List of Hindu Demons: Mythological Asuras, Rakshasas, and Their Divine Defeats

Unlike the Western view where evil is attributed to an external Devil created against God's will, Hinduism sees demons (asuras, rakshasas, etc.) as integral to cosmic balance—created willingly and purposefully by God. While Western theology separates God from chaos and suffering, Hindu thought accepts that both order and chaos originate from the divine.

In Hindu cosmology, chaos precedes order. Lord Brahma first created demons, followed by devas (gods), and humans much later. Devas represent forces of order, while demons symbolize chaos. The presence of demons such as Ravana, Kamsa, and Hiranyakashipu gives meaning to divine victories and is central to devotional themes celebrating gods like Rama and Krishna.

Many demons, through intense tapasya (penance), received powerful boons from Lord Brahma or Lord Shiva. Despite knowing the potential for misuse, the gods honored the sanctity of penance by granting boons—excluding immortality. This set the stage for divine interventions, often involving complex and imaginative solutions from Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, or Devi Adi Shakti to overcome these empowered beings.

The struggle between gods and demons reflects not only external cosmic events but also inner human battles. For those who see demons as symbolic, the stories illustrate how negative emotions arise, are identified, and ultimately overcome.

Sushil Srivastava's book- 'Roles of Demons and Demonology: In Hinduism & Beyond' catalogs over 430 notable demons in Hinduism, of which 55 are discussed in brief in this article, showcasing the rich mythological and moral imagination within the Hindu tradition.

1. Adi

He was the son of the demon Andhaka. After the defeat and near annihilation of his father Andhaka, Adi, resolved to take revenge by killing Shiva. He did tapas and won from Brahma the boon that he would die only when he had transformed himself twice. Meanwhile, Parvati, after some dispute with Shiva, went out of Kailash, instructing the guard (Viraka or Virbhadra) not to allow any woman to enter Kailash in her absence. When Adi knew that from Narada, he went there, changed himself into a serpent to delude the guard, and went inside. Once inside, he took the form of Parvati to deceive Shiva, and he placed poisonous teeth as sharp as thunderbolts inside her vagina, for he was determined to kill Shiva. Adi, in the form of Parvati, told Shiva that she came early because she didn’t find pleasure there. Shiva got suspicious, for he knew that Parvati would not have returned without completing her tapas, and he looked closely for signs by which to recognize her. Not seeing some special sign, Shiva knew that she was not Parvati. Shiva, then, placed a thunderbolt in his phallus and wounded the demon with it, killing him, while making love.

2. Abhiravana & Makardhwaja

Ahiravan (also known as Mahiravana) was a rakshasa ruler in Patala and was an ally (brother) of Ravana. While Rama and Lakshmana were sleeping, Ahiravan secretly carried them away to Patala to sacrifice the life of the two divine brothers at the altar of his chosen deity, goddess Mahamaya. Hanuman sensed that and followed them to their rescue. At the gate of Patala, Hanuman was stopped by Makaradhwaja (a demon with part monkey and part reptile). It is said that Hanuman, after burning the whole of Lanka, jumped into the sea to cool himself. At that time, because of his body heat, a drop of his sweat fell into the mouth of a giant fish-eating reptile-like creature Makara, thus impregnating it. Thus, Makaradhwaja was born and Ahiravan raised him in Patiala. After seeing Makaradhwaja, Hanuman, from his divine power, came to know about Makaradhwaja's birth and told him. But as per duty, Hanuman defeated Makaradhwaja and tied him. Hanuman, then went to Ahiravan, killed him, and brought back Rama and Lakshmana. While going back, Hanuman declared Makaradhwaj the king of Patala Loka, as Ahiravan was dead.

3. Andhaka

Once, Parvati was in a playful mood and covered Shiva’s eyes. This caused the whole universe to become covered in darkness. The sweat that oozed out of Parvati’s hands, due to touching Shiva’s powerful third eye, fell to the ground and created a horrible-looking and blind boy. So, the boy, named Andhaka, became their child. When the demon king Hiranyaksa performed penance to please Shiva to get a child, Shiva gifted the boy to him as his son Andhaka. After Hiraṇyaksa’s death, Andhaka became the new king. He performed severe penance to Brahma and got the boons of divine vision and near immortality, except that he could be killed by Shiva, especially when Andhaka tried to possess a woman like his mother. Andhaka defeated everyone and conquered all three worlds. Later, he was informed about the world’s most beautiful woman (Parvati) sitting with a matted ascetic (Shiva) who lived on Mount Kailash. When other means to get Parvati failed, Andhaka attacked Kailash. Shiva assaulted the demon with his trident. However, whenever Andhaka’s blood fell on the ground, a copy of him appeared, (something like demon Raktabeej). Then Vishnu created several Matrika (divine mother) to drink the blood of the demon every time he was hurt and before the blood fell on the ground, preventing the spread of new demons. Finally, Shiva managed to decapitate Andhaka. Since Andhaka had chanted Shiva’s name in repentance after which he was told of his biological parentage, he was made Shiva’s Gana chief (with the name Bhringi).

4. Arunasura

Arunasura (son of Diti and Rishi Kashyap) did sever penance of Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma refused to give the boon of immortality but had to give Arunasura the boon of not meeting his end at any war, nor by any arms or weapons, nor by any man or any woman, by any biped or quadruped creature, or any combination of the two. Armed with the boon he became a very powerful demon king, concurred with Devaloka, and seized possession of all the elemental deities (Surya, Chandra, Agni, etc.). He then attacked Kailash directly. Lord Shiva and all his sons and ganas could not stop him. Then, Adi Shakti (Parvati) appeared and grew to a massive size, emanating bees from her four hands. Countless bees, hornets, wasps, flies, termites, mosquitos, and spiders appeared and crawled onto her body and clung to her, merging with her to create the divine form of Bhramari. The demon’s swords were blocked by Bhramari’s massive size, while her arms inflicted damage on the massive demon army. Then the wave of bees, hornets, wasps, flies, termites, etc. crawled all over Arunasura and ripped open each part of his body, and all his body parts were torn apart. After that, all the insects returned to Bhramari and clung to her again.

5.1 Bakasura

Bakausra lived around a forest which is nowadays known as “Gangani” located near Garhbeta town in the Indian state of West Bengal. In exchange for protecting the kingdom from invaders, he terrorized its citizens, eating them at will. The people arranged with their tormentor: They would send him large provisions of food every week, which he would consume, along with the cart-driver who delivered those. When the Pandavas and Kunti traveled to Ekachakrapura after Bhima’s wedding to Hidimbaa, they were welcomed in the house of a Brahmin family. One day, Kunti overheard the husband speak of his woe and that he would have to sacrifice himself to protect his wife and children. When Kunti knew in detail, she told them that Bhima would go with the cart to the demon and would kill the demon. The next day, Bhima carried the cartload of food to the forest, where Bakasura dwelt. The aroma of the food overpowered Bhima so much that he started to consume it. When Bakasura saw his provisions being consumed, he was enraged and rushed to attack Bhima. The two uprooted trees and hurled those at each other, and then proceeded to drag each other against the earth. Finally, Bakasura got tired, and Bhima was able to plunge his knee against the former’s spine, breaking his body into two. When Bakasura’s friends and family arrived and grew terrified by the sight, Bhima assured them that they would be safe as long as they gave up human flesh, to which they agreed. Bhima placed Bakasura’s corpse upon the cartload near the town’s gates to ensure people that the demon was dead.

