IN the Purānas and other of the later writings of the Hindus, and also in the popular mind, the asuras are powerful evil beings; in translations the word is represented by such terms as demons, giants, etc. As the suras were the gods, the asuras were not-gods, and therefore the enemies or opponents of the gods. In the Vedas the name asura is applied more frequently to the gods themselves than to their enemies, whilst it is also used very much in the same manner as in the later writings. In the Rig-Veda, Varuna is accosted as follows: “King Varuna has made a highway for the sun to go over. O thou wise asura and king, loosen our sins!” Again: “The all-knowing asura established the heavens, and fixed the limits of the earth. He sat as the supreme ruler of all worlds. These are the works of Varuna.” “Asura stands for the Supreme Spirit,” in another verse, and “also as an appellative for Prajāpati or creation’s lord.” Again and again Varuna alone, and also in conjunction with Mitra, is called an asura. “All the Vedic gods have shared the same title, not excepting even goddesses.” “Varuna was the all-knowing asura, Prajāpati the Supreme Being; Indra, the Maruts, Tvastri, Mitra, Rudra, Agni, Vāyu, Pushan, Savitri, Parjanya, the sacrificial priests, were all asuras. In fine, Deva (god) and asura were synonymous expressions in a multitude of texts.”
On the other hand, in the Rig-Veda, Indra is the destroyer of asuras. “The same Veda which speaks of the asuras as celestial beings supplies its readers also with the Mantras, by means of which devas overcame asuras. The texts which are condemnatory of the suras as impure and ungodly are far less in number than those which recognize the term as applicable to gods and priests.” Dr. Banerjea, in the most interesting and ingenious article from which the above extracts are made, suggests a means of reconciling these contradictory uses of the word “asura.” Before the Indo-Aryans arrived in India, they had lived in close proximity to the Persians, the original worshippers of fire. “What could be more natural,” he asks, “than that the Asura-Pracheta, or Asura-Viswaveda of the one branch, was but the translation of the Ahura-Mazda (the Wise Lord, according to the ‘Zend-Avesta’) of the other branch; and that the word ‘Ahura,’ which the one used in a divine sense, would become a household word in the other branch, in the same sense?” the word “Ahura” being changed into “Asura,” in a way common to many other words. He then goes on to say, that as “Assur” was the term used in Assyria for the Supreme Lord, and the Assyrians were for some time the rulers of the Persians, it was natural that this word should find its way into Persia; the only change being this, that the Persians added Mazda (wise or good) to the term “Assur,” and the Indo-Aryans received it from them. So much for the good use of the term “Asura.”
But the word “Assur” was not only used for the Supreme Lord, it also represented the Assyrian nation, his worshippers, who were most cruel in their treatment of their foes; and as, later on, the bitterest hatred is known to have existed between the Indo-Aryans and the Persians, the followers of Ahura- Mazda, Dr. Banerjea concludes that owing to the cruelties perpetrated by the Assyrians on the one hand, and the hatred cherished towards them by the Persians on the other, the branch of the Aryan family that migrated into India brought with them very bitter feelings towards Assur (the Assyrian people) and Ahuri (the belongings of Ahura); and thus the term “Asura,” which at one time was considered a becoming epithet for the Supreme Being, became descriptive only of those who were the enemies of the gods. In order to afford sanction for this altered sense of a word, a new derivation has been given to it. The word was originally derived from the root as, through asu, “breath,” and means a spirit, or “the Great Spirit.” Now, however, it is explained to be simply a compound of a privative, and sura, “god,” meaning a non-god: therefore a demon.
Whatever be the cause of it, there is no doubt that at the present day, and throughout the later writings of the Hindus, the term “asura” is used only for the enemies of the gods. In the “Taittirya Sanhita” we read “that the gods and asuras contended together, and that the former, being less numerous than the latter, took some bricks, and placing them in a proper position to receive the sacrificial fire, with the formula, Thou art a multiplier,’ they became numerous.” In the “Satapatha Brāhmana” it is said that “the gods and asuras, both descendants of Prajāpati, obtained their father’s inheritance, truth and falsehood. The gods, abandoning falsehood, adopted truth; the asuras, abandoning truth, adopted falsehood. Speaking truth exclusively, the gods became weaker, but in the end became prosperous; the asuras, speaking falsehood exclusively, became rich, but in the end succumbed.” The gods tried to sacrifice, but though interrupted at first by the asuras, at length succeeded, and so became superior to their foes. Another legend in the same book teaches that the asuras, when offering sacrifices, placed the oblations in their own mouths, whilst the gods gave their oblations to each other; at length Prajāpati giving himself to them, the sacrifices, which supply the gods with food, were henceforth enjoyed by them.
Although there were frequent wars between the gods and asuras, the suras were not averse to receive the aid of their foes at the churning of the ocean; and some of them were not inferior in power and skill to the gods. Bāli, one of their number, is worshipped by the Hindus on their birthday; and Jalandhara conquered in battle even Vishnu himself; Indra and the other gods fled before him, and Siva, unaided, could not destroy him. Rāhu is an asura, and it was to destroy some of these mighty beings who distressed the gods, that Durgā and Kāli had to put forth their strength. In the constant wars between these rivals, Sukra, the preceptor of the asuras, was frequently called to resuscitate the fallen.
