaja samvare — Taking a mighty form you destroyed the demons, and carried through the work of Ramachandra.
- The Goddess Who Would Not Be Forbidden Treatise
…er could win: "This slaughter that thou hast now wrought on the great Asuras who hate righteousness, O goddess, by multiplying thy body in many forms, what other goddess achieves that?" By multiplying her body …
- Did the Mahabharata describe nuclear weapons? Journal
…he Karna Parva, where the divine archer is Shiva, the targets are the Asuras, and the weapon is an arrow that topples the flying cities of the demons.
- Does Hinduism have a Devil or a Satan? Journal
The asuras: rivals, not evil incarnate The beings most often mistaken for devils are the asuras The wider cast of feared beings, the ghosts and flesh-eaters and corpse-animating spirits the asuras are so often …
- Vimanas: did ancient India have flying machines? Journal
There is even a flying fortress: Tripura, the triple city of the asuras, three cities of gold, silver, and iron that float through sky, air, and earth until Shiva destroys all three with a single arrow.