Rakshasa

Hello and welcome back to Fab Figmentals!

I’m Lindsey Morse, your guide through the realm of curious creatures, magical monsters, and beautiful beasts. Each week on this podcast, we explore a different legendary creature by looking at its history and folklore. Each episode begins with a story, and then we take a look at the creature’s origins and how it’s been portrayed throughout the ages.

In today’s episode, we’re going to look at Rakshasas, man-eating goblins from India.

If you were somehow unlucky enough to come across a Rakshasa in a dark alley, you might not first notice anything was amiss. The creatures are humanoid, and if you were standing far enough away you might not notice its thick limbs and unnatural height. Get closer, though, and you’d know you were in trouble. Rakshasas have long, curling fangs that protrude from the corners of their lips, wickedly long claws, and- sometimes- sharp horns. The strongest and most powerful might even have glowing eyes, extra limbs, and a few additional heads.

But the danger doesn’t stop there. Rakshasas are powerful magicians, and are able to fly, disappear, or alter their appearance at will. And they will happily utilize these deceptions in their cannibalistic quest for human blood.

Rakshasas can be male or female, but our story today focuses on the fairer sex, technically known as Rakshasis. 

The creatures have a long history in the Hindu religious and literary tradition, and there’s no shortage of stories about their conflict with humans to be found throughout Hindu (and even Buddhist) religious texts. We’ll look at some of these examples later in the episode, but we’re going to start with a more modern story about these man-eating goblins that comes straight outta folklore. 

Today’s story is from a collection of Indian folklore that was published in 1897. 

The author, W. H. D. Rouse, was born in India in 1863 to British parents, and moved to England when he was a boy. He went on to become an expert in language education and a scholar of classical literature. He’s perhaps best known for his translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey, but I’m quite partial to his Indian folk stories. 

The one we’ll be hearing today is called “The Goblin City,” and it’s from a collection called The Giant Crab and other Tales from Old India.

Several versions of this story exist in print, and I’ve picked Rouse’s version because it feels like it was made to be read aloud. I hope you’ll agree. 

Please note that the stories we share on this podcast will often be more Brothers Grimm than Mother Goose. This particular story isn’t too gory or harrowing, but it is about man-eating goblins, so be advised: it might not be appropriate for little ears.

And now, here’s “The Goblin City.” 

———story begins————

Long, long ago, in the island of Ceylon, there was a large city full of nothing but Goblins. They were all She-goblins, too; and if they wanted husbands, they used to get hold of travellers and force them to marry; and afterwards, when they were tired of their husbands, they gobbled them up.

One day a ship was wrecked upon the coast near the goblin city, and five hundred sailors were cast ashore. The She-goblins came down to the seashore, and brought food and dry clothes for the sailors, and invited them to come into the city. There was nobody else there at all; but for fear that the sailors should be frightened away, the Goblins, by their magic power, made shapes of people appear all around, so that there seemed to be men ploughing in the fields, or shepherds tending their sheep, and huntsmen with hounds, and all the sights of the quiet country life. So, when the sailors looked round, and saw everything as usual, they felt quite secure; although, as you know, it was all a sham.

The end of it was, that they persuaded the sailors to marry them, telling them that their own husbands had gone to sea in a ship, and had been gone these three years, so that they must be drowned and lost for ever. But really, as you know, they had served others in just the same way, and their last batch of husbands were then in prison, waiting to be eaten.

In the middle of the night, when the men were all asleep, the She-goblins rose up, put on their hats, and hurried down to the prison; there they killed a few men, and gnawed their flesh, and ate them up; and after this orgie they went home again. It so happened that the captain of the sailors woke up before his wife came home, and not seeing her there, he watched. By-and-by in she came; he pretended to be asleep, and looked out of the tail of his eye. She was still munching and crunching, and as she munched she muttered:

“Man’s meat, man’s meat,

That’s what Goblins like to eat!”

She said it over and over again, then lay down; and soon she was snoring loudly.

The captain was horribly frightened to find he had married a Goblin. What was he to do? They could not fight with Goblins, and they were in the Goblins’ power. If they had a ship they might have sailed away, because Goblins hate the water worse than a cat; but their ship was gone. 

He could think of nothing.

However, next morning, he found a chance of telling his mates what he had discovered. Some of them believed him, and some said he must have been dreaming; they were sure their wives would not do such a thing.

Those who believed him agreed that they would look out for a chance of escape.

But there was a kind fairy who hated those Goblins; and she determined to save the men. So she told her flying horse to go and carry them away. And accordingly, as the men were out for a walk next day, the captain saw in the air a beautiful horse with large white and gold wings. The horse fluttered down, and hovered just above them, crying out, in a human voice:

“Who wants to go home? who wants to go home? who wants to go home?”

“I do, I do!” called out the sailors.

“Climb up, then!” said the horse, dropping within reach. So one climbed up, and then another, and another; and, although the horse looked no bigger than any other horse, there was room for everybody on his back. I think that somehow, when they got up, the fairy made them shrink small, till they were no bigger than so many ants, and thus there was plenty of room for all. When all who wanted to go had got up on his back, away flew the beautiful horse and took them safely home.

As for those who remained behind, that very night the Goblins set upon them and mangled them, and munched them to mincemeat. 

————story ends—————

When I first came across this story, I found it just a little bit unsatisfying. Just when the sailors discover that they’re in an impossible predicament— married to man-eating goblins on a deserted island— a sympathetic fairy swoops in to save the day with her magical flying horse. Deus ex machina, much? 

Of course, salvation by a lucky twist of fate isn’t a completely unusual way to end a fairy tale, but throughout the story I’d been waiting and hoping for the sailors to band together and fight for their freedom— or at least sneak their escape when the goblins weren’t looking. 

