Trishira () is a

rakshasa Rākshasa (, , ; ; "preservers") are a race of usually malevolent beings prominently featured in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Folk Islam. They reside on Earth but possess supernatural powers, which they usually use for evil acts such as ...

prince featured in the

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

. He is one of the sons of

Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...

and Dhanyamalini and his brothers are Atikaya, Narantaka and Devantaka.

Legend

The ''Ramayana'' states that Trishira engaged Rama in a fight and hit him with a number of arrows. At this, Rama told him that his arrows were like flowers being showered on his body. Thereafter, a duel ensued, in which Rama killed Trishira. Trishira and his brother Atikaya are believed to be incarnations of the

asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

s Madhu and Kaitabha, who were slain by

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

during the period of the creation of the universe.

References

Trishira
Rakshasa in the Ramayana {{Hindu-myth-stub Rakshasa

Legend

See also

References