Rakshasa Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Rakshasa Kingdom refers to the territory of Rakshasas who were a tribe, mentioned along with others like Devas
(including Rudras
, Maruts
, Vasus and Adityas
), Asuras (including Daityas, Danavas and Kalakeyas
), Pisachas
, Gandharvas
, Kimpurushas
, Vanara
s, Suparnas, Kinnaras
, Bhutas and Yakshas
. Rakshasa's were described to have large bodies, probably due to their continuous life in cold climates over snow covered mountains. The forefathers of the famous Rakshasa king Ravana
lived along with the Yakshas
. The Yaksha king Vaisravana
was the elder brother of Rakshasa king Ravana. Ravana had many sons among Gandharva
wives. The two epics Mahabharata
and Ramayana
and many Puranas
attest that Rakshasas, Yakshas and Gandharvas were related and had inter-marriages.
Ravana
was the most famous Rakshasa who ruled from the Trikuta mountains of Lanka where the climatic conditions were similar to Himalayas
. Many Rakshasas like Khara ruled under Ravana, at different places in ancient Indian mainland. Khara's kingdom was in south-central India, in a dense forest named Dandaka.
was a Rakshasa born of the Pandava Bhima
and the Rakshasa woman Hidimbi
. Rakshasa Ghatotkacha's kingdom was in Himalaya between Gangotri and Kailasa (3:144). Ghatotkacha and his kingdom participated in the Kurukshetra War
. That prince of Rakshasas Ghatotkacha, born of Bhima and Hidimva, and endued with ample powers of illusion, is, in my (Bhishma
's) judgment, a leader of the leaders of car-divisions (5:173). Ghatotkacha fought against other Rakshasa tribes in the side of the Kauravas. Alamvusa and Alayudha were the main Rakshasa opponents of Ghatotkacha (7:1715). Ghatotkacha's son Anjanaparvan was slain by Ashwathaman. Ghatotkacha was slain by Karna
.
Deva (Hinduism)
' is the Sanskrit word for god or deity, its related feminine term is devi. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devs are also the maintainers of...
(including Rudras
Rudras
Rudras are forms and followers of the god Rudra-Shiva and make eleven of the Thirty-three gods in the Hindu pantheon. They are at times identified with the Maruts - sons of Rudra; while at other times, considered distinct from them.-Birth and names:...
, Maruts
Maruts
In Hinduism the Marutas , also known as the Marutagana and sometimes identified with Rudras, are storm deities and sons of Rudra and Diti and attendants of Indra. The number of Maruts varies from two to sixty . They are very violent and aggressive, described as armed with golden weapons i.e...
, Vasus and Adityas
Ādityas
In Hinduism, Āditya , meaning "of or related to Aditi", refers to the offsprings of Aditi. Adityas are solar class deities. In later Hinduism, Aditya is used in the singular to mean the sun.-Vedas:...
), Asuras (including Daityas, Danavas and Kalakeyas
Kalakeyas
In Hinduism the Kalakeyas or Kalakanjas were a powerful, ferocious and cruel clan of Danavas.-Kalaka and Puloma:The Kalakeyas were the descendants of Kalaka, daughter of Vaiswanara . Vaiswanara had three other beautiful daughters...
), Pisachas
Pisacha Kingdom
Pisacha kingdom refers to the territory of Pishachas who were a group of mountain dwellers who lived in the mountains around the Kashmir Valley. These tribes were mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with other exotic tribes. The Kashmiri language is considered to be a language in the group of...
, Gandharvas
Gandharva Kingdom
Gandharva Kingdom refers to the territory inhabited by a people called the Gandharvas, who were one of the Exotic Tribes of Ancient India. They were well versed in music and dance. Gandarvas were also powerful warriors who roamed in Indian kingdoms disregarding any Indian king or Kshatriya warrior...
, Kimpurushas
Kimpurusha Kingdom
Kimpurusha Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe called Kimpurushas who were one among the Exotic Tribes of Ancient India. These exotic tribes lived in inaccessible regions like the Himalaya mountains and had limited interaction with the Vedic civilization of ancient India...
, Vanara
Vanara
Vānara popularly refers to a group of ape-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana who were brave and inquisitive by nature. They possessed supernatural powers and could change their shapes...
s, Suparnas, Kinnaras
Kinnara Kingdom
In Indian epic literature, Kinnara Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe called Kinnaras who were one among the exotic tribes, mentioned along with others like Devas , Asuras , Pisachas, Gandharvas, Kimpurushas, Vanaras, Suparnas, Rakshasas, Bhutas and Yakshas...
, Bhutas and Yakshas
Yaksha Kingdom
Yaksha Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe called Yakshas who were one of the Exotic Tribes of Ancient India. They had kinship with another similar tribe, the Rakshasas. Yaksha king Vaisravana and Rakshasa king Ravana were both sons of the sage Visrava Paulastya. Kubera is sometimes...
