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Bhuta Vidya Demonology

Dr. Mahesh Kundagol
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Definition of Bhuta-vidya

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Importance
Different than other . Parapsychology.

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Why adopt?
Struggle for existence.

Survival of the fittest.

Fear factor.

Famous personalities.

Conversion disorders.

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Ayurveda
Himsa.

Rati.

Archana.

Pragnyaparadha.

Alpa Satva.

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Atharvana Veda
The Atharvaveda belong to the Vedic classes. In some ways represents an independent

parallel tradition to that of the Rigveda and Yajurveda. healing and magic that are paralleled in other Indo-European literatures.

It incorporates much of early traditions of

The Atharva Veda is known for its Shrauta

ritual.
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Atharvan
Atharvan () was a legendary Vedic sage (rishi) of

Hinduism who along with Angiras is supposed to have authored the Atharvaveda. yagna.

He is also said to have first instituted the fire-sacrifice or Sometimes he is also reckoned among the seven seers or

Saptarishi.
His family is known as the Atharvanas. Atharvan married Chitti, daughter of Kardama rishi, and

had a great sage Dadhichi as a son.

He was referred to as a member of the2/8/13 Bhrigu family.

According to mundaka upnisad and other texts, he was

eldest son & (Manas putra) born from mind of the brahma.

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Although it is stated that the Gayatri Mantra

used in Atharva Veda is different from other three Vedas. A special initiation of the Gayatri is required to learn the Atharva Veda and secret knowledge, pertaining to the spirits and the afterlife.

The Atharvaveda is considered by many as dark

In the Mahabharata, when the Pandavas are

exiled to the forests for thirteen years, Bhima, being frustrated, suggests to Yudhisthira that they consult the Atharvaveda, and "shrink time, and hereby compress thirteen years to thirteen days.
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Angiras
Sage Angirasa is one of the Saptarishis (Seven

Sages) and the Manasaputra (son born of the mind) of Brahma. He is one of the Projenitors of humankind. Sage Angirasa. He along with sage Atharvan are said to have composed most of the Atharvana Veda.

Many verses in the Vedas are attributed to

Some descendents of Sage Angirasa are said

to be Kshatriya by birth and Brahmins by calling. This is so because the Sage helped a childless King to beget children.
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Agantuja Unmada
(../)

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Devas
Deva derives from dev-, which in turn derives

from Indo-Iranian *dev-.

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Classification
The Upanishads distinguish between the

celestial Gods from the Divine forms of God. 33 Gods in the celestial world, in terms of performance of Vedic rituals and yajnas.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says there are

They are eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve

Adityas, Indra, and Prajapati.

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Classification
Agni Indra Savitr Vayu Varuna Maruts Aditya Visvakarman Rudra Vishnu Ashvins Vishvedavas Prithvi Dyaus Antariksha Dishas Moordha Prajapati The main Devis

(Goddesses) are: 2/8/13

1)Agni-Agni is the Vedic god of fire and

mediator between gods and men.

2)Aditya- Ruler of the heaven. 3)Savitr- Is a solar deity in the Rigveda, and one

of the Adityas i.e. off-spring of Vedic deity Aditi. winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman.

4)Vyu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the

5)Rudra- Controler of the universe. 6)

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Agni
Agni (Sanskrit: ) is a

Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. acceptor of sacrifices.

He is the god of fire and the The sacrifices made to Agni

go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods.
He is ever-young, because

the fire is re-lit every day, and also immortal.

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Rudra
Lord shiva.

Related to

rudraavatar.

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Vyu
Is a primary Hindu

deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman.

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ViwkarmanSanskrit:
Tamil:

Vicuvakaruman, creator God according to Rig veda, deity of all craftsmen and architects. the "Principal Architect of the Universe ",and the 2/8/13 root concept of the

He is the presiding

He is believed to be

Vishnu (Sanskrit: )
Vishnu (Sanskrit:

) is a main Vedic God venerated as the Supreme Being in the Vaishnavism. He is also commonly known as Narayana or Hari. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the 2/8/13 five primary forms of God.[1]

Varuna Prithvi

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Rishi
An inspired poet or sage. Saptha Rishi- Manasa Putras of Bramha-

Gotama, Bharadwaja, Vishwamitra, Jamadagni, Vasistha, Kasyapa, and Atri.. making eight, altoughit still calls them seven.

The Vayu Purana adds Bhrigu to this list The Vishnu purana adds Daksha and calls

them as nine Bramhsrishis.

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Gandharva
The person who knew

the secrets of heaven and divine truths in general.

The Gandharvas

generally had their dwelling in the sky or atmosphere and one of their duties was to prepare Somarasa for the Gods.
They had a great
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partiality for women

Contd..
The Vishnu Purana says that they were born

from Bramha drinking melody.

