Asura
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The Asura are a group of demonic creatures. They can be found in several different eastern religions
[edit] In Hinduism
In Hinduism, the Asura (Sanskrit: असुर) are a group of creatures looking for more power, sometimes called demons. They wnet against the devas. The devas and asuras are the children of Kashyapa. The name comes from the word Ahura – even the Oxford English Dictionary uses this word as an example to Zoroastrianism – and Æsir, which is where, in Indo-European religion, the Asura and the Æsir come from.
The negative and badness of the asura in Hinduism seems to have grown over time. The earliest writings have the asuras beside moral and social phenomena(e.g. Varuna, the guardian of rta, or Bhaga, the one that controls marriage) and the devas beside natural phenomena (e.g. Ushas, whose name means "dawn", or Indra, a weather god).
Mitra, Varuna and Vritra are the well known asuras.
Vairocana ,Sumbha and Nisumbha are kings of Asuras. They change into Japanese Buddha.
- Mitra/Maitreya/Miroku bosatsu (Buddhist saint who will help their souls in the future)
- Varuna/Sui ten (Ocean deva)
- Vairocana/Maha vairocana/Dainichi nyorai (Great Buddha who shines on all entire universes)
- Sumbha and Nisumbha Asura brothers/Trailokya vijaya and Vajra humkara/Gouzanze myo oh and Shyozanze myo oh (they are liked by people who win over many things)
[edit] In Zoroastrianism
The word asura is similar to the ahuras of Zoroastrianism, but with morality that is opposite to each other. Because of this, when in Vedic religion the asuras are demonic (bad), in Zoroastrianism, the ahuras are benign (good). The opposites can also be seen many other places in Vedic and Zoroastrianism: for example, the Vedic devas are kind, but the Zoroastrian daevas are evil.
The first verse of Gatha, says that because of daevas the people must treat cows kindly, while the ahuras try to kill the cows. Unlike in Vedic ritual, the asuras and devas do not fight over the offerings, but the Zoroastrian daevas try to disturb worship.
[edit] In Buddhism
Asuras also appear as a type of supernatural things in Buddhist cosmology.