Now, a dictionary of demons!

NEW DELHI: Intersted in knowing about the grandfather of the demon King Ravana? Or may be his children?

Ravana, the archetypical 'Rakshasa,' was a gentleman yet ogre and son of a Brahmin, a great scholar of Sanskrit and devout worshipper of Shiva and if author Nandita Krishna, a Chennai-based historian and environmentalist is to be believed, Rama and Ravana did exist.
   
"The story 'Ramayana' is graphically very correct besides which there are any number of local traditions and temples all along Rama's route.It is unlikely that 3000 years ago somebody could have traveled around the country inventing localtraditions regarding Rama's visit," Krishna says in her book 'The Book of Demons, Including a dictionary of demons and Sanskrit Literature.' "The discovery of a man-made shoal bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka is also significant," the author says.

Sri Lanka also has local traditions such as the cave at Ravana Ella falls where Ravana is believed to have hidden Sita from and the garden of Asoka trees where Ravana once kept Sita prisoner. There is a record in an early issue of the Bellary District Gazetteer of a Vanara tribe in the region, she says.

From the Rig Veda to myriad of folk narratives, the belief in demons prevails all over India, says Krishna, who is also Director of C.P.Ramaswami Institute of Indological Research, Chennai. "Male or female, human, animal, plant or simply a concept, demons play a pivotal role in the country's mythical traditions" she says.
   
The author thus tells about Gajamukha, the elephant-faced demon who was transformed into a mouse by Ganesha and then converted into his vehicle.
  
Most Indian myths are based on the conflict between good and evil: Indra versus Vritra, Rama versus Ravana, Krishna versus Kamsa, Buddha versus Ma ra and so on. Barely is one demon killed and defeated or relegated to hell than another pops up, often a new incarnation of the previous one,she says.
 
The demons often become negative role models to teach the consequences of evil actions and of neglect or repudiation of rituals.
 
Many castes and tribes are distinguished by their worship and propitiation of demons which may even exceed their reverence for the gods, the book says.
  
The role of mythology has to be understood to apply it to a complex phenomenon such as the clash between gods and demons or between people and demons. Mythology is an essential medium for transmission of information about heroes and demons.

It becomes a study of society where natural phenomena are explained and classified according to the principles that prevail in the social organization, the author says.
  
Sanskrit literature is full of powerful demons who play an important role in shaping events. Some like Ravanaa of Ramayana and Kamsa of the Mahabharata, are essential to the story.

Without them, there would be no hero. Others like Vritra, the demon of drought, represent destructive powers of nature, which are constantly threatening the gods and the survival of man.
  
Even Kama, worshipped as Kamadeva, the god of love and desire, is sometimes demonized to represent an evil within that must be conquered by the worthy individual, the book says.
  
Many cities carry names of demon rulers. 'Arbuda' is the original name of Mount Abu in Rajasthan and of the people who lived in that region. It is named after a serpent demon of the same name killed by Indra.
  
The original name of Badami in Karnataka was Vatapi, named after its demon ruler while the present day Thanjavur is named after the demon Thanjan and Mysore after demon Mahisha.
 
Madhuvana or Mathura is the grove of Madhu, a famous demon who, along with his brother Kaitabha, was killed by Vishnu. After Madhu's death his son Lavana was killed by Shatrughna, brother of Rama who rebuilt the city and renamed it Mathura, the author says.
  
The author also says that towns are not the only geographic spaces named after ancient demons. Rivers such as the Prabhavati (modern Gandaki) are also named after demons. Plants such the Tulsi, Neem and Banyan were also once identified as demons. "The demons of India, thus have left an imprint on every aspect of life," she says.
 
The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are extremely important in any study of demons. The demons come alive, becoming flesh and blood characters, with hopes and desires, happiness and sorrow, she says.
 
The epics trace the genealogies for several demon families. A well established line is that of King Bali descended from Hiranyakashipu.

Bali is a celebrated former ruler in Kerala where he annually visits his subjects in a harvest ritual of thanks giving. Bali is identified there with the harvest. "Thus demons can be good, for they are part of our lives," the author says.

The Ramayana is a major source book about demons who play a major role in the epic, the book says. In Maharashtra, the demon Mahshoba who was killed by Parvati is held in high esteem and venerated by the cultivators. Fowl and goats are sacrificed to Mahsoba, the author says.

Demons can prevent good health if certain precautions are not observed. Children in Tamilnadu are taught that evil spirits will enter the body through the feet and harm them if they do not wash their feet.

A chronic or recurring illness is described as a captivation by an evil spirit. Diseases and illnesses are also attributed to demons. Devil dances and magical incarnations are popular all over the country, the author says.

The dictionary of demons in Sanskrit literature that forms part of the book gives a list of demons in alphabetical order beginning with Abhimana, the demon of egoistic pride who was conquered by Ganesha and ending with Yupaksha who was Ravana's general. (About the book: 'The Book of Demons Including Dictionary of Demons in Sanskrit Literature', by Nanditha Krishna, Penguin Books, pages 268, price Rs.325)