thumb|300x300px|Asura depicted in the [[Samudra Manthana bas-relief from Angkor Wat]]

Asura () are a class of beings in Indian religions. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Deva (also known as Sura) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is translated as "titan," "demigod," or "antigod".

According to Hindu texts, the Asura are in constant fear of the deva. Asura are described in Indian texts as powerful superhuman demigods with good or bad qualities. In early Vedic literature, the good Asura are called Aditya and are led by Varuna, while the malevolent ones are called Danava and are led by Vritra.

Asura are part of Hinduism along with Yaksha (nature spirits), Rakshasa (fierce beings or demons), Bhuta (ghosts) and many more. Asura have been featured in many cosmological theories and legends in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Etymology

Traditional etymologies

Asura is a given name by Deva to other races collectively where Asura means not-sura (with sura being another name for Deva).

The 5th century Buddhist philosopher, Buddhaghosa explains that their name derives from the myth of their defeat at the hands of the god Śakra. According to the story, the asura were dispossessed of their state in Trāyastriṃśa because they became drunk and were thrown down Mount Sumeru. After this incident, they vowed never to drink sura again. In some Buddhist literature, they are sometimes referred to as pūrvadeva (Pāli: pubbadeva), meaning "ancient gods."

Modern scholarship

There is a wide consensus in modern scholarship that the Old Indic term Asura is cognate with Old Iranian Ahura, a term designating a group of benevolent supernatural beings which are in conflict with the malevolent Daevas. Both Sanskrit असुर (asura) and Avestan 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬀 (ahura) derive from the common Proto-Indo-Iranian háSura, with the meaning lord. According to Finnish Indologist Asko Parpola, the word *háSura was also borrowed from the Proto-Indo-Iranian language into Proto-Uralic during an early period of contact, in the form *asera-, likewise with the meaning lord or prince. The term is also etymologically related to Old Norse Æsir, indicating that the Indo-Iranian *háSura has an even earlier Proto-Indo-European root.

Monier-Williams traces the etymological roots of asura () to asu (), which means 'life of the spiritual world' or 'departed spirits'.

finds that the oldest verses of Vedic texts (the earliest Samhita layer), the word Asura is used to refer to any spiritual, divine being, including both those with good or with bad intentions, and with constructive or with destructive inclinations or dispositions.

Bhargava

May he, gold-handed Asura, kind leader, come hither to us with his help and favour.

Driving off Raksasas and Yatudhanas, [he] the god is present, praised in hymns at evening.

– Translated by Ralph Griffith

The golden-handed lord of good guidance, of good grace, of good help—let him drive in our direction.

Repelling demons and sorcerers, the god has taken his place facing evening, while being hymned.

– Translated by Stephanie W. Jamison, Joel P. Brereton

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|Rig Veda 1.35.10

Samaveda

In the Jaiminya (3.35.3) – one of three recensions of the SamaVeda – the term 'Asura' is stated to be derived from 'rests' (√ram) in the vital airs (asu), i.e. 'Asu' + 'ram' = 'Asuram' (Asura); this is in reference to the mind being 'asura[-like]'.

Mahabharata

According to the Bhagavad Gita (16.6-16.7), all beings in the universe have both the divine qualities (daivi sampad) and the demonic qualities (asuri sampad) within each.

Brahmanda Purana

thumb|The [[Mahadevi combatting the asura army (right), folio from the Devi Mahatmya]]

In the Brahmanda Purana, it is stated the term 'Asura' was used for the Daityas due to their rejection of Varuni (Goddess of Wine) after she emerged from the Ocean of Milk (i.e. 'a-sura', meaning 'those who do not have Sura, that is, 'wine' or more generally 'liquor'). However, in other legends, the Asura accept Varuni (see Kurma).

Vishnu Purana

According to the Vishnu Purana, during the Samudra Manthana or the "churning of the ocean", the daityas came to be known as Asura because they rejected Varuni, the goddess of sura "wine", while the deva accepted her and came to be known as Sura.

thumb|471x471px|The deva (god) and Asura (anti-god) churning the ocean of milk, [[Samudra Manthana|Samudra Manthan sculpture at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.]]

Shiva Purana

Alain Daniélou states that Asura were initially good, virtuous and powerful in Indian legends . However, their nature gradually changed and they came to represent evil, vice and abuse of power. In Shiva Purana, they evolved into anti-gods and had to be destroyed because they threatened the gods.

The Asura (anti-gods) were depicted to have become proud, vain, to have stopped performing sacrifices, to violate sacred laws, not visit holy places, not cleanse themselves from sin, to be envious of deva, torturous of living beings, creating confusion in everything and challenging the deva. Their role changes only during and after the earth, sky, and living beings have been created. The sky world becomes that of deva, the underworld becomes that of Asura. The god Indra is the embodiment of good and represents the deva, while the dragon Vrtra is the embodiment of evil and an Asura.

Ananda Coomaraswamy suggested that deva and Asura can be best understood as being similar in concept to the Twelve Olympians and the titans of Greek mythology: Both are powerful, but have different orientations and inclinations – in Hindu mythology the deva represent the powers of light and the Asura represent the powers of darkness.

