A Rakshasa is an evil spirit from primarily Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Also:
Rakshasi [female rakshasa],
Rakshas,
the Raksha People, Raksasa [Malaysia],
reksoso [Java],
Rakhas [Bengal],
Ratsetusen [Japan].
They are semi-divine with magical powers and shapeshifting abilities. In Hindu mythology, they are among the most troublesome and malicious beings; however, they are sometimes identified with the less-reviled yakshas -- forest or mountain demons with shapechanging powers. In Buddhist tradition, Rakshasa represent sins in humanity, particularly greed, lust, deceit, and violence.
According to mythology, they can take on any form, though there are variations of this trait in the many books, movies, shows, and games that feature Rakshasa. Traditionally, when they are not using their shapeshifting abilities, Rakshasa have (female) humanoid forms with vertical slits for eyes, matted hair, large bellies, backwards-pointing fingers, poisonous fingernails, and five feet.
"Some of them disgusted the eye, while some were beautiful to look upon. Some had long arms and frightful shapes; some were very fat and some were very lean; some were mere dwarfs and some were prodigiously tall. Some had only one eye and others only one ear. Some had monstrous bellies, hanging breasts, long projecting teeth, and crooked thighs; whilst others were exceedingly beautiful to behold and clothed in great splendour. Some had two legs, some three legs, and some four legs. Some had the heads of serpents, some the heads of donkeys, some the heads of horses, and some the heads of elephants."
~ Ramayana
The are subjects to Ravana, the demon king. Their home is in Sri Lanka, in a dwelling built by the divine architect, Visvakarma. Some stories have them living in trees or forests. There are differing ideas about their origin. Some accounts say they are the children of the Vedic goddess of death, Nirriti. In other accounts, they sprang from the foot of Brahma, or are descended from the sage Pulashya. In the
Ramayana, Brahma created them to guard the waters. It is also believed that exceptionally cruel humans may be punished after death by being turned into a Rakshasa.
They eat human flesh, even rotted or dead flesh. They haunt cemeteries and graveyards. They can possess humans through food, causing illness, insanity, or death. One can ward off a Rakshasa by calling it "uncle".
A well-known Rakshasa in mythology is Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana and an unusually kind and beautiful Rakshasa. Another is Nairitya.
In Anna Windsor's
Captive Spirit, the Rakshasa are depicted as hierarchical, mercenary cat beasts. Also called the Unrighteous. They take on limited forms: only human forms, cat-like forms, and intangible energy streams. In cat form, they resemble seven-foot biped tigers with incredible strength. They emit a strong odor of ammonia, regenerate wounds quickly, and like to eat human flesh. They are very vicious and violent creatures, even amongst themselves, that kill their victims by tearing the bodies apart with their claws. They are not shown using weapons. For all their ferocity, however, they are intelligent and organized. There are two types of Rakshasa in this book, those that were born true Rakshasa and those that were Created by existing Rakshasa. The Created are inferior in size, strength, and intelligence to true Rakshasa.
In
Magic Strikes, the third book in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, the Rakshasa are also mercenary-esque fighters, though they have a wider variety of animal forms and magical abilities. These also eat human flesh and delight hurting their victims. They are not as disciplined or organized here as they are in
Captive Spirit, though they do work effectively together in fighting groups.
A more sophisticated version is found in Roger Zelazny's
Lord of Light. In this novel, they are called rakashas instead of rakshasa. They are depicted as immortal, extraterrestrial beings of energy that can take different forms. These rakashas were once human before discovering how to transcend humanity and gain immortality, but they continue to crave human form. They are not as evil as mythology or other novels present them to be, though they are antagonistic and amoral, with a love of gambling.
See Also:
Sources and More Information: Dictionary of Ancient Deities,
The Dictionary of Mythology,
Encyclopedia for Epics of Ancient India,
I-See-Them
Related Books:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Captive Spirit (Dark Crescent Sisterhood) by Anna Windsor
The GameWorld Trilogy by Samit Basu
The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels) by Ilona Andrews
Rakshasa by Max Overton
Resurrecting Ravana (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) by Ray Garton