5.1 Another Bakasura (Vakasura)

Vakasura was a monstrous bird (crane/stork) demon, sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna. He was the brother of Putana and Aghasura. He, in the form of a crane with a sharp beak, swooped down from the sky and swallowed Krishna, but he felt intense heat in his throat, causing him to vomit the child out. Krishna then caught Bakasura by the beak and pushed it until it snapped, causing the asura to die and attain Moksha (liberation).

6. Bali (Mahabali)

After the death of Hiranyakashipu, Prahalad was made demon king, and later he handed over the kingdom to his son Virochana. After Virochansa was killed by Indra, Bali became the demon king. With the teachings from Prahalad, Shukracharya, and a boon from Lord Brahma, Bali became a very powerful king, nearly invincible. During the Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean), he was the leader from Asura's side. He was a generous and benevolent king and treated his people with respect. Like his grandfather Prahalad, he also respected Lord Vishnu. But, because of Devas killing his father by trick and because of Asura’s desire to conquer all worlds, Bali conquered Heaven (Swarga) and Earth and drove Devas away. As Indra and other devas were away from Heaven for long and they were not able to discharge their duties properly for the people on Earth, they, along with their mother Aditi, sought the help of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu refused to kill his devotee Bali but to restore the natural order, he incarnated (by giving birth to Aditi and Rishi Kashyap) as the dwarf Brahmin avatar, Vamana. While Bali was performing the Ashvamedha Yagna (sacrifice) to celebrate his victories and was giving away gifts to everyone, Vamana approached him and requested “three steps of land”. Bali granted him this gift, despite warnings from Shukracharya, who had realized Vamana’s true identity. Vamana then transfigured into Vishnu’s colossal ‘trivikrama’ form, the first foot encompassing all of heaven, and the earth with the second footstep. When Vamana vocally asked where he might take his promised third step, Bali accepted his fate and offered his head. Vishnu, then, placed his foot on Bali’s head and banished him to Patala. He is said to be still alive (as one of the seven immortals of Hinduism), ruling the leftover Patala-Lok.  

   It is said that Lord Vishnu granted Bali a boon whereby he could return to his homeland once every year. The harvest festivals of Balipratipada and Onam are celebrated to mark his yearly homecoming. For several Hindus in Kerala and elsewhere, Bali is remembered fondly as a great and benevolent king.

7.1 Banasura (Bana)

Banasura was a thousand-armed asura king, and the son of asura king Mahabali. He ruled over a large kingdom, Sonitapura, somewhere in present-day Assam. As an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, he used his thousand arms to play the ‘mridanga’ (a type of drum) when Shiva was performing the Tandava dance. When Lord Shiva offered Bana a boon, he requested Shiva to be his city’s guardian, which, indirectly, made Bana invincible. As time passed, he became even more cruel and arrogant. One day, Bana’s daughter Usha, with the help of the Yogic power of her friend, got Aniruddha (Krishna’s grandson) abducted from Dwarka and brought him to Sonitapura. Then, the Yadus army attacked Banasura. Though knowing is on wrong side, Lord Shiva along with Kartikeya, Ganesh, and others had to fight for Bana, because of the boon to Bana. On the other side were Krishna, Balarama, and Satyaki (Chief of Yadu’s army). Shiva appealed to Krishna not to kill Bana, because of his boon. Krishna responded that he would not kill Bana, as he had given a boon to Bana’s grandfather, Prahalad, not to kill anyone in his family. Krishna cut all other arms of Bana, leaving only four. Bana realized his mistake, surrendered, and bowed his head before Krishna. Later, the marriage of Usha and Aniruddha was solemnized in Dwarka, with the blessing of all sides.  

7.2 Another Banasura (Kumari)

Another Banasura was the ruler of the land of Kanyakumari. He did tapasya and obtained a boon from Brahma that his death could only be caused by an adolescent girl. With this powerful boon, he became fearless and wreaked havoc on the entire universe and banished all the devas from their abode. Then Bhagavati (Devi Adi Parashakti) manifested herself in the southern tip of the subcontinent as Kumari (adolescent girl), to kill Banasura and restore the balance of nature. The infuriated Kumari slaughtered Banasura at once. Moments before his death, Banasura realized that the one before him was Adi Parashakti, the Goddess herself. He prayed for her to absolve him of his sins. After killing Banasura, Kumari assumed her original form of Parvati.

8. Bhandasura

After the death of Devi Sati, Lord Shiva remained in deep samadhi, detached from the Universe, even though Devi Sati was reborn as Parvati. Under the request of all devas, Kamadeva used his flower arrow to create a love feeling in Shiva. Shiva got angry for being disturbed and he burnt Kamadeva to ashes with his 3rd eye. As Ganesh was feeling lonely, he with the help of Shiva, made a boy from the ashes of Kamadeva, enlivened that, and named him Bhanda. With the blessings and boons from Shiva and Ganesh, Bhanda became an extremely powerful king, but, in the process, he became unrighteous and became Bhandasura. Fearing him and his vicious boons, the gods of the multiverse went into hiding, where they worshipped Devi Parashakti (another name for Devi Adi-Shakti) for help. Devi Parashakti incarnated as goddess Lalita and as Devi Tripura Sundari. Bhandari went on creating pralaya conditions or calling past asura kings individually or in groups to fight for him, and Ganesh used to recognize the demons and recollect their killers; then only Devi Parashakti called them to kill those demons. Finally, Devi Parashakti killed Bhandasura. But while dying, Bhandasura apologized to Devi Parashakti. So, he was liberated. 

9. Chanda & Munda

Chanda and Munda, along with Namuchi, Shumbh, and Nishumbh were brothers and grandsons (some say sons) of Rishi Kashyap with wife Danu. When the then demon kings, Shumbh and Nishumbh ordered Chanda and Munda to bring the beautiful Parvati by force, they, along with a big army, attacked the Devi. The Devi became dark/black with rage and transformed into a fierce form of Kali. Many of the demons in the army fell dead out of shock and fear. Goddess Kali then engaged in a ferocious fight with Chand and Munda. Crushing and chewing them most frightfully with her teeth, she pounded the entire demon army. Finally, Goddess Kali cut off the heads of the demons Chanda and Munda. Since then, that form of Goddess Kali is also known as Chamunda (Chamundeshwari). She is also called Chandika Kali.

