Product Code Database
Pishachas (, , ) are flesh-eating in Indian religions, appearing in Hindu mythology and Buddhist religion. A pishacha is a malevolent being that has often been referred to as the very manifestation of evil.
Other legends describe them as the sons of either Krodha (figuratively "Anger") or as Daksha’s daughter Pishacha. They have been described as having bulging veins and protruding red eyes. They are believed to have their own languages, known as Paishachi.
According to one legend, they are sons of Kashyapa and Krodhavasa, one of the daughters of Prajapati Daksha. The Nilamata Purana of the 7th century says the valley of Kashmir was inhabited by two tribes: the Nagas and the Pishachas.
Pishachas like darkness and traditionally are depicted as haunting cremation grounds along with other monsters like bhutas and Vetala. Pishachas are supposed to possess the ability to shapeshift and assume any form at will, and may also become invisible. They also feed on human life energy. Sometimes, they possess human beings and alter their thoughts, and the victims are afflicted with a variety of maladies and abnormalities like insanity. Certain are supposed to cure such afflicted persons and drive away the pishacha possessing that particular human being. In order to keep the pishacha away, they are given their share of offerings during certain religious functions and festivals.
When burials are not performed properly, the deceased person may be unable to escape the dead body for indefined time, whereby turning into a Pishacha. It loses its ability to eat and drink, turns blind and suffers immensively. However, instinctively crave for the living, and sense their smell and presence, and may assault them.
Pāṇini, in his Aṣṭādhyāyi, described the pishacha as a "warrior clan". In the ancient literature, the Dardic people in the north of Kashmir were referred to as "Pishacha" and Dardic languages were called Paiśāci. Dardestān, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Retrieved 30 January 2020. They are said to have been descendants of Prajapati Kashyapa.The Piśāca languages of north-western India, Sir George Abraham Grierson, Royal Asiatic Society, 1906
|
|