Indo-Aryan context

In the 19th century, Haug pioneered the idea that the term Asura is linguistically related to the Ahuras of Indo-Aryan people and pre-Zoroastrianism era. In both religions, Ahura of pre-Zoroastrianism (Asura of Indian religions), Vouruna (Varuna) and Daeva (Deva) are found, but their roles are on opposite sides. This theory and other Avesta-related hypotheses developed over the 20th&nbsp;century, are all now in question, particularly for lack of archaeological evidence.

Relation to Germanic deities

Some scholars such as Asko Parpola suggest that the word Asura may be related to proto-Uralic and proto-Germanic history. The Aesir-Asura correspondence is the relation between Vedic Sanskrit Asura and Old Norse Æsir and Proto-Uralic *asera, all of which mean 'lord, powerful spirit, god'. Parpola states that the correspondence extends beyond Asera / Asura, and extends to a host of parallels such as Inmar-Indra, Sampas-Stambha and many other elements of respective mythologies. and Asura. A much-studied hymn of the Rig Veda states Devav asura (Asura who have become deva), and contrasts it with Asura adevah (Asura who are not deva). Each Asura and Deva emerges from the same father (Prajapati), share the same residence (Loka), eat together the same food and drinks (Soma), and have innate potential, knowledge and special powers in Hindu mythology; the only thing that distinguishes "Asura who become Deva" from "Asura who remain Asura" is intent, action and choices they make in their mythic lives.

"Asura who remain Asura" share the character of powerful beings obsessed with their craving for ill-gotten Soma, and for wealth, ego, anger, unprincipled nature, force, and violence.

The hostility between the two groups is the source of extensive legends, tales, and literature in Hinduism; however, many texts discuss their hostility in neutral terms – without explicit moral connotations or condemnation.

In Buddhist mythology, while all the gods of the Kāmadhātu are subject to passions to some degree, the Asura above all are addicted to them, especially wrath, pride, envy, insincerity, falseness, boasting, and bellicosity. The Asura are said to experience a much more pleasurable life than humans, but they are plagued by envy for the deva, whom they can see just as animals perceive humans.

Symbolism

Edelmann and other scholars state that the dualistic concept of Asura and Deva in Hinduism is a form of symbolism found throughout its ancient and medieval literature. In the Upanishads, for example, deva and Asura go to Prajāpati to understand what is Self (Atman, soul) and how to realize it. The first answer that Prajāpati gives is simplistic, which the Asura accept and leave with, but the deva led by Indra do not accept and question because Indra finds that he hasn't grasped its full significance and the given answer has inconsistencies.

The god (Deva) and antigod (Asura), states Edelmann, are also symbolically the contradictory forces that motivate each individual and people, and thus Deva-Asura dichotomy is a spiritual concept rather than mere genealogical category or species of being.

Asuri

Asuri is the feminine of an adjective from asura and in later texts means 'belonging to or having to do with demons and spirits'. Asuri parallels Asura in being "powerful beings", and in early Vedic texts includes all goddesses. The term Asuri also means a Rakshasi in Indian texts.

In Book 7, Asuri is a powerful female with the special knowledge of herbs, who uses that knowledge to seduce Deva Indra in Atharva Veda. A hymn invokes this special power in Asuri, and this hymn is stipulated for a woman as a charm to win over the lover she wants.

Similarly, in the Atharva Veda, all sorts of medical remedies and charms are projected as Asuri manifested in plants and animals.

Buddhism

thumb|Asura at Kofukuji, a Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan|258x258px

Asura (; ; ) are a type of supernatural beings (antigods, demigods, or titans) in traditional Buddhist cosmology and a realm of rebirth based on one's karma in current or past lives. They are described in Buddhist texts as creatures who live in lower levels of mount Sumeru, obsessed with sensuous aspects of existence, living with jealousy, and endlessly engaged in wars against the creatures who are deva (gods).

Asura realm

The asura realm is one of the realms in which one can be reborn as a result of experiencing the fruits of wholesome karma, while engaging in unwholesome karma. Generally, the desire realm is recognized as consisting of five realms and the realm of the Asura tends to be included among the deva realms, but the addition of the Asura in the six-world bhavacakra was created in Tibet at the authority of Je Tsongkhapa.

Deva-Asura War

The Asura were dispossessed of their state in Trāyastriṃśa because they became drunk and were thrown down Mount Sumeru by the bodhisatta, as mentioned in Jatakas. This led to ever lasting war between the deva of Tavatimsa and Asura.

Asurendra

In Buddhism, the leaders of the Asura are called asurendra (Pāli: Asurinda, 阿修羅王; lit. "Asura-lord"). There are several of these, as the Asura are broken into different tribes or factions. In Pali texts, names that are found include Vepacitti, Rāhu (Verocana), Pahārāda, Sambara, Bali, Sucitti, and Namucī. According to the Lotus Sutra, the four leaders of the Asura took refuge in the Buddha after hearing his sermon.

See also

  • Ahura
  • Ashur
  • Aswang
  • Sooranporu
  • List of Asuras
  • Daityas
  • Danavas
  • Kalakeyas
  • Nivātakavacas

References

  • The Basic Concept of Vedic Religion, FBJ Kuiper, History of Religions, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Nov., 1975), pages 107-120
  • The Creation Myth of the Rig Veda, W Norman Brown, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 62, No. 2 (June, 1942), pages 85–98
  • Asura Varuna, RN Dandekar, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 21, No. 3/4 (1939–40), pages 157-191
  • The Vedic Gods of Japan, S Kak (2004), (a discussion of Asura in Japanese mythology)