Rākshasa
c. 500 BCE – 2026 CEattested
Indian subcontinent and Lanka
- Hindu
Shape-shifting demons of the Ramayana, ruled by the ten-headed Ravana from Lanka. Not all are evil: Vibhishana defected to Rama and was rewarded with a kingdom.
Known for
- Ravana and the ten heads
- shape-shifting
- not all are villains
Dates are estimates. A great deal of what this atlas covers is only datable to within a century.