Rakshasa
Rakshasa (, IAST: : Pali: "rakkhaso"), while female rakshasa are known as a rakshasi, is a descriptor of anthropophagic beings found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Rakshasas are also called "man-eaters" ("nri-chakshas", "kravyads"). The term is also used to describe Asuras who seek power and that lack divinity. They are often depicted as antagonists in Dharmic religious scriptures. Hinduism. In Vedas. The Hymn 87 of the tenth mandala of the "Rigveda" mentions about Rakshasas. They are classified amongst the "Yatudhanas", mythological beings that consume raw flesh. In Puranas. Brahmā, in a form composed of the quality of foulness, was  produced hunger, of whom anger was born: and the god put forth in darkness beings emaciate with hunger, of hideous aspects, and with long beards. Those beings hastened to the deity. Such of them as exclaimed, Oh preserve us! were thence called Rākṣasas.Those created beings, overwhelmed by hunger, attempted to seize the waters. Those among them who said—“we shall protect these waters”, are remembered as Rākṣasas. Description. Rakshasas were most often depicted as shape-shifting, fierce-looking, enormous monstrous-looking creatures, with two fangs protruding from the top of the mouth and having sharp, claw-like fingernails. They were  shown as being mean, growling beasts, and as insatiable man-eaters that could smell the scent of human flesh. Some of the more ferocious ones were shown with flaming red eyes and hair, drinking blood with their cupped hands or from human skulls (similar to representations of vampires in later Western mythology). Generally they could fly, vanish, and had "maya" (magical powers of illusion), which enabled them to change size at will and assume the form of any creature. The female equivalent of rakshasa is rakshasi. In Hindu epics. In the world of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Rakshasas were a  populous race. There were both good and evil rakshasas, and as warriors they fought alongside the armies of both good and evil. They were powerful warriors, expert magicians and illusionists. As shape-changers, they could assume different physical forms. As illusionists, they were capable of creating appearances which were real to those who believed in them or who failed to dispel them. Some of the rakshasas were said to be man-eaters, and made their gleeful appearance when the slaughter on a battlefield was at its worst. Occasionally they served as rank-and-file soldiers in the service of one  or another warlord. Aside from their treatment of unnamed rank-and-file Rakshasas, the epics tell the stories of certain of these beings who rose to prominence, sometimes as heroes but more often as villains. Thapar suggests that the Rakshasas could represent exaggerated, supernatural depictions of demonized forest-dwellers who were outside the caste society. In the "Ramayana". The Battle of Lanka pitted an army of Rakshasas under Ravana against an army of Vanaras, under Rama and Sugriva. Other Rakshasas that are featured in the Ramayana include Indrajit, Shurpanakha, Kaikashi, Sumali, Kabandha, Tataka (sometimes called Taraka), Maricha, Subahu, Khara, Akshayakumara , Atikaya, Prahasta, Jambumali etc. In the Mahabharata. The Pandava hero Bhima was the nemesis of forest-dwelling Rakshasas who dined on human travellers and terrorized human settlements. In the "Mahabharata," Ghatotkacha was summoned by Bhima to fight on the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War. Invoking his magical powers, he wrought great havoc in the Kaurava army. In particular, after the death of Jayadratha, when the battle continued on past sunset, his powers were at their most effective (at night). After performing many heroic deeds on the battlefield and fighting numerous duels with other great warriors (including the Rakshasa Alamvusha , the elephant-riding King Bhagadatta, and Aswatthaman, the son of Drona), Ghatotkacha encountered the human hero Karna. At this point in the battle, the Kaurava leader Duryodhana had appealed to his best fighter, Karna, to kill Ghatotkacha, as the entire Kaurava army was near annihilation due to his ceaseless strikes from the air. Karna possessed a divine weapon, Shakti, granted by the god Indra. It could be used only once and Karna had been saving it to use on his arch-enemy Arjuna, the best Pandava fighter. Unable to refuse Duryodhana, Karna used the Shakti against Ghatotkacha, killing him. This  