DAEMONOLATRIA

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Daevas

The Daevas were a class of demons in Zoroastrianism. They were the spirits that chose to follow Angra Mainya. The Gathas mentions three daevas, Aka Manah, Druj, and Aeshma.

Aka Manah ('Evil Mind') was created by Angra Mainya to oppose Vohu Manah ('Good Mind.') He is second in command, next to his father, Angra Mainya, in the host of demons. Aka Manah was said to have supported the demon Buiti when he attacked Zarathustra. In the final conflict of this present cycle, he will be overcome by Vohu Manah, and Angra Mainya will become powerless and flee away.

Druj ('liar' or 'deceiver') is the female personification of wickedness, and who is the great opponent of Asha. She appears in both the Gothic and in the later period. In the later period, the idea is pluralized, and the Druj becomes the embodiment of the Evil Spirit through whom Ahriman works. In later Avestan texts, the term refers to a class of female demons, and the name is also applied to later demons or even wicked people. The demon Buiti is called a Druj. In the Vendidad, uncleanness of body is also personified as Druj Nasu and is said to spread corruption in the world. Druj Nasu dwells in the mountain, Aresura, in the northern region. As soon as a soul leaves a body, she flies down from the mountain in the shape of a fly, and seizes the corpse. This demon can be driven away by specific holy spells, or the gaze of 'a yellow dog with four eyes, or the white dog with yellow ears.' (Vend. viii.16-18)

Aeshma is known as the 'fiend of the wounding spear,' (Yasht xi.15) and is the demon of wrath and fury. Sraosha is his greatest opponent. According to Darmesteter, he was originally the leader of the Dryvants, or 'storm-fiends,' but was later converted into the principle of 'the demon of rage and anger,' and became an expression for all moral wickedness. It is thought that Aeshma became Asmodeus ('the evil demon') in the Book of Tobit.

Azi Dahaka ('fiendish snake') is conceived of as partly demonic and partly human. He was probably originally the 'snake' of the storm-cloud who was a counterpart of the Vedic Ahi or Vrita. In the Yasht, he is described as struggling for the Hvareno, or Kingly Glory, against Atar (Fire). In the Shah Namah, he appears as a man with two snakes springing from his shoulders. These snakes were have said to have grown from a kiss bestowed by Ahriman. At the renovation, Azi Dahaka will be put in chains on Mount Demavand; but in the end, he will break loose from the bonds and return to disturb creation.

Dahaka

An ancient Persian god of death and demon of deceit and mendacity. He loves destroying life. Dahaka is usually depicted with three heads, while scorpions and lizards crawl all over his body.

Daityas

The Daityas were a race of giants and demons, descendants of Diiti by Kasyapa, who were gods involved with the creation of the world, according to Hindu mythology. The Danavas were a very similar race of demons, associated so closely with the Daityas that for all practical reasons they have become indistinguishable.

During the Krita Yuga, that is the first age of the cosmos, these demons had become so powerful, and were so well armed, that the gods could no longer defeat them. With the enormous dragon-serpent, Vritra, on their side acting as their commander-in-chief, the Daityas battled against the gods and overcame them. The gods, horrified at being homeless and scattered all over the universe, knew that the only way to regain their celestial territory was to kill Vritra. In anguish and desperation they turned to Brahma, the Supreme Being, for advice. He told them that the only way to conquer the Daityas was to obtain a 'demon-slaying weapon' from the sage Rishi. When the gods approached Rishi, the sage said:

                'O ye gods, I will renounce my body for your benefit'

 

and out of Rishi's bones the gods built a weapon called Vajra. Carrying this new weapon, Indra lead the gods into battle, and soon they came face to face with the serpent Vritra, surrounded by hordes of titanic demons. A mighty battle ensued, the gods finally slayed Vritra, and the terrorized Daityas were chased down into the depths of the ocean where Varuna, king of the sea, was given the task of keeping a watchful eye on them.