10. Daruk & Daruka

Once, a demoness Daruka, in the realm of Netherworlds, did severe penance to Devi Adi Shakti (Parvati) and got a boon from Devi Shakti for the protection of herself, her husband Daruk, and their rakshasas clan and a place to live. As such, Devi Shakti created a forest, Darukavana (in present Gujarat). Empowered by the boon, they started terrorizing everyone, including Rishis around the area. Then, sage Aurva cursed them that any rakshasa who attacked them further upon the earth would perish. To save the race from extermination, Daruka moved to an island in the ocean. The forest followed with them owing to her boon. But being demonic, they started to harass people who traveled upon the boats around the island and imprisoned them. One of the prisoners, named Supriya, was a devotee of Shiva. When Daruk attempted to kill Supriya, Shiva appeared to rescue his devotee and to slay Daruk. When his wife, Daruka, prayed to Parvati for mercy, the goddess urged her consort to spare her life. Hearing her plea, Shiva allowed her and the other rakshasas to reside in the forest. Only Daruk was killed. Shiva assumed the form of a Jyotirlinga with the name Nageshvara on the site, while the goddess Parvati came to be venerated as Nageshvari.

11. Durgamasura

Demon king Durgamasura, son of demon Ruru, was very cruel. He performed penance to propitiate Brahma and got the boon that he be the sole owner of the texts and the knowledge of the Vedas. Durgama locked those in Patala, the netherworld, making them inaccessible to priests and sages on earth, who needed those to perform yajnas. This led to the extinction of such practices, which in turn led to the devas losing their power. The world descended into famine and thirst. Durgama seized the opportunity to usurp the throne of Swarga from Indra, enslaving all the devas. Since Durgama’s forefather (Prahalad) had received a boon, from Vishnu, of protection for his entire family, Trimurti were unwilling to intercede in this conflict. Hence Devi Adi Shakti was requested. The Devi descended upon earth as Shakambhari and nourished the people with vegetables and herbs. Durgama attacked the goddess with his army. The Goddess, then, taking various forms such as Bhairavi, Kali, etc., destroyed Durgama's army and killed Durgama with her arrows. The Vedas were liberated, and the order of the universe was restored.

12. Gajasura

After the death of Mahishasura, his son Gajasura (also known as Nila) wanted to take revenge. He did severe penitence (tapas) of Shiva and got a boon from him that he could emanate fire continually from his own body so that no one could ever dare to approach him. But he continued his penance and asked Shiva, “I desire that you inhabit my stomach.” Shiva agreed and went into his stomach. Parvati, not finding Shiva, approached Vishnu to find Shiva. Vishnu, from his divine power, knew where Shiva was. He transformed himself into a flutist and Nandi (the bull of Shiva) into a dancing bull and performed before Gajasura. Gajasura was so pleased that he asked the flutist, “Ask me anything you desire.” When the flutist got assurance from Gajasura, he told him to release Shiva. Gajasura understood who the flutist was. Gajasura liberated Shiva and requested him, “You have given me many boons. My last requests are that everyone should remember me adoring my head and you should wear my skin”. As such, Shiva severed Gajasura’s head, gave him moksha, and carried the head and skin along with him. Around the same time, on Mount Kailash, Parvati created a doll out of dough, gave life to that as a boy, and asked him to guard her while she was going to take a bath. Meanwhile, Shiva came, but the boy, having not seen Shiva before, didn’t allow Shiva to go inside. Shiva also had not seen the boy before. So, angrily, Shiva cut the head of the boy. When Parvati knew, she asked Shiva to give life to the boy. As anything, cut by Shiva’s Trishula, can’t be brought back, Shiva, put the elephant head of Gajasura and gave life to the boy, and named him Ganesh. Thus, he honored the wish of Gajasura.z

13. Gayasura

A demon, named Gayasura, son of demon Tripurasura, lived around Magadha (present Gaya) in Bihar in Treta Yuga. As his father was killed by Devas with the help of Shiva, he wanted to take revenge. He did severe tapas to Lord Vishnu and got a boon of near immortality except from the hands of Trimurti. Emboldened by the boon, he began committing heinous atrocities against other gods/devas, though he was not very bad with humans and allowed them to perform yagnas. When devas requested Lord Vishnu for help, Vishnu, along with a few other devas, took the form of Brahmins and asked Gayasura to perform yagna on his body. Gayasura agreed and as he stretched himself across the land, Vishnu placed his foot on the demon’s head. The weight of Vishnu’s foot was so immense that Gayasura was unable to endure it. Recognizing that he was facing a divine adversary, Gayasura surrendered and requested a final wish: that his name and the town’s name, Gaya, be forever associated with the act of offering pindas (rice balls) to deceased ancestors. Vishnu granted this request, and the land became an integral site for performing ancestor worship, known as “Pitru Tarpan”.

14. Ghatotkcha, Hidimb & Hidimbaa

Once Kunti, along with her five Pandavas reached the dense Kamyaka forest. One night, when Bhima was keeping watch and Kunti with the other four sons were sleeping, demon Hidimb, who dwelt in that area, smelled human flesh. Hidimb asked his sister Hidimbaa to find the humans, lure them, and bring them near so that he could eat them. When Hidimbaa saw Bhima, she fell in love with him. She assumed the form of a beautiful lady and approached Bhima, expressing her desire to marry him by revealing her true identity, as well as her brother’s intentions. Later Hidimb went there and saw Hidimbaa talking to Bhima. Bhima confronted Hidimb, and soon overpowered him and slew him with his hands. Later Bhima married Hidimbaa and, through her, got a son Ghatotkcha, one of the mightiest benevolent demons. In the Mahabharata War, Ghatotkcha fought from Pandava’s side. As desired by Lord Krishna, Ghatotkcha caused so much damage and havoc to Kauravas, that Duryodhana forced Karna to use his Vasavi Shakti weapon (one-time use), which Karna had, otherwise, preserved to kill Arjuna. Lord Krishna, thus, sacrificed the life of Ghatotkcha to save the life of Arjun, which was essential for the protection of greater dharma.

15. Hiranyakashipu & Hiranyaksha

Once four Rishi Kumars (Sanakadi Rishis) wanted to see Lord Vishnu, and Jaya and Vijaya prevented them, the Rishi Kumaras cursed both to be born as demons for three births. In their first births, they were born as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu sons of Rishi Kashyap and his wife Diti. Hiranyaksh (also known as the Golden-Eyed), had abducted the Earth (Bhu-devi) from her central position in Bhu-loka and imprisoned her in the lower planetary system of Rasatala (lower portion of the Cosmic Ocean known as Garbhodak). Hiranyaksh had done that to harass devas because devas took shelter in the caves of mountain ranges of Earth. As per the request of Brahma, Lord Vishnu incarnated as a huge boar (Varaha) and performed the dual task of releasing Bhu-devi from imprisonment and vanquishing the demon Hiranyaksh, and the Earth was relocated to its place. Vishnu took this form because the boar is a beast that tears up all the roots. 

