Vipracitti
Vipracitti is the foremost chief (pradhāna) of the Dānavas. The Dānavas are the hundred sons born to Danu, a daughter of Daksha Prajāpati, through Kaśyapa Prajāpati. Vipracitti leads the whole Dānava host, one of the great forces that stand against the devas in the Purāṇas.
He married Siṃhikā, the daughter of Hiraṇyakaśipu. Through her he became the father of Rāhu and thirteen other Saimhikeyas, among the most terrifying of all asuras.
Birth and station
Vipracitti is the first-named and most prominent of the hundred sons of Kaśyapa through Danu. Danu is one of the thirteen daughters whom Daksha Prajāpati gave to Kaśyapa. The sons of Aditi are the Ādityas, the hosts of devas. The sons of Danu are the Dānavas, the opposing force. Vipracitti stands at their head. The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa (Uttarārdha, Chapter 7) tells this.
The hundred Dānavas
The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa names more than sixty of the hundred Dānavas, with Vipracitti as their chief. The most prominent are:
Dvimūrkha, Śaṃkuvarṇa, Śaṃkukṛshṇa, Śaṃkukarṇa, Mahāviśva, Gaveshṭhi, Dundubhi, Ajomukha, Śīla, Vāmana, Marīci, Akshaka, Mahāgārya, Aṅgirāvṛta, Vikshobhya, Suketu, Suvīrya, Suhṛda, Indrajit, Viśvajit, Surāvimardana, Ekacakra, Subāhu, Tāraka, Mahābala, Vaiśvānara, Puloma, Pravīṇa, Mahāśiras, Svarbhānu, Vṛshaparvā, Muṇḍaka, Mahāsura, Dhṛtarāshṭra, Sūrya, Candra, Indra, Tāpina, Sūkshma, Nīcandra, Ūrṇanābha, Mahāgiri, Asilomu, Sukeśa, Balaka, Daśa, Gaganamūrdha, Kumbhanābha, Mahodara, Pramoda, Kupadha, Hayagrīva, Vīryavanta, Virūpāksha, Supatha, Aja, Hiraṇmaya, Śatamāya and Śambara.
These Dānavas are satya-sandha (true to their word), parākramī (valiant), cruel at times, māyāvī (masters of illusion) and very strong. They do not perform yajña (fire ritual) and are not devoted to brāhmaṇas. Their children and grandchildren are said to be beyond counting.
Marriage to Siṃhikā and the Saimhikeyas
Vipracitti married Siṃhikā, the daughter of Hiraṇyakaśipu, the Daitya king. They had fourteen sons, known as the Saimhikeyas. Rāhu is the eldest. The Saimhikeyas are:
- Rāhu
- Śatagāla
- Bala
- Nyāsa
- Śāmbu
- Anuloma
- Śuci
- Vātāpi
- Sītāṃśuka
- Hara
- Kalpa
- Kālanābha
- Bhauma
- Naraka
The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa calls them invincible to the devas. A further ten thousand Saimhikeya-gaṇa (hosts) make up their wider clan.
Two streams of asuras
Vipracitti’s family joins the two great asura streams. The Dānavas come through Danu. The Daityas come through Diti, and this stream reaches the family through his wife Siṃhikā. The Saimhikeyas born of this union carry both streams.
The Vāyu Purāṇa notes that even the great host of ten thousand Saimhikeya-gaṇa was destroyed in the end. Paraśurāma is named as the one who destroyed them.
The war in the Bhavishya Parva
The Bhavishya Parva of the Harivaṃśa (Chapters 48–65) tells of the great wars between devas and daityas in the time of Bali Cakravartī. In this account Vipracitti is one of the chief daitya champions. The war is told as a series of single combats in which the greatest warriors of both sides meet.
In this sequence Vipracitti fought Varuṇa, the deva of the waters and guardian of the western direction. Vipracitti was one of the senior Dānava chiefs and held a place of high honour in the daitya-dānava host gathered under Bali. His fight with Varuṇa was one of the main contests of this war. In the end the daityas drove all the lokapālakas (guardians of the directions) from their domains.
Sources
- Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 7
- Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 6
- Harivaṃśa, Bhavishya Parva, Chapters 48–65