Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s21.1003

v1.c3.s21.1003

Piśāca is the name of a class of demon mentioned in the Atharvaveda¹ and later.² In the Taittirīya Saṃhitā³ they are associated with Rakṣases and Asuras, while opposed to gods, men, and fathers. In the Atharvaveda⁴ they are described as kravyād, ‘eaters of raw flesh,’ which may be the etymological sense of the word Piśāca itself.⁵ It is possible that the Piśācas were, as suggested by Grierson,⁶ really human foes, like the north-western tribes, who even in later times were reputed eaters of raw flesh (not necessarily as cannibals, but rather as eaters of human flesh in ritual). This is, however, not at all likely, the Piśācas having in all probability only meant ‘ghouls’ originally: when they appear as human tribes, they were presumably thus designated in scorn. A science called Piśācaveda⁷ or Piśāca-vidyā⁸ is known in the later Vedic period.