      After Lord Vishnu killed Hiranyaksh, his brother Hiranyakashipu swore revenge on Lord Vishnu. To tackle the might of Vishnu, Hiranyakashipu went deep into the jungles and did severe penance of Lord Brahma. When Lord Brahma asked Hiranyakashipu for any boon except immortality, he asked that nobody could kill him day or night, and no one could kill him in heaven or on earth. Also, no can could kill him with any weapon or kill him either inside or outside his house. Lord Brahma had to grant that boon.  Meanwhile, during Hiranyakashipu's absence, Indra, with others, attacked Asura's kingdom and killed most of them. Sage Narada took Hiranyakashipu’s pregnant wife Kayadhu to his abode as his daughter, and soon, her son Prahalad was born there. By listening to the prayers and stories of Lord Vishnu from Narada, while Prahalad was in the womb and as a child after birth, Prahalad became one of the biggest devotees of Lord Vishnu. When Hiranyakashipu came back after his penance, he defeated Indra and other devas and banished them from Heaven. Then he brought Kayadhu and Prahalad to his kingdom. He was surprised to hear Prahalad sing the praises of Lord Vishnu. He tried various means for Prahalad to stop singing Vishnu’s praise, but all failed. He got so frustrated that he ordered many of his people to kill Prahalad, but all failed. Even his sister Holika, (who had a boon that fire cannot harm her) sat with Prahalad on fire, but Holika got reduced to ashes and Prahalad was unhurt. Holika’s boon did not work because it was for the wrong motive. Seeing no other alternative, Hiranyakashipu decided to kill Prahalad himself. He dragged Prahalad into the room, near a pillar, and asked Prahalad if his Lord was present on a pillar next to them. Prahalad told him that he was. In a rage, Hiranyakashipu kicked the pillar and out came a ferocious being (called Narasimha) who was half man and half lion. He held Hiranyakashipu in a vice like grip and dragged him to the threshold of the door, which was neither outside nor inside his house. He placed him on his lap, which was neither sky nor the earth, and killed him with his claws at twilight, without using any weapons. 

16. Ilvala & Vatapo

Two demon brothers, Ilvala and Vatapi troubled sage Agastya. Ilava transformed himself into a Brahmin man and transformed Vatapi into a goat. Then Ilava killed the goat, cooked his meat, and offered it to Agastya as food, with the intention that when Ilava called Vatapi, Vatapi would come out tearing the belly of Agastya. The demons had already tried this trick earlier. But the sage, from his divine power, knew their intention. As such, he ate that and digested the food. When Ilava called Vatapi, the sage said that Vatapi couldn’t come out as he had digested him. Angered, Ilava attacked the sage but was killed by the sage’s glance.

17. Jalandhar (Chalantarana)

Once, when Indra became very arrogant and egoistic, Shiva opened his 3^rd eye to finish Indra. When Indra and all gods and Vishnu requested to pardon Indra, Shiva deflected the path of the fireball of Shiva’s 3^rd eye, from Indra to the ocean. That fireball went deep into the ocean and subsequently took the form of the demon Jalandhar. As such, he was an 'Ansh' (part) of Shiva. He married Vrinda, who had a blessing from Vishnu that she would not be a widow because of her chastity. As such, Jalandhar could not be killed because of Vrinda’s boon. So, when Jalandhar was away, Vishnu created an illusion that the devas and demons had died at the hands of Shiva. Vrinda was hysterical when she heard the news. Vishnu, disguised in the form of Jalandhar, stood before her and told her that he was brought back to life. Vrinda ran and warmly embraced him. Thus, her chastity was broken and Shiva’s Trishula could kill Jalandhar. Vrinda soon realized the trick of Vishnu and cursed him that he would soon meet the same fate.

18. Jarasandha

After his son-in-law, Kamsa was killed by Krishna, Jarasandha, the king of Magadha, became very angry and attacked Mathura, 17 times to punish Krishna. But each time Krishna, eliminated Jarasandha’s army, not Jarasandha, and he went back each time. Meanwhile, to avoid frequent attacks from Jarasandha, etc., Krishna had shifted his capital to Dwarka, an Island in present Gujarat. Jarasandha was very powerful because of Lord Shiva’s earlier boon of immense power. But as he could not defeat Kamsa’s killer, he organized a big Yagna, in which he planned to sacrifice 100 kings to please Shiva to get a boon to be able to defeat Krishna. Krishna didn’t want the Yagna to be completed to avoid killing those kings. Krishna made a tactical plan. In the guise of brahmins, Krishna, along with Bhima and Arjuna, asked for a donation from Jarasandha in the form of a wrestling duel between him and Bhima. Jarasandha agreed as he was overconfident of his power. They fought for many days, but Jarasandha could not be defeated. Krishna knew the secret of Jarasandha’s weakness. Jarasandha was born in two halves, and he became alive child only when the two halves were joined. As such, he could be torn in two halves. Krishna took a blade/twig of grass, split it into two, and threw it separately. Bhima understood the hint and split Jarasandha’s body into two and threw those separately, thus slaying him.

19. Kaliya

He, as a son of Kadru and Rishi Kashyap, was a danava in the form of a venomous Naga (snake), living in the Yamuna River in Vrindavan, and was indeed causing huge problems to the locals. The water of the Yamuna was getting boiled and bubbled with the poison of this Kaliya serpent and no bird or animal could go near that river. The initial home of Kaliya was the island of Ramanaka, but he had been driven away from there in fear of Garuda (bird), the foe of all serpents, and Kalia made his home in Yamuna River in Vrindavan, as Garuda was cursed not too near Vrindavan. Once, while playing a ball game near the Yamuna, the ball went into the river. When Krishna went into the Yamuna to get the ball, Kaliya constricted him and pulled him into the Yamuna. At the bottom of the river, Kaliya had entrapped Krishna in his coils. Krishna expanded himself, forcing Kaliya to release him. Krishna immediately regained his original form and began to jump on all of Kaliya’s heads to release the poison in the snake so that he could no longer pollute the Yamuna. Kaliya and his wives asked for mercy from Krishna. Krishna pardoned Kaliya and asked him to leave the river and return to Ramanaka Island, where he promised that Kaliya would not be troubled by Garuda.

20. Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrabahu)

Kartavirya Arjuna (also known as Sahasrabahu Arjuna, because he got the boon to have a thousand arms) was the king of Haihavas kingdom. Initially, he was a righteous king, who eventually became egotistical. Drunk with his power, he became very unrighteous and began oppressing and slaying innocent Brahmins, etc. Thus, though he was not born a demon, he converted himself into a demon. He was so powerful that he defeated Lanka king Ravana and even imprisoned him. One day, while Parashuram was away, Kartavirya Arjun visited the ashrama of Sage Jamadagni along with thousands of soldiers without any notice. Irrespective of that, Jamadagni managed to give food and shelter to all his soldiers better than the king’s expectations, with the help of his divine cow ‘Surabhi’. Kartavirya Arjun, then, asked for Surabhi. As Jamadagni showed unwillingness, Kartavirya Arjun killed him and most others at the ashram and forcibly took away Surubhi. When Parashuram came to the ashram and learned about the massacre, he became very angry and ferocious, went, and killed Kartavirya Arjun, along with all his sons and others, and also released Ravana.