The more I researched Rakshasas, however, the more I realized the severity and hopelessness of the sailor’s situation. 

You see, Rakshasas (or Rakshasis, in this case) are an extremely formidable foe. 

Yes, they have extreme physical strength, magical powers, cloaking abilities, and an insatiable bloodlust, but perhaps the scariest thing about them is that they’re near impossible to defeat. They’re considered to be demigods, and are therefore incredibly hard to kill. As we’ll see in a minute, some powerful figures have gone toe-to-toe with them, and while they can be overcome (either with great strength or the help of magical weapons)— for your average Joe, it’s probably a better strategy to simply get out of their way. 

So where did these terrible beings come from? 

The most popular explanation for their existence comes from Hinduism, where it is believed they were created accidentally. Hinduism tells us that there are 4 eras, each called Yugas. The first of these is known as the Satya Yuga, the “golden age of humanity,” where morality is pure and intrinsic goodness rules supreme. (In case you’re wondering, according to this  cycle, we’re now in the “dark age” or Kali Yuga— where strife and discord are the norm.) Anyway, at the end of the “golden age,” Brahma, the Hindu creator god, fell asleep. While he was snoozing, his heavy breath gave birth to the Rakshasas, who immediately turned on him and started eating him. He awoke and cried out in surprise, “Rakshama!” Which means, “help me!” Vishnu heard his plea, and replied by banishing this new race of demons to the earth, where they were named after Brahma’s cry for help.

The Hindu epics are dotted with stories about Rakshasas, and one of the most famous is the Battle of Lanka. According to the Ramayna, an ancient Hindu text, an entire kingdom of Rakshasas once lived on the island of Lanka. They coexisted successfully only because they were ruled by a king more ferocious and powerful then them all: King Ravana, a vicious monster with 10 heads. Eventually the darkness and terror whipped up by all these monsters living together began to seep further afield, and it attracted the attention of a heroic warrior who happened to have an army of monkeys at his disposal. He set out with the monkeys, they stormed the evil fortress, and eventually defeated the monster king’s army. 

If you ever have the chance to visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia, keep an eye out for the bas-relief depicting this epic battle. The large carved battle scene imagines the fight between Ravana's Rakshasas and Rama's monkeys. Ravana is depicted with ten heads and twenty arms, mounted on a chariot drawn by creatures that appear to be a mixture of horse, lion, and bird. It’s really something. Check our social media pages for some pictures.

Rakshasas also pop up frequently in other Hindu scriptures. 

One notable example is in The Adi Parva, the Hindu “Book of the Beginning,” which tells the story of Bhima, a mighty hero who defeats a a cannibalistic forest-dwelling Rakshasa known for terrorizing a nearby village by demanding regular deliveries of food and human sacrifices. Bhima volunteers to slay the beast, and makes his way to the creature’s lair. When he comes upon him, we’re given the following description:  

“Of huge body and great strength, of red eyes, red beard, and red hair, he was terrible to behold, and he came, pressing deep the earth with his tread. The opening of his mouth, was from ear to ear and his ears themselves were straight as arrows. Of grim visage, he had a forehead furrowed into three lines. Beholding Bhima eating his food, the Rakshasa advanced, biting his nether lip and expanding his eyes in wrath.”

Bhima defeats the Rakshasa by engaging him in a ferocious wrestling match and breaking his back; however, he saves the locals from more than just this Rakshasa. It seems the others in the area were so terrified by Bhima’s strength and power that they begged for mercy, which Bhima granted on the condition that they turn their back on cannibalism forever. 

Later on, as Buddhism rose in popularity, it absorbed many of the characters from Hindu mythology, and Rakshasas found their way into Buddhist lore. In the Alavaka Sutta, a Buddhist scripture, we find a story that tells of an encounter between the Buddha and a pain-in-the-neck Rakshasa. They are sharing an abode, and again and again the Rakshasa asks the Buddha to come to him only to then ask him to leave. After several rounds of this, the Buddha refuses. This angers the Rakshasa, and he says:

“I will ask you a question, recluse. If you do not answer me, I will confound your mind, or cleave your heart, or take you by your feet and fling you over to the further shore of the ocean.”

He proceeds to ask Buddha question after question, and is ultimately wooed by the Buddha’s “most excellent” teaching and converted into a lifelong disciple. 

I’m not a Buddhist, but I really like this story, and I think there’s a good life lesson to be gleaned from it: When faced with a frightening foe who threatens harm, sometimes the best way forward is to outwit them, rather than out-power them… 

… Especially when that adversary is a giant demon who wants to eat you alive.

-closing music-

Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Fab Figmentals! I hope you enjoyed it.

Research, writing, and sound editing are done by me, Lindsey Morse. Niall Cooper assists with writing and editing. Our theme music was created by the wonderfully talented Graeme Ronald. 

New episodes drop every Wednesday. Make sure to subscribe to the show to get new episodes as soon as they’re available.

If you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon. You’ll find a link to our Patreon page on our website, FabFigmentals.com. We have bonus content and stories available for supporters, and I’ve recorded another goblin story exclusively for our patrons that’s called “The Goblin and the Sneeze.” As a small new show, even a $1 pledge helps us out! 

If you like learning about creatures that lurk in the shadows, perhaps you’d be interested in learning more about humanity’s darker side. If so, please also check out our sister show, Assassinations Podcast.

Thanks again for listening, and I hope you’ll join me next week, when we’ll explore the mythology and lore surrounding one of history’s most famous legendary creatures, and one that requires no introduction: the unicorn!

We’ll see you next time.