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HINDU DEMON - PISACHA
Fiends, evil spirits, placed by the
Vedas as lower than Rakshasas.
The vilest and most malignant (order of
malevolent beings. Accounts differ as to
their origin. The Brahmana and the
Maha-bharata say that they were created
by Brahma, together with the Asuras and
Rakshasas, from the stray drops of
water: which fell apart from the drops
out of which gods, men, gandharvas, &c.,
had been produced. According to Manu
they spring from the Prajapatis. In the
puranas they are represented as the
offspring of Kasyapa by his wife
Krodhavasa, or Pisacha, or Kapisa.
A pisacha is a vampiric spirit often associated with the
vetala and the. rakshasa but of a lower order than both of
these. They are said to be hideous in appearance and blood
thirsty. They haunt charnel grounds and cross-roads. They
are blamed as the cause of many illnesses. But, if offered
rice at a cross-road by one of his victims in a ceremony
that is repeated for days, he might restore his health. The
name pisacha is occasionally used in a way that includes all
or nearly all the vampiric demons and spirits of India. |
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