21. Khara & Dushana

Khara and Dushana were twin brothers and cousins of Ravana. Khara was the ruler of the Dandaka Kingdom, under Ravana. When Lakshmana cut Surpanakha’s nose, she first went to Khara. Then Khara, along with Dushana and 14 thousand demons attacked Rama. Rama eliminated fourteen thousand demons led by Dushana, then killed Dushana and his 12 captains. A fierce battle took place between Rama and Khara. Finally, Rama pierced the heart of Khara with an arrow. With the death of Khara, Rama put an end to the terror of rakshasas in Dandaka Forest. 

22. Kansa/Kamsa

Kamsa was also not a born demon, but he became a terrible demon by his actions. He, in his previous birth, was a demon called Kalanemi, who was slain by Lord Vishnu. In this birth, he was the son of Ugrasen, the then-king of Mathura. He dethroned his father and made himself the king. By marrying the two daughters of Jarasandha, another powerful king of Magadha, he became more powerful. Devaki, the sister of Kamsa, was married to Vasudeva. Later, Kamsa came to know from ‘Aakashvani’ (celestial announcement) or through an astrologer, that he would be killed by Devaki’s eighth son. So, Kamsa put Devaki and Vasudeva in prison and whenever any child was born, Kamsa immediately killed that. When Krishna, the 8th child of Devaki was born, with divine miracle and assistance, Vasudeva changed Krishna with a female child (Maya), who was born, at the same time, to Yashoda, wife of Yadava king Nanda of Gokula. When Kamsa knew of Devaki’s 8th child a girl child Maya, he went to kill her, but Maya slipped from Kamsa’s hand and flew away, telling him that his killer had already been born. Kamsa got killed most of the babies born around that time. He sent demon after demon (Putana, sakatasura, Vatsasura, Bakasura, Arishtasura, Vyomasura, and Keshi, etc.) to kill boy Krishna, but all got killed by Krishna, with the help of his elder brother Balarama. Then, Kamsa invited Krishna and Balarama to Mathura for a wrestling competition. When Krishna and Balaram reached Mathura, Kamsa tried to get both killed by various demons and demonic wrestlers. When all were eliminated by Krishna and Balarama, Krishna jumped over to Kamsa, pulled him down from his throne, and killed him by punching him with his fist. Krishna, then, re-throned Kamsa’s father, Ugrasen as king, and Krishna was made the leading prince.

23. Kumbhakarana & Ravana

The two were the second birth of the cursed Jay and Vijaya of Vaikuntha. Ravana and Kumbhakarana, along with another brother Vibhishana, and sister Shurpanakha, were the children of Rishi Vishrava and his demonic wife Kaikasi. Ravana was the eldest. Kumbhakarna developed to a gigantic size and appetite. He was born with immense strength, having subdued both Indra and Yama. Lord Brahma cursed Kumbhakarna to sleep for six months at a time and wake up for exactly one day to wreak havoc and devour his heart’s content. It is also said that once Kumbhakarna, accompanied by Ravana and Vibhishana, performed a major Yagna to please Brahma. When Kumbhakarna asked for his boon, his tongue was tied by the goddess Saraswati, who acted on Indra’s request. Instead of asking for Indraasana (the throne of Indra), he asked for Nidraasana (bed for sleeping). During the Lanka battle, when Ravana’s army was getting humiliated by Rama’s army, Kumbhakarna was sleeping. Ravana, with tremendous efforts and resources, somehow woke him up. He, first, advised Ravana to make peace with Rama as Rama is Vishnu’s avatar, but on the orders of the king and the elder brother, he joined the battle and devastated Rama’s army. Rama then cut off his one arm and damaged his other arm, but still, he charged towards Rama, opening his mouth to swallow him whole. He was killed only when the Indrastra was deployed by Rama. 

     Ravana was the king of the Lanka Kingdom, which included Danda Kingdom. Often, he is considered the tallest figure in demons of Hinduism, even though he was not the mightiest one, as he was defeated and imprisoned by Sahasrarjuna and also by monkey king Vali, who kept him under his armpit for six months. He was one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva. He was given the name Ravana by Lord Shiva. Once, when Shiva and Parvati were in Kailash, Ravana tried to uproot the whole Kailash to take that to Lanka. Lord Shiva, then, pushed his one thumb slightly and the whole mountain pressed Ravana’s hands severely and he gave a loud cry (roared) which shook the world and created chaos. He, then, prayed to Shiva for a long time. Shiva was pleased, released his hands, and gave him the name “Ravana”. He is, often, depicted as having ten heads, although sometimes he is shown with only nine heads, as he cuts one off to convince Shiva. It is not necessary that he was born with ten physical heads at the same time. There are quite a few explanations for his ten heads—

1. He is referred to as Dasamukha (ten-headed or having ten mouths) because of a necklace made of nine pearls he wore as a gift from his mother. The necklace reflected nine heads. Thus, including his head gave the illusion of ten heads, hence called Dasamukha.
2. He was called Dashanan (ten faces), which is also said as Dashagriva (ten necks) or Dashshira (ten heads) because he could do ten things at the same time (multitasking).
3. When Ravan cut his head to please Shiva, immediately a similar head emerged at the same place. This he did ten times, and Shiva gave him a boon that, whenever his head was cut a similar head would emerge and this can happen ten times.
4. Ravana’s ten heads are Ravana’s ten emotions, i.e., Kaam (lust), Krodh (anger,) Moha (delusion), Lobh (greed), Mada (pride), Matsarya (envy) or Matsara (jealousy), Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chitta (will), and Ahamkara (ego). Once, the great king Mahabali advised Ravana to shun the nine emotions and to keep only intellect, but Ravana justified the need for all ten.   

   Ravana was the greatest scholar and astrologer of his time and was well-versed in all Vedas and Darshanas etc. He, probably, knew that he was in the second birth of cursed Jaya and Vijaya and that he had to be killed by Lord Rama (an avatar of Lord Vishnu) for his liberation. As such, when Shurpanakha complained about her nose cutting by Lakshmana, he immediately agreed to kidnap Sita with the aim that Rama should attack Lanka. For the same reason, he never agreed to any peace or truce with Rama’s army, either sent from Rama’s side or the repeated advice of his men, Maricha, Vibhishana, Kumbhakarna, and later Meghnad. Ravana even ordered Vibhishana away, so that he could go to Rama and might help Rama for his destruction. After most of his warriors were killed, Ravana came in for the final battle. Vibhishana, then, revealed the secret of Ravana’s invulnerability to Rama. He told Rama that Ravana had stored the nectar of immortality in his belly, and it was necessary to dry it. With this knowledge, Rama shot an arrow (Brahmastra) into Ravana’s belly and was finally able to kill Ravana.