is considered to be the turning point of the war. After his death, the Pandava counselor Krishna smiled, as he considered the Pandava prince Arjuna to be saved from certain death, as Karna had used the "Shakta" divine weapon. A temple in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, honors Ghatotkacha; it is located near the Hidimba Devi Temple. Rakshasa heroes fought on both sides in the Kurukshetra war. Buddhism. Many Rakshasas appear in various Buddhist Scriptures. In Chinese tradition rakshasa are known as "luocha" (/). In Japan, they are known as "rasetsu" (). Chapter 26 of the Lotus Sutra includes a dialogue between the Buddha  and a group of rakshasa daughters, who swear to uphold and protect the Lotus Sutra. They also teach magical dhāraṇīs to protect followers who also uphold the sutra. Five rakshasha are part of Mahakala's retinue. They are Kala and Kali, husband and wife, and their offspring Putra, Bhatri and Bharya. The Lankavatara Sutra mentions the island of Sri Lanka as land of Rakshasas. Their king is the Rakshasa called Ravana, who invites Buddha to Sri Lanka for delivering the sermon in the land. There are other Rakhasas from the land, such as Wibisana, who is believed to be the  brother of Ravana in Sri Lankan Buddhist mythology. In "The Lotus-Born: The Life Story of Padmasambhava, recorded by Yeshe Tsogyal," Padmasambhava receives the nickname of "Rakshasa" during one of his wrathful conquests to subdue Buddhist heretics. Jainism. Jain accounts vary from the Hindu accounts of Rakshasa. According to Jain literature, Rakshasa was a kingdom of civilized and vegetarian people belonging to the race of Vidyadhara, who were devotees of Tirthankara. Artistic and folkloric depictions. The artists of Angkor in Cambodia frequently depicted Ravana in stone sculpture and bas-relief. The "Nāga bridge" at the entrance to the 12th-century  city of Angkor Thom is lined with large stone statues of Devas and Asuras engaged in churning the Ocean of Milk. The ten-headed Ravana is shown anchoring the line of Asuras. A bas-relief at the 12th-century temple of Angkor Wat depicts the figures churning the ocean. It includes Ravana anchoring the line of Asuras that are pulling on the serpent's head. Scholars have speculated that one of the figures in the line of Devas is Ravana's brother Vibhishana. They pull on a serpent's tail to churn the Ocean of Milk. Another bas-relief at  Angkor Wat shows a 20-armed Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa. The artists of Angkor also depicted the Battle of Lanka between the Rakshasas under the command of Ravana and the Vanaras or monkeys under the command of Rama and Sugriva. The 12th-century Angkor Wat contains a dramatic bas-relief of the Battle of Lanka between Ravana's Rakshasas and Rama's monkeys. Ravana is depicted with ten heads and twenty arms, mounted on a chariot drawn by creatures that appear to be a mixture of horse, lion, and bird. Vibhishana is shown standing behind and aligned with Rama and  his brother Lakshmana. Kumbhakarna, mounted on a similar chariot, is shown fighting Sugriva. This battle is also depicted in a less refined bas-relief at the 12th-century temple of Preah Khan. In fiction. The Rakshasas are also magical creatures in the tabletop roleplay game "Gandariah Lords of Arcanas", dominated by the jinn and organized in ashrams around a daimyo. Rakshasa have long been a race of villains in the "Dungeons & Dragons" role-playing game. They appear as animal-headed humanoids (generally with tiger or monkey heads) with their hands inverted (palms of its hands are where the backs of  the hands would be on a human). They are masters of necromancy, enchantment and illusion (which they mostly use to disguise themselves) and are very hard to kill. They ravenously prey upon humans as food and dress themselves in fine clothing. This version of the rakshasa was heavily inspired by an episode of . In languages. In Indonesian and Malaysian variants of Malay which has significant Sanskrit influence, "raksasa" now means "giant", "gigantic", "huge and strong"; the Malaysian variant recognises the word as an outright official equivalent to "monster" whereas the Indonesian variant uses it more in colloquial usage. In Bengali , "rakh-khosh" (রাক্ষস) is used as term for a person who eats incessantly and without need to stop. This derivation also occurs in Malaysian and Indonesian Malay as "rakus", and in Khasi as "rakot", which means "greedy".