Pishachas ( sa, पिशाच, ') are flesh-eating demons in Dharmic religions, appearing in

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

mythologies. A pishacha is a malevolent being that has often be referred to as the very manifestation of evil.

Mythology

The

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

states that the original pischaca was the creation of

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

. The epic offers various interpretations of the being, including its residence in the court of Kubera or Brahma and worshipping the deities of its residence, and its worship of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. The Pichachas are described to have fought on the side of Ghatotkacha against

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

. But they are also stated to have served the

Kauravas ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his w ...

, acting as the horses of the chariot of Alambusha. Other legends describe them as the sons of either Krodha (figuratively "Anger") or as Dakṣa’s daughter ''Pischcha''. They have been described to bulging veins and protruding, red eyes. They are believed to have their own languages, known as Paiśāci. According to one legend, they are sons of

Kashyapa Kashyapa ( sa, कश्यप}, ) is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism., Quote: "Kasyapa (Rudra),(Vedic Seer)..." He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the ''Rigveda''. Kashyapa is the most ancient and venerated rishi, ...

and Krodhavasa, one of the daughters of Prajapati Daksha. The Nilamat Purana of the 7th century mentions the valley of Kashmir being inhabited by two tribes: the Nagas and the Pisachas. Pischchas like darkness and traditionally are depicted as haunting cremation grounds along with other monsters like bhutas and vetālas. Pischchas are supposed to possess the paranormal ability to

shapeshift In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...

and assume any forms at will, and may also become invisible. They also feed on human

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

. Sometimes, they possess human beings and alter their thoughts, and the victims are afflicted with a variety of maladies and abnormalities like insanity. Certain

mantra A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...

s are supposed to cure such afflicted persons and drive away the pischcha which may be possessing that particular human being. In order to keep the pischcha away, they are given their share of offerings during certain religious functions and festivals.

Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' ( Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas=Descriptive linguistics (Devanaga ...

, in his Aṣṭādhyāyi, described the pischcha as a "warrior clan". In the ancient literature, the

Dardic people The Dardic languages (also Dardu or Pisaca) or Hindu-Kush Indo-Aryan languages, are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. The term "Dardic" is stated to b ...

in the north of Kashmir were referred to as ''Pischcha'' and Dardic languages were called ''Paiśāci''. They are said to have been descendants of Prajāpati Kaśyapa.

Thailand

According to the Royal Institute Dictionary, the Thai term "ปิศาจ" (''pisat''), from Sanskrit, ''pischcha'', is defined as "ghost" (ผี). Although not strictly

Thai ghosts Belief in ghosts in Thai culture is both popular and enduring. In the history of Thailand, Buddhist popular beliefs intermingled with legends of spirits or ghosts of local folklore. These myths have survived and evolved, having been adapted to th ...

, the Pishacha are present in some stories of the

Thai folklore Thai folklore is a diverse set of mythology and traditional beliefs held by the Thai people. Most Thai folklore has a regional background for it originated in rural Thailand. With the passing of time, and through the influence of the media, large ...

. They are one of the spirits from the Hindu-Buddhist tradition in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and are represented as well in some paintings of Buddhist temples. ''

Pisaj ''Pisaj'' or ''Evil'' ( th, คน ผี ปีศาจ, italic=yes; ; literally ''Human, Ghost, Demon'') is a 2004 Thai horror film written and directed by Chookiat Sakveerakul. Plot After her parents are killed in a drive-by shooting, a yo ...

'' or ''Khon Phi Pisat'' (คน ผี ปีศาจ) is a movie of

Thai cinema The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by François-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited. This sparke ...

based on a Pishacha story.Pisaj (2004)
/ref>

References

Sources

* ''

Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend The ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' (2002) is a book written by Anna L. Dallapiccola, and contains information on over one thousand concepts, characters, and places of Hindu mythology and Hinduism, one of the major religions of the Indian ...

'' () by Anna Dhallapiccola Demons in Hinduism Hindu legendary creatures Non-human races in Hindu mythology {{Hindu-myth-stub

Mythology

Thailand

See also

References

Sources