24. Madhu & Kaitabha

They were the earliest demons, originating from the earwax in Lord Vishnu’s ears while he was in the deep sleep state of Yoganidra. They did tapas and obtained a boon from goddess Mahadevi (Adi Shakti) of near invincibility and voluntary death. They, then, stole the Vedas while Lord Brahma was asleep and dived into the primeval ocean with the Vedas. They also wanted to kill Brahma. Brahma, then, sought help from Lord Vishnu. Vishnu took a horse-headed incarnation with four hands and a human body (known as Hayagreeva) and went to the bottom of the ocean. But, when he couldn’t defeat Madhu and Kaitabha in battle, Devi Adi Shakti (Mahamaya) advised him to use deceit. Vishnu then praised the bravery of both demons and cleverly made Madhu and Kaitabha to agree a boon to Vishnu then, Vishnu asked for their lives, and they granted the wish by killing themselves (voluntary death). 

25. Mahishasura

Demon Rambha (Danu’s son) got attracted to a water buffalo (who was the cursed form of Princess Shyamala), changed himself to a buffalo and the union of the two gave birth to Mahishasura. He did tapas and got a boon from Brahma that no man or deva could kill him, as he thought women to be too weak to kill him. He became a very powerful and deceitful demon king who pursued his evil ways by shapeshifting. Soon he won all three worlds. As he could not be killed by man or gods, devas prayed to Adi Shakti, who appeared as Durga. She was also given the combined powers to create the invincible feminine energy that could kill Mahishasura. The battle between Goddess Durga (Devi Katyayani /Chandi/ Mahishjit Kali) and Mahishasura continued for nine days. The Devi slayed, with different weapons, the valiant generals of Mahishasura one by one on the battlefield. Then the lion form of Mahishasura and the human form of Mahishasura were killed. Finally, on the 10th day, the buffalo form of Mahishasura was killed. This form of Devi is worshipped on 6th day of Navaratri. The Devi is also called Mahishasura Mardini.      

26. Maricha & Subahu

They were brothers and along with Kaikesi (Ravana’s mother) were the children of Demoness Tataka/Tadka with demon king Sumali. Once, sage Vishwamitra took Rama and Lakshmana to protect his Yagna for 6 days. Maricha, Subahu, and Tataka tried to nullify the yagna by dropping flesh, bones, blood, etc. Rama was hesitant to kill a woman (Tataka) but when Vishvamitra told him that that was his dharma, Rama killed Tataka. Rama, then, killed Subahu on the spot and with his divyastra sent Maricha skywards in exile miles and miles beyond the seas. Maricha was killed by Rama later when he took the form of Golden Dear to take Rama and Lakshmana away from the hut, leaving Sita alone. 

27. Mayasura

Mayasura was the son of Rishi Kashyap with his wife Danu, though some legend tells him as the son of Shambara and Mayawati. He was an excellent architect. He built three flying cities (of gold, silver, and iron) of Tripura for the three sons of Tarkasura, Maya Sabha at Indraprastha (Mahabharata time) full of ‘magical’ ponds and lakes as well as natural ponds and lakes, and the city of Lankapuri in Sri Lanka. The flying vehicle or Viman of Ravana is also said to be the creation of Maya. He is also said to have written the astronomical treatise called the ‘Surya Siddhanta’, which forms the basis of Indian astronomy even today. As per one legend, when some of the demons were worshipping and offering sacrifices to Devi Tamasik (a form of Devi Adi Shakti) to gain special power, and Ganesh was trying to find out the sacrifice place to disturb that, Mayasura used his Maya (illusion) to distract Ganesh. Ganesh, then, used his divine powers, stopped Mayasura by binding him with a spell, and killed him with his axe. Vide another legend, Mayasura had befriended Takshaka (snake form son of Kadru) and lived with him in the area of Khandavaprastha along with his family and friends, but when the Pandavas came there after the partition of Hastinapur, Arjun burnt the entire forest, forcing Takshaka to flee and killing everyone else. This made Mayasura decide to surrender to the Pandavas. They forgave him and in return, Mayasura built a grand palace named Maya-Mahal / Maya-Sabha where Pandavas performed Rajasuya Yagna. The ‘Talatala Loka’ of Patala Loka is the domain of Mayasura.

28. Meghnad/Meghnatha/Indrajit

He was the eldest and bravest son of Ravana and is regarded as one of the greatest warriors in Hinduism. He was named “Meghnad” because his birth cry sounded like thunder! He acquired many kinds of celestial weapons from his Guru Shukracharya and others. When Meghnad was going to be born, Ravana wished his son to be supreme and immortal. So, he commanded all the planets and constellations in such a position that would allow his son to be born the way he wanted. Because of Ravana’s anger and power, all the planets and constellations agreed except Shani. So, Meghnad could not be immortal. Once Meghnad defeated Indra along with other devas, so he got the name Indrajit (Conqueror of Indra). He was also an expert in magical warfare, sorcery, and tantra. During the Lanka battle, Meghnad used his most nefarious weapon Nagapasha (a trap made of a million snakes), and Rama and Lakshmana fell to the ground breathless. They were rescued by Garuda at the behest of Hanuman and were recovered. Later, Lakshmana again appeared before him and fought him fiercely. Then Meghnad used the Vasavi Sakthi against Lakshmana, and upon being impaled Lakshmana fell unconscious, poised to die precisely at the following sunrise. His life was saved by Hanuman, who brought the whole mountain of Dronagiri from the Himalayas to Lanka overnight to find the remedy (the magical herb - Sanjivani) for the weapon used by Meghnad and that cured him. When Meghnad learned that Lakshmana had survived again, he went to his native deity’s secret temple to perform the yagna that would make him a warrior who can’t be killed by anyone, but his yagna was destroyed by Hanuman and the armies of Lakshmana. By then Meghnad realized that Lakshmana was not an ordinary person but was the incarnation of Sheshanag. However, he kept fighting bravely, but Lakshmana finally slew Indrajit by beheading him with the Anjalikastra.                                                                                                                                 

29. Namuchi

He was the son of Danu and Kashyap, though some legend tells him to be the son of Holika/Simhika and Viprachiti. Namuchi grew very powerful, and he grabbed Indra in his armpit. This incident resulted in a treaty between Indra and Namuchi, esp. that Namuchi can’t be killed by anything wet or dry, and also neither in day nor night etc. Namuchi, taking advantage of ‘friend’, Indra’s confidence, drank up Indra’s strength along with a draught of wine and soma. Indra told Vishnu that Namuchi had drunk up his strength. Vishnu gathered foam/froth (which is neither wet, nor dry, i.e., neither solid nor liquid) from the milky ocean and made a thunderbolt/ vajra with that for Indra. Using that vajra, Indra smote off the head of Namuchi in the evening (neither day nor night). The Ashvini Kumaras then drank the soma mixed with blood and wine, from the belly of Namuchi and transferred it pure to Indra. Finally, Indra got back his power. 

