Editing Rakshasa (section)

==Hinduism==
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=== In Puranas ===
Brahmā, in a form composed of the quality of foulness,  produced hunger, of whom anger was born: and the god put forth in darkness beings emaciate with hunger, of hideous aspects, and with long beards. Those beings hastened to the deity. Such of them as exclaimed, “Oh preserve us!” were thence called Rākṣasas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/vishnu-purana-wilson/d/doc115940.html#note-t-58613|title= The Vishnu Purana, Book 1:Chapter 8|date= 30 August 2014|publisher= Wisdom Library}}</ref> Those created beings, overwhelmed by hunger, attempted to seize the waters. Those among them who said, “we shall protect these waters”, are remembered as Rākṣasas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-brahmanda-purana/d/doc243216.html#note-t-125541|title= The Brahmanda Purana, Section 2: Chapter 8|date= 18 April 2019|publisher= Wisdom Library}}</ref>

===Description===
Rakshasas were most often depicted as shape-shifting, fierce-looking, enormous, monstrous-looking creatures, with two [[fang]]s protruding from the top of the mouth and having sharp, claw-like fingernails. They were shown as being mean, growling beasts, and as insatiable [[Man-eating animal|man-eaters]] that could smell the scent of human flesh. Some of the more ferocious ones were shown with flaming red eyes and hair, drinking [[blood]] with their cupped hands or from human skulls (similar to representations of [[vampires]] in later Western mythology). Generally, they could fly, vanish, and had ''[[Maya (religion)|maya]]'' (magical powers of illusion), which enabled them to change size at will and assume the form of any creature. <ref>{{cite book |last=Gopal |first=Madan |url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada |title=India through the Ages |publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India |year=1990 |editor=K.S. Gautam |page=}}</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=December 2024}}

=== In Hindu epics ===
In the world of the [[Ramayana]] and [[Mahabharata]], Rakshasas were a populous race. There were both good and evil rakshasas, and as warriors, they fought alongside the armies of both good and evil. They were powerful warriors, expert magicians and illusionists. As shape-changers, they could assume different physical forms. As illusionists, they were capable of creating appearances which were real to those who believed in them or who failed to dispel them. Some of the rakshasas were said to be man-eaters and made their gleeful appearance when the slaughter on a battlefield was at its worst. Occasionally, they served as rank-and-file soldiers in the service of one or another warlord.

Aside from their treatment of unnamed rank-and-file Rakshasas, the epics tell the stories of certain members of these beings who rose to prominence, sometimes as heroes but more often as villains.

[[Romila Thapar|Thapar]] suggests that the Rakshasas could represent exaggerated, supernatural depictions of demonized forest-dwellers who were outside the caste society.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romila|title=Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300|publisher=University of California Press|year=2002|isbn=0-520-23899-0|location=Berkeley, Los Angeles|pages=55–56|language=en}}</ref>

==== In the ''Rāmāyaṇa'' ====
In books 3-6 of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'', the rākṣasas are the main antagonists of the narrative. The protagonist Rāma slays many rākṣasas throughout the epic, including [[Tataka|Tāṭakā]], [[Maricha|Mārīca]], and [[Rāvaṇa]].<ref name=":1" /> In the epic, the rākṣasas are portrayed as mainly demonic beings who are aggressive and sexual. They can assume any form they wish, which Rāvaṇa uses to good effect to trick and kidnap Sītā, Rāma's wife, which drives the rest of the narrative. The rākṣasas reside in the forests south of the Gangetic plain and in the island fortress of [[Laṅkā]], both far away from the lands of [[Kosala]] and the home of Rāma. In Laṅkā, the capital of Rāvaṇa, the rākṣasas live in a complex society comparable to the humans of [[Ayodhya (Ramayana)|Ayodhyā]], where some rākṣasas, such as [[Vibhishana|Vibhīṣaṇa]] are moral beings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pollock |first=Sheldon I. |title=The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India, Volume III: Araṇyakāṇda |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1991 |editor-last=Goldman |editor-first=Robert P. |pages=68–84 |chapter=Rākṣasas and Others}}</ref>
[[File:Ravana British Museum.jpg|thumbnail|upright|[[Ravana]] the king of [[Lanka]] with ten heads, was the commander of Rakshasas.]]

