Shushna () is an

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translate ...

described in

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

texts. Normally associated with drought, Shushna is often described as possessing a snake-like form with horns. He is an enemy of the deity

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> In ...

Etymology

Shushna means "drought" from the root Sus, which translates to "dry up". The similar "sosna" is an old Slavic word for the pine tree.

Literature

In Hinduism, Shushna is an asura commonly associated with drought, famine, and hoarding.Chakravarty, U. (1994). INDRA'S PROTÉGÉS IN THE ṚGVEDA. ''Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute,'' ''75''(1/4), 51-64. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41694405 An enemy of Indra, the asura makes multiple appearances across a number of

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

texts. He is often associated with

Vritra Vritra () is a danava in Hinduism. He serves as the personification of drought, and is an adversary of the king of the devas, Indra. As a danava, he belongs to the race of the asuras. Vritra is also known in the Vedas as Ahi (Sanskrit: ', l ...

, another asura which obstructs the rivers of the world. In the

Brahmana The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within e ...

and

Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...

texts within the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

, Shushna is described as being a bitter enemy (''

dasa ''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a "servant of God", "devotee," " votary" or ...

'') of the god

. Shushna, who is described as a horned serpent-asura, aids the

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translate ...

s in their war against Indra and his fellow

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

. Whenever an asura is killed in battle, Shushna uses his mystical breath (which contains the essence of the

amrta ''Amrita'' ( sa, अमृत, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred to i ...

, the elixir of immortality) to restore the fallen warrior to life. Indra discovers these resurrections and plots to steal the amrta for himself and his fellow devas. Thus, Indra turns himself into a globule of honey and allows the asura to consume him. Once inside of Susna's stomach, Indra turns into a falcon (or eagle), steals the amrta from the asura's mouth, and escapes to deliver the prize to the other devas. In the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

, Shushna is described as being a "child of mists" similar to Vritra, a massive dragon who blocks the rivers of the world. Like Vritra, Shushna is seen as a causer of drought and as a foe of Indra. However, while Indra is able to kill Vritra with a lightning bolt, Shushna must be destroyed by returning water to the land. To defeat the asura, Indra destroys Susna's fortress, and, at the request of his follower Kutsa, sends rains to end the drought, defeating the asura. One passage from the text notes Indra "made flow the springs restrained by the season through killing Shushna, the child of mists."

References

Legendary serpents Characters in Hindu mythology Asura {{DEFAULTSORT:Shushna