30. Narakasura (Bhaumasura)

Narakasura was an Asura (demon) king of three dynasties, including the Bhauma dynasty of Pragjyotisha (in present Assam). Few people claim that he came from Mithila and established the kingdom of Pragjyotisha after overthrowing the last of the Kirata kings, Ghatakasura, of the Danava Dynasty. Naraka is said to be the son of Bhu-Devi (Mother Earth) and Lord Vishnu as Varaha Avatar after Vishnu freed Bhu-Devi from Hiranyaksh. Few say that Naraka was the son of Bhu-devi and Hiranyaksh, during the period Hiranyaksh kept Bhu-devi with him in the cosmic ocean. Considering either case, the pious Naraka became evil due to his association with an asura Banasura, and hence the suffix ‘asura’ (demon) was added to his name. He became very powerful after he obtained a boon from Lord Brahma that he would die only at the hands of his mother— Bhu-devi. He ruled like a tyrant and was very wicked for devas (demigods) and women in particular. He defeated Indra, abducted 16,000 women, and imprisoned them in his palace. When Indra sought help from Lord Vishnu, he assured that Narakasura would be killed in his Krishna avatar. As such, Krishna rode on Garuda along with his wife Satyabhama and went to the demon’s capital, Pragjyotishpur. There a fierce battle ensued between Krishna and Narakasura during which Krishna, in one instance, fell unconscious. This enraged Satyabhama who in turn took hold of the battle. She fired deadly arrows at Narakasura and killed him finally. Krishna, in reality, had pretended to be unconscious to prompt Satyabhama to take final action against Narakasura. He did this because Narakasura was supposed to be killed only by his mother and Satyabhama was the incarnation of Bhu-Devi. Krishna, then, liberated all Narkasura’s prisoners which included 16,000 women. Then, Krishna graciously married, symbolically, them all to restore them of their honor in society due to being in captivity for a long time.

31. Prahalad

As mentioned earlier, Prahalad was the son of Hiranyakashipu and, after his father’s death, he became the asura king. He remained a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu. Under the guidance of Shukracharya, Prahalad became a good warrior and captured all three worlds, including Devaloka. Later Indra disguised himself as a Brahmin and approached Prahalad, asking him how he managed to conquer the three worlds. Prahalad responded that it was because of his virtuous behavior. He didn’t take any pride in that and gave all the credit to Shukracharya etc. for his good behavior, righteousness, truth, and prosperity. Prahalad was impressed that the Brahmin was patiently listening to all this, so he offered him a boon. Indra asked Prahalad to give him his good behavior, righteousness, and truth. Prahalad agreed. After that, gods associated with righteousness, truth, good deeds, might, and prosperity all left Prahalad and entered Indra. Thus, Indra got back his kingdom, without fighting. Prahalad then handed over his kingdom to his son Virochana, and after his death, he went to Vaikuntha. 

32. Putana

In the previous birth, demoness Putana was Ratnamala, daughter of Mahabali. On seeing the dwarf Vamana, Ratnamala desired that she should have him as her child in the next birth and she should be able to breastfeed the infant like a mother. But when she saw Vamana crushing Mahabali, she blurted that if she got a son like Vamana, she would kill him by mixing poison in her milk. As such, in their next birth, she became demoness Putana, sister of Aghasura. When Kamsa asked her to kill baby Krishna, she disguised herself as a young, beautiful woman and asked Yashoda to fondle baby Krishna. Assuming her to be a beautiful Gopika, Yashoda allowed. Putana tried to kill the baby by breastfeeding her poisoned milk. Her milk was poisoned by some curse or disease. However, Krishna sucked her milk as well as her life via her breasts. By offering her milk, Putana became the foster mother of Krishna and was thus liberated.

33. Raktabeej (Raktabija)

After the demon Rambha (son of Danu) was killed by another water buffalo, he was reborn as Raktabeej. He got this name because he secured from Shiva (some say from Brahma) a boon according to which if one drop of blood from his body fell on the battlefield, many Raktabeejs, similar in strength, form, and weapons, would arise from the blood and fight the enemies. Shumbh, after the death of Chanda and Munda, sent Raktabeej to fight and get the beautiful Parvati (Devi Kaushiki). When Raktabeej attacked, a large and fierce form of Kali sprang out from Chandi. Kali, with Chandi and a few Matrikas, started killing the demons, including the demons created by the fallen blood of Raktabeej. Both Chandi and Kali were killing the demons, and Kali was immediately collecting their blood in a pot and drinking it so that their blood doesn’t spill over to the ground. Ultimately, Raktabeej and the entire army were eliminated. But by that time, Kali was so uncontrollably ferocious that Lord Shiva had to lie down in her path to calm her.

34. Sankhchurn (Shankachuda)

Once Shri Krishna’s friend Sridhama (Sudama) was guarding the room of Krishna and Radha came to see Krishna. Sudama prevented Radha. So, Radha cursed Sudama to be a demon in next birth. Accordingly, he was born as Demon Sankhachurn. Sankhchurn married Tulsi and he could not be defeated by anyone due to boon of Tulsi’s chastity. He defeated everyone and wanted to destroy Kailash along with Lord Shiva. Then, Lord Vishnu, in the disguise of Sankhchurn went near Tulsi and by trick destroyed her chastity. Then only, Shiva could kill Sankhchurn. When Tulsi knew this, she cursed Vishnu to be a stone (Shaligram). Vishnu apologized for his act and blessed Tulsi that she will always be worshiped before him. He also explained Tulsi that Sankhchurn had to be free from Radha’s curse, to be with Vishnu (in Krishna form).

35. Shumbh and Nishumbh

Shumbh and Nishumbh were brothers and were grandsons (some say sons) of Rishi Kashyap and Danu. They did severe tapasya and got a boon from Brahma that they could not be killed by any male, human, animal, or bird, but only by a woman. They thought women were too weak to kill them. With the boon, they became very powerful and also arrogant. They captured the three lokas. When they were informed of the beauty of a lady (Parvati), they sent Dhumralochan, Chanda, Munda, and Raktabeej to bring Parvati. After their fall, Shumbh and Nishumbh had no choice but to meet Parvati (Devi Kaushiki) in direct combat. When they attacked Parvati, a ferocious form of Devi Kalaratri (Kalratri) sprang out of her. Nishumbh was the first to fall, after assaulting Devi’s lion. He was struck by Devi’s spear. Upon seeing the death of his brother, Shumbh went after the Devi in a rage. The Devi destroyed Shumbh’s weapons one by one and then hit him in the chest. Wounded by the blow of her palm, the king of Asuras fell to the ground. Rising again he leapt up towards the sky to seize the Devi. Eventually, the Devi chucked him down to the earth and pierced his chest with a spear. This form of Devi is worshipped on the 7th day of Navaratri. 

