Asura

> Asuras are a group of gods from Hinduism known for representing moral or social aspects of life, in contract to the Devas, their rivals, who represent natural phenomena. And despite their antagonistic depictions in Hindu myths, they aren't evil, per say, but rather they are more emotional and/or desire-driven than the Devas. It's not a bad thing, just isn't what the people would worship or revere at the times, so they seemlessly fall into the [Villain] spot for the Devas to defeat and gain fame, glory, and more reverence from mortal devotees.
>
> Matt Wright.

The **Asura** are one of the major groups of deity from Indian and Vedic cultures.

## Overview

The Asura are very prominent group of gods that originate from the pre vedic religions. Asuras watch over the conversational and social aspects of the world which is in contrast to their counterparts the Devas who preside over the natural forces of the world.

The Devas and Asura are well known for their rivalry, though in modern times their loathing of one another has died down to a simple rivalry. Despite their seemingly mutual distain for each other they both originate from the same source, as they both originate from the Asura.

The Asura themselves are not inherently evil, but because they are the embodiment of emotion they tend to be more hedenistic, being more likely to fall into evil gluttony. Because of this the Asura have been split into two groups; the Adityas and the Danavas. The good Adityas are led by Virochana, while the evil Danavas are led by Vritra.

## History

After the Universe had been created by the Trimurti the Asura had been born to bring order to the world. The original Asura commanded the very powers of the universe, from the elements of nature to the very emotions mortals express. However a schism formed in the ranks of the Asura, the Asura who presided over the natural world split from the emotional asura creating the Devas and the Asura. The Asura led by Vritra grew enraged by the Devas seeming disgust of them, declared war on the Devas.

The war was long and brutal, blood of both Devas and Asura was spilled with the land itself being torn apart by their many battles. As the war waged on Vritra's demonic and hate filled nature was revealed more and more to the forces of the Asura, leading to many of the Asura losing the will to fight. Among these disenfranchised Asura was Virochana who organized a rebellion against the tyrannical Vritra.

During the final battle between the Asura and the Devas the newly christened rebellion defected and aided the Devas in the fight against Vritra. Angry Vritra took the form of a enormous snake whose body was so large that it blocked the flow of rivers across the world, causing a massive drought. Eventually Vritra was slain by the Deva Indra, leading to the end of the war.

Virochana took control of the remaining forces of the Asura and surrendered to the Devas as a sign of peace. However the evil Asura loyal to Vritra fled to Hell, becoming the first Rakshasa.

## Myths and Legends

The Asura's influence among the Indian religious landscape is immense, as it has spread across many separate religions. But originally the Asura were theorized to be a mutation of the Ahura of Zoroastrianism, as every god in the early Vedic religion was called an Asura. At some point however the Asura became more associated with human emotion and desire, officially forming the split between the devas and the Asura. The Asura eventually became known for the abuse of excess and desire, leading to them being thought of as evil.