In the

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 ...

epic, the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'', Prahasta (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: प्रहस्त, IAST: prahasta, lit. ''he who has extended hands'') was a powerful

rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma wh ...

warrior and the chief commander of

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

's army of Lanka. He was the son of Sumali and Ketumathi. In his next birth, Prahasta was reborn as Purochana in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

as Duryodhana's trusted aide and was the main responsible for the

Lakshagraha Lakshagriha ( sa, लाक्षागृहम्, )) (The House of Lacquer) is a place mentioned in the ''Mahabharata'', one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana. This place is located on the bank o ...

incident.

Legend

Prahasta was one of the ten sons of Sumali and Ketumati. He also had four sisters. One of them was

's mother Kaikashi. Prahasta was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Ravana's army. He led Ravana's army in the wars against

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...

, Kubera and the

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), ...

, and the Asuras and

Daityas According to ancient scriptures, the daityas (Sanskrit: दैत्य) are a race of asuras, descending from Kashyapa and his wife, Diti. Prominent members of this race include Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, and Mahabali, all of whom overran the ...

, through which Ravana established his sovereignty over the three worlds. He also led the initial Lankan response to the invasion led by

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

, Sugriva and the Vanara army. Prahasta killed several important warriors of Sugriva's army and was actually proving to be a real threat to Rama's army. As per one version of the Ramayana, Prahasta was killed by Lakshmana. In another version, Nila hurled a rock at Prahasta that broke his neck and killed him. (Valmiki Ramayana, book 6, canto 58, verses 53,54)

References

{{Reflist * http://www.valmikiramayan.net/yuddha/sarga57/yuddha_57_prose.htm * http://ancientvoice.wikidot.com/vrm:prahasta Rakshasa in the Ramayana Characters in the Ramayana

Legend

Further reading

References