====In the ''Mahabharata''====
The ''[[Mahabharata]]'' describes several encounters between the [[Pandava]], [[Bhima]] and Rakshasas.
* Bhima killed [[Hidimba]], a Rakshasa described as strong and cannibalistic.<ref>Mahabharata, Book I: Adi Parva, Section 154</ref> When Hidimba saw the Pandavas sleeping in his forest, he decided to eat them. He sent his sister [[Hidimbi]] to assess the situation. She fell in love with Bhima and warned him of the danger. Hidimba confronted Bhima and was subsequently killed.
* [[Ghatotkacha]], a Rakshasa who fought on the side of the Pandavas, was the son of Bhima and the Rakshasi Hidimbi, who had fallen in love with the hero and warned him of danger from her brother. Bhima killed the evil Rakshasa Hidimba. Their son's name refers to his round bald head; ''ghata'' means 'pot' and ''utkacha'' means 'head' in [[Sanskrit]]. Ghatotkacha is considered a loyal and humble figure. He and his followers were available to his father Bhima at any time; all Bhima had to do was to think of him, and he would appear. Like his father, Ghatotkacha primarily fought with the [[Gada (mace)|mace]]. His wife was [[Ahilawati]] and his sons were [[Anjanaparvana]], [[Barbarika]], and Meghavarna.

In the ''Mahabharata,'' Ghatotkacha was summoned by Bhima to fight on the Pandava side in the [[Kurukshetra War]]. Invoking his magical powers, he wrought great havoc on the Kaurava army. In particular, after the death of [[Jayadratha]], when the battle continued past sunset, his powers were at their most effective (at night). After performing many heroic deeds on the battlefield and fighting numerous duels with other great warriors (including the Rakshasa Alamvusha, the elephant-riding King [[Bhagadatta]], and [[Ashwatthama|Aswatthaman]], the son of [[Drona]]), Ghatotkacha encountered the human hero [[Karna]]. At this point in the battle, the Kaurava leader [[Duryodhana]] had appealed to his best fighter, [[Karna]], to kill Ghatotkacha, as the entire Kaurava army was near annihilation due to his ceaseless strikes from the air. Karna possessed a divine weapon, [[Shakti]], granted by the god Indra. It could be used only once and Karna had been saving it to use on his arch-enemy [[Arjuna]], the best Pandava fighter. Unable to refuse Duryodhana, Karna used the Shakti against Ghatotkacha, killing him. This is considered to be the turning point of the war. After his death, the Pandava counselor [[Krishna]] smiled, as he considered the Pandava prince Arjuna to be saved from certain death, as Karna had used the ''Shakta'' divine weapon. A temple in [[Manali, Himachal Pradesh|Manali]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], honors Ghatotkacha; it is located near the [[Hidimba Devi Temple]].
*[[Bakasura]] was a cannibalistic forest-dwelling Rakshasa who terrorized the nearby human population by forcing them to take turns making him regular deliveries of food, including human victims. The Pandavas travelled into the area and took up residence with a local [[Brahmin]] family. Their turn came when they had to make a delivery to Bakasura, and they debated who among them should be sacrificed. The rugged Bhima volunteered to take care of the matter. Bhima went into the forest with the food delivery (consuming it on the way to annoy Bakasura). He engaged Bakasura in a ferocious wrestling match and broke his back. The human townspeople were amazed and grateful. The local Rakshasas begged for mercy, which Bhima granted them on the condition that they give up cannibalism. The Rakshasas agreed and soon acquired a reputation for being peaceful towards humans.<ref>Mahabharata, Book I: Adi Parva, Sections 159-166.)</ref>
*[[Kirmira]], the brother of Bakasura, was a cannibal and master illusionist. He haunted the wood of Kamyaka, dining on human travellers. Like his brother before him, Kirmira also made the mistake of fighting the Pandav hero Bhima, who killed him with his bare hands.<ref>Mahabharata, Book III: Varna Parva, Section 11</ref>
*[[Jatasura]] was a cunning Rakshasa who, disguised as a [[Brahmin]], attempted to steal the Pandavas' weapons and to ravish [[Draupadi]], wife of the five Pandavas. Bhima arrived in time to intervene and killed Jatasur in a duel.<ref>Mahabharata, Book III: Varna Parva, Section 156</ref>  Jatasur's son was Alamvush, who fought on the side of the [[Kaurava]]s at [[Kurukshetra]].

Rakshasa heroes fought on both sides in the Kurukshetra war.
* Alamvusha was a Rakshasa skilled at fighting with both conventional weapons and the powers of illusion. According to the ''Mahabharata'', he fought on the side of the Kauravas. [[Arjuna]] defeated him in a duel,<ref>Mahabharata, Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 167</ref> as did Arjuna's son [[Abhimanyu]].<ref>Mahabharata, Book VI: Bhishma Parva, Section 101–102</ref> But Alamvusha in turn killed [[Iravan]], Arjuna's son by a [[Nāga]] princess [[Ulupi]], when the Rakshasa used his powers of illusion to take on the form of [[Garuda]].<ref name="xci">{{cite book|last =Ganguli| title=The Mahabharata Book 6: Bhishma Parva | chapter=Section XCI |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/m06091.htm#fr_438|year =1883–1896|access-date=7 May 2010}}</ref> Alamvusha was also defeated by Bhima.<ref>Mahabharata, Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 107</ref> He was slain by Bhima's son, the Rakshasa Ghatotkacha.<ref>Mahabharata, Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 108</ref>