. Rakshasa's were described to have large bodies, probably due to their continuous life in cold climates over snow covered mountains. The forefathers of the famous Rakshasa king Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
lived along with the Yakshas
Yaksha Kingdom
Yaksha Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe called Yakshas who were one of the Exotic Tribes of Ancient India. They had kinship with another similar tribe, the Rakshasas. Yaksha king Vaisravana and Rakshasa king Ravana were both sons of the sage Visrava Paulastya. Kubera is sometimes...
. The Yaksha king Vaisravana
Kubera
Kubera , also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North , and a protector of the world His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of...
was the elder brother of Rakshasa king Ravana. Ravana had many sons among Gandharva
Gandharva
Gandharva is a name used for distinct mythological beings in Hinduism and Buddhism; it is also a term for skilled singers in Indian classical music.-In Hinduism:...
wives. The two epics Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and many Puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
attest that Rakshasas, Yakshas and Gandharvas were related and had inter-marriages.
Kingdom of Ravana
Main article Lanka KingdomRavana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
was the most famous Rakshasa who ruled from the Trikuta mountains of Lanka where the climatic conditions were similar to Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. Many Rakshasas like Khara ruled under Ravana, at different places in ancient Indian mainland. Khara's kingdom was in south-central India, in a dense forest named Dandaka.
Kingdom of Ghatotkacha
GhatotkachaGhatotkacha
Ghatotkacha , is a character in the Mahabharata, the son of Bhima and the giantess Hidimbi . His maternal parentage made him half-rakshasa and gave him many magical powers that made him an important fighter in the Kurukshetra war, the climax of the epic...
was a Rakshasa born of the Pandava Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
and the Rakshasa woman Hidimbi
Hidimbi
Hidimbi or Hidimbā, in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, is a Rakshasi. She met Bhima while he was travelling in the forest with his Pandava brothers and mother Kunti. After fleeing a burning palace at Varanavat, which was set up by their cousin Duryodhana to burn them alive; the Pandavas were wandering...
. Rakshasa Ghatotkacha's kingdom was in Himalaya between Gangotri and Kailasa (3:144). Ghatotkacha and his kingdom participated in the Kurukshetra War
Kurukshetra war
According to the Indian epic poem Mahābhārata, a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins of an Indo-Aryan kingdom called Kuru, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura resulted in the Kurukshetra War in which a number of ancient kingdoms participated as allies of...
. That prince of Rakshasas Ghatotkacha, born of Bhima and Hidimva, and endued with ample powers of illusion, is, in my (Bhishma
Bhishma
Bhishma or Bheeshma or Devavrata or 'Bhishma Pitamah' was the eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu who was blessed with wish-long life and had sworn to serve the ruling Kuru king. He was one of the most prominent characters of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He was the grand uncle of both the...
's) judgment, a leader of the leaders of car-divisions (5:173). Ghatotkacha fought against other Rakshasa tribes in the side of the Kauravas. Alamvusa and Alayudha were the main Rakshasa opponents of Ghatotkacha (7:1715). Ghatotkacha's son Anjanaparvan was slain by Ashwathaman. Ghatotkacha was slain by Karna
Karna
Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...
.
See also
- Kingdoms of Ancient IndiaKingdoms of Ancient IndiaEpic India is the geography of Greater India traditionally around early 10th century BC and later on from the Sanskrit epics, viz. the Mahabharata and the Ramayana as well as Puranic literature ....
- Exotic Tribes of Ancient IndiaExotic tribes of ancient IndiaThe classic Indian epics such as the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Puranas refer to many exotic tribes, describing them as superhuman or subhuman. Narrations about these tribes are often mixed with mythology and fiction...
- Lanka Kingdom
- Danda KingdomDanda KingdomDanda was a colonial state of Lanka under the reign of Ravana. Ravana's governor Khara ruled this province. It was the stronghold of all the Rakshasa tribes living in the Dandaka Forest. It is roughly the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra with Janasthana as its capital...
- Kishkindha Kingdom
- Gandharva KingdomGandharva KingdomGandharva Kingdom refers to the territory inhabited by a people called the Gandharvas, who were one of the Exotic Tribes of Ancient India. They were well versed in music and dance. Gandarvas were also powerful warriors who roamed in Indian kingdoms disregarding any Indian king or Kshatriya warrior...
- Danda KingdomDanda KingdomDanda was a colonial state of Lanka under the reign of Ravana. Ravana's governor Khara ruled this province. It was the stronghold of all the Rakshasa tribes living in the Dandaka Forest. It is roughly the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra with Janasthana as its capital...