In the Hindu epic, the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...

'', Prahasta (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

: 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 Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks kn ...

. He was the son of

Sumali '' Ramayana'' is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (''Itihasa''s) of Hindu literature. It was composed by sage Valmiki. This is a list of important characters that appear in the epic. A Agastya Agastya was a son of sage Pula ...

and Ketumathi. In his next birth, Prahasta was reborn as

Purochana Purochana () is a character in Hindu mythology, an architect in the kingdom of Hastinapura, and one of Duryodhana's trusted aides in the Indian epic Mahabharata. He was also a minister under the Kauravas. He is better known as the individual ...

in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

Duryodhana Duryodhana ( sa, दुर्योधन, ) also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Being ...

'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 literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of History of India, ancient India, the oth ...

incident.

Legend

Prahasta was one of the ten sons of

and Ketumati. He also had four sisters. One of them was

's mother

Kaikashi ''Ramayana'' is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (''Itihasa''s) of Hindu literature. It was composed by sage Valmiki. This is a list of important characters that appear in the epic. A Agastya Agastya was a son of sage Pulasty ...

. 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 Kubera ( sa, कुबेर, translit=Kuberā) also known as Kuvera, Kuber and Kuberan, is the god of wealth, and the god-king of the semi-divine yakshas in Hinduism. He is regarded as the regent of the north (''Dikpala''), and a protecto ...

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) Deva ...

, and the

Asuras 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 translated ...

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 ...

, 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 Being ...

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 ''This character is about the vanara, in the Ramayana.'' Sugriva ( sa, सुग्रीव, , ) is a character In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali (Ramayana), Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara ...

and the

Vanara In Hindu, Vanara ( sa, वानर, , forest-dwellers) are either monkeys, apes, or a race of forest-dwelling people. In the epic the ''Ramayana'', the Vanaras help Rama defeat Ravana. They are generally depicted as humanoid apes, or human- ...

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 Nila may refer to: * Nila, alternate name of Nileh Safid, a village in Iran * Baby Nila, Leela’s little sister on Sesame Street * Nila River or Bharathapuzha, is a river in the Indian state of Kerala * Pulau Nila, a small Indonesian volcanic isl ...

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