36. Sindura

He came out (born) through the accidental yawn of Brahma (as such, treated as Brahma’s son). He was named Sindura because of his vermilion color. Lord Brahma awarded him with many boons as he wanted his child to become like other devas. He got two boons that no human or animal of any kind, could kill him and his killer had to bathe with his blood to stop him from making his body alive again and dead permanently. Thus, he became near invincible. But due to his demonic behavior, he became a cruel demon king. When he captured Devaloka, devas went to Lord Shiva, who told them to go to Ganesh. Since Ganesha was half human and half an elephant, he was an eligible candidate to fight with and kill Sindura. Ganesha won his battle with Sindura. After his battle, he tore Sindura's body in two parts and bathed with his blood. Vide another legend, when Sindura grasped Ganesh with his arms, Ganesh kept on expanding himself, which resulted in Sindura’s arms being torn away along with parts of his body and he died. 

37. Tarakasura

Tarkasura was the son of the demon Vajarang (son of Kashyap with wife Diti) and Vamangi. By doing severe tapasya, Tarkasura obtained a boon from Brahma that none shall be his equal in all of the three worlds, and only Shiva’s son can kill him, thinking that Devi Sati had died, and Shiva is in deep meditation (staunch Yogi), so no son can be born to Shiva. Armed with the boon, Tarka became extremely powerful. He overran Swarga, expelled the devas, and declared himself to be the new Indra. Meanwhile, Devi Sati took rebirth as Parvati and, with her divine power, knew that she was for Lord Shiva. So, she started visiting and serving Shiva, but Shiva was unperturbed. Only after Kamadeva shoots his flower arrow at Shiva and gets himself burned by Shiva’s anger, does Shiva redevelop love and finally get married to Parvati. It is said that, while Shiva and Parvati were making love, they got disturbed, and Shiva inadvertently spilled his semen on the bank of River Ganga. Shiva’s semen incubates in the River Ganges, preserved by the heat of Agni-deva, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya on the banks of the Ganges. When Kartikeya appears on the banks of River Ganga, he is seen by six of the seven brightest stars of ‘Krittika Nakshatra’ (Pleiades). The six Krittikas nursed the baby and hence he was named Kartikeya. Soon, Kartikeya came to Kailash and both Shiva and Parvati trained him, as their son, to be a great warrior. After the appearance of Kartikeya, Tarka summoned billions of Asuras to defend his realm, and his forces were commanded by Kalanemi (son of Virochana). Kartikeya hurled his terrible Shakti on the Asuras. A million missiles of Shakti fell out from it on demons, killing them. Lastly, he killed Tarka with his ‘Shakti’. 

38. Tripurasura

Tripurasura (a trio of brothers named Tarakaksha, Vidyunmali, and Kamalak- sha), were the sons of the asura Tarkasura. The three brothers did intense tapas of Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma was pleased and appeared to give boons to them, except immortality. They asked the boon “Give us three forts. The first will be of gold, the second of silver, and the third of iron. We will live in these forts for thousands of years. These forts (like flying saucers of modern science fiction) are to be built in different worlds and those shall align once every 1000 years. This combined fort will be called Tripura. And if anyone can destroy Tripura with only a single arrow that shall be the death destined for us”. Brahma agreed and asked the demon Mayasura (a great architect) to build the forts. Accordingly, the golden fort was built in heaven, the silver one in the sky, and the iron one on Earth. Tarakaksha got the golden fort, Kamalaksha the silver one, and Vidyunmali the iron one. Entrenched in their aerial cities, they would mount attacks on the devas, the rishis, and others. When Devas asked Shiva for help, Shiva said that as long as they were on the somewhat righteous path, they couldn’t be killed. 

       Vishnu, then, created a special preacher, teaching a new religion that was more physically pleasing, but away from Vedas and worshipping Shiva, etc. The preacher first confused and converted sage Narada to the new religion. Then, the preacher and Narada went to Vidyunmali. When Vidyunmali knew that Narada had changed to that religion, he also accepted the new religion, and in due course, so did Tarakaksha and Kamalaksha. The asuras gave up revering the Vedas, they stopped worshipping Shiva Linga. Then, devas again went to Lord Shiva, and he agreed. He asked Vishwakarma (architect of devas) to make a suitable chariot, bow, and arrow Around that time, the three forts were about to merge into a single line as Tripura, which condition would last for just a second. At that exact time, Lord Shiva invoked the most destructive weapon Pashupatastra, and fired a single arrow into the three forts at the exact instant they merged into one, thus burning to ashes the three forts of the asuras, along with Tripurasura. Vishnu, then, said that a special preacher was to go to the desert where there are no humans.  

39. Viprachitti

After the death of Puloman, Viprachitti became the demon ruler. He was one of the godfathers of Asuras, and, as such, also called Danavendra, Indra of danavas. When his wife Holika got burned in fire in which she wanted to kill young Prahalad, Viprachitti fumed with anger and attempted to kill Prahalad. He used his Mayavi Shakti (illusionary power) to make Prahalad unconscious. Then he lifted him in his arms and threw him into the ocean. But young Prahalad was saved once again by Lord Vishnu, who threw his lotus into the ocean. God of Seas arranged to return Prahalad to his mother Kayadhu. In the war between Devas and Asuras, Vipracitti was killed by Indra. The war between Indra and Viprachitti is also known as the ‘Dhvaja War’ as Indra has to penetrate 100 thousand dhvajas (banners) to kill Viprachitti. In the next birth, Viprachitti came to Earth as Jarasandha.

40. Vritrasura

Once Indra misunderstood that Vishvarupa, (son of Tvashtr -- a Vedic artisan god/deity) was secretly cheating the devas by offering oblations on behalf of the demons. He became extremely afraid of the possibility of being defeated by the demons, and in great anger he cut Vishvarupa’s head from his shoulder. Though Indra, later, regretted, Tvashtr (father of Vishvarupa), created, through his ‘holy fire’, a demon Vritrasura as his son, to take revenge on Indra. However, when wishing him into existence, Tvashtr made a mispronunciation in his incantation, which, later, allowed Indra to defeat Vritra. Vritra became the head of the Asuras. He defeated Indra and all the devas. He had even swallowed a few devas and grahas. He swallowed Indra also, but Indra and others forced Vritra to vomit Indra. Vritra kept the waters of the world captive. Then, Lord Vishnu advised that only a weapon, made from the bones of Rishi Dadhichi, could kill Vritra, as Lord Vishnu had a truce with a few rishis that Indra can’t kill Vritra with anything made of metal, wood, or stone. Dadhichi willingly agreed and merged his gross body flesh into five basic elements. Vishwakarma (Deva’s architect) made a weapon (thunderbolt) from his bones and then only Vritra could be killed, and all were freed. Some literature mentions Vritrasura as the son of Danu and Kashyap.

Reference Works- Roles of Demons & Demonology: In Hinduism & Beyond