In another context it has been said they were

born from drinking of the Godess of Speech (Gaam Dhayantah).

Hari-vansa says that they were born from the

nose of Bramha.

Chitraratha was the chief of Gandharvas

Apsaras were their wives or mistresses.

Gandharvas sized the dominons and the

treasure of Nagas by fighting with them. 2/8/13

Daityas
Daityas In Indian belief, demonic

enemies of the gods.

They are the sons of the goddess Diti

banned by Indra to dwell in the depths of the ocean because of her reluctance to perform sacrifice as due.
In later tradition, Prahlada, who was raised by

Visju to be king of theDaityas, exhibits the characteristics of a wise ascetic.

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Daityas
Some of the notable daityas mentioned in the

Indian mythology include: ofKashyapaandDiti

Hiranyaksha- eldest son Hiranyakashipu- second son

ofKashyapaandDiti
Holikaor Sinhika - daughter

ofKashyapaandDiti

Prahlada- son ofHiranyakashipu Virochana- son of Prahlada, father of Bali Devamba- mother of Bali
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Danavas
Danavas Half-divine half-demonic beings

in Indian tradition. They were banished by Indra to live in the ocean.

The monster Bali was one of their number.

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Dakini
Dakini

Supernatural beings in Buddhism, who fly in the air. They are invested with specific magical powers, they can initiate novices into the secret Tantra, and they can be of assistance to a Yogin who wishes to

learning of the
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Asuras
Asura, in the earliest hymns of the Rig Veda, Hence even some of the devas (demigods),

means any supernatural spiritgood or bad. especially Varuna, have the epithet of Asura.

All words such as Asura, Daitya (lit., sons of

the demon-mother "Diti"), Rakshasa (lit. from "harm to be guarded against") are translated into English as demon. constant battle against the demigods.

These demons are inherently evil and are in a Hence in Hindu iconography, the gods and

demigods are shown to carry weapons to kill 2/8/13 the asuras.

Contd.
In later Puranic mythology, exceptions do occur

in the demonic race to produce god-fearing Asuras like Prahalada.

Also, many Asuras are said to have been

granted boons from one of the members of the Hindu trinity, viz., Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva when the latter had been appeased from penances. mortals (though they vehemently wish to become immortal).
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All Asuras, unlike the devas, are said to be

Contd..
On the account of the Hindu theory of

reincarnation and transmigration of souls according to one's Karma, other kinds of demons can also be enlisted. If a human does extremely horrible and sinful karmas in his life, his soul (Atman) will, upon his death, directly turn into an evil ghostly spirit, many kinds of which are recognized in the later Hindu texts. These demons could be Grimnex Vetalas, Pishachas, Bhtas etc.

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Vetala
A vetala, or baital, is a vampire-like being from

Hindu mythology.

The vetala are defined as spirits inhabiting

corpses. These corpses may be used as vehicles for movement (as they no longer decay while so inhabited); but a vetala may also leave the body at will.
In Hindu folklore, the vetala is an evil spirit who

haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possession of corpses.

They make their displeasure known by troubling

humans. They can drive people mad, kill children, and cause miscarriages, but also 2/8/13 guard villages.

Conrd..
Vetal is the worshipper (or sevak) of KalBhairav

and is the head of all spirits and ghosts and vampires and all kinds of pisachas. He has another form which is a more potent and fiery form, that of Agni Vetal who is the sevak of none other than Kalika. Lord Agnivetal has flames on his head and controls fire. He is also known as Agya Vetal. Agnivetal is used by Tantriks to perform evil black magic on people. But it isn't Lord Agnivetal's fault because the Tantriks misuse the powers given to them on propitiating Agnivetal(rather his Daityas which are at his feet-they are the ones who accept the blood sacrifices).
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They are hostile spirits of the dead trapped in

Contd..

the 'twilight zone' between life and afterlife. of holy mantras.

These creatures can be repelled by the chanting One can free them from their ghostly existence

by performing their funerary rites.

Being unaffected by the laws of space and time,

they have an uncanny knowledge about the past, present, and future and a deep insight into human nature. Therefore many sorcerers seek to capture them and turn them into slaves.
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A sorcerer once asked King Vikramaditya to

Vikram-Betal

capture a vetala who lived in a tree that stood in the middle of a crematorium. The only way to do that was by keeping silent. vetala would enchant the king with a story that would end with a question. No matter how hard he tried, Vikramaditya would not be able to resist answering the question. This would enable the vetala to escape and return to his tree. The stories of the vetala have been compiled in the book Baital Pachisi.
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Every time Vikramaditya caught the vetala, the