They were condemned to live in the watery kingdom of Patala, side by side with the

serpent-demons, the Nagas. There, according to the Mahabharata the great epic poem of the Hindus, the Daityas are to remain massed together, forever plotting their revenge on the gods.

During that first age the gods made a temporary peace with the Daityas. They needed the demons' co-operation in churning the ocean, so as to eventually bring up everything solid out of the water, especially the cup containing the sacred potion Amrita, which bestowed immortality on all who tasted it. The gods wrenched a large mountain from the earth and threw it into the ocean. They asked the gigantic snake, Vasuki, to twine around the mountain and act as a churning cord. The gods were to pull one side of the serpent, while the demons were to pull the other. Just as everybody was ready to begin the labour, the Daityas who were at the tail end of the snake, refused to help. They considered that part of the snake's body as ignoble. The gods, grumbling, gave in to their demands and after some difficulty, the task was accomplished.

Another incident in which the demons, who once again had obtained temporary ascendancy over the gods but were in the end outsmarted, is the story of Bali, one of the most dreaded titans, and of his pact with Vishnu, the Heavenly Father.

During Treta Yuga, the second age of the cosmos, after the demon hordes regained control over the universe, Vishnu set out to remedy this situation. He appeared in Patala, disguised as a dwarf, acting as if in quest of a place to live. He approached Bali, a leader among demons, and asked him if he could have as much territory as he could cover in three paces. Smirking, Bali consented to the dwarf's desire, at which point Vishnu transformed himself into a giant whose three steps covered the ocean, the earth and the heavens. Because a demon was bound to his word as much as a god was, the gods once more won back the universe from the forces of evil.

The Daityas were renowned for their refusal to offer sacrifices to the gods, and for their habit of interfering with everybody who did so. This characteristic earned them the name of Kratu-dvishas, 'enemies of sacrifices.' The Bhagavad-Gita related the following incident as an example illustrating this habit, which was in ancient times considered one of the most heinous crimes.

A renowned Daitya, Hiranya-Kasipu, desired to be worshipped as a god. He tried to prevent his own son from making sacrifices to Vishnu, but the son refused to comply with his father's wish, saying that: "worship was due only to Hari, the omniscient and omnipresent god." The enraged Hiranya-Kasipu struck a pillar saying: "Let him come forth from this pillar if he is everywhere!"

Hari promptly appeared in the form of a half-man and half-lion with eyes ablaze, and "red as gold burnished in the fire, his face whose size was increased by a thick and bristling mane...Like a snake seizing a rat, Hari seized his adversary...and, laying him back over his thigh, as if it were child's play, with his nails he tore the skin that thunderbolts could not pierce...Shooting out looks of insupportable fury, licking the corners of his wide mouth with

his tongue...Hari shaking his mane dripping with blood, made a garland for himself with his enemy's entrails."

Dalhan

A demon riding an ostrich in the desert. It devours travellers.

Dantalian

A mighty duke, appears in the form of a man with many faces of men and women, and has a book in his right hand. He teaches all arts and sciences, declares all secret counsels, for all human thoughts, and can change them at his will. He kindles love, and shows the similitude of any person in a vision, wheresoever they may be.

Decarabia

A marquis, comes in the form of a star in a pentacle, but puts on the image of man at command. He discovers the virtues of herbs and precious stones, makes birds seem to fly before the exorcist, and remain with him as familiars, singing and eating like other birds.

Deumas

Devil worshipped by the inhabitants of Calicut in Malabar. He has a crown, four horns on his head, and four crooked teeth in his enormous mouth. He has a sharp, crooked nose, feet like a rooster, and holds in his claws a soul he is about to devour.

Dev

In Persian mythology, a demon of enormous power, a ruthless and immoral god of war.

Druj

An ancient Iranian female demon, the representation of the lie. Together with horny men she causes much evil. She is the eternal opponent of Asha Vahishta. Also Drug or Drauga.

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