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{{Short description|Asura (demon) in Hindu mythology}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| name = Namuchi
| image = Namuchi.webp
| caption = Namuchi attacking [[Indra]] and his elephant [[Airavata]].
| member_of = [[Rakshasa]]s
| other_names = Namuki
| abode = Atala
| battles = Devasura War
}}
{{Hindu mythology}}
'''Namuchi''' ([[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]]: नमुचि, <small>[[Romanization of Sanskrit|romanized]]:</small> <small>''Namuchi''</small>), also written as Namuci and known as Namuki in Vedic texts, is an [[Asura]] (demon) in [[Hindu mythology]]. He was mentioned in the [[Rigveda]] and later in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and ''[[Puranas]]'' which offer varying accounts of his life and death. Namuchi is often associated with other powerful Asuras and is portrayed as an adversary of the gods, particularly [[Indra]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2009-04-12 |title=Namuci, Namucī: 22 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/namuci |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The name Namuchi is derived from the Sanskrit roots '''na''' (न), meaning "not," and '''much''' (मुच्), meaning "to release" or "to let go." This etymology is symbolic of his character.

== Legend and literature ==
The stories of Namuchi mostly vary in different aspects in different texts. The stories although mainly focuses on fights between Namuchi and [[Indra]], where Indra always wins. Most known stories of Namuchi are:

1) In the ''[[Mahabharata]],'' Namuchi was a fierce [[Rakshasa]]. He was the son of [[Kashyapa|Prajapati Kashyapa]] and [[Danu (Hinduism)|Danu]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Mehta |first=Mahesh |last2=Lai |first2=P. |date=1971 |title=The Mahābhārata. VII: The Astika Parva in the Adi Parva |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/40125230 |journal=Books Abroad |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=183 |doi=10.2307/40125230 |issn=0006-7431|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and thus a brother to the [[Daitya]]s and [[Danava (Hinduism)|Danavas]] who often stood against the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] in their cosmic battles. His stature among the Asuras was such that even [[Indra]], the king of the gods, found himself unable to defeat him by conventional means.

During one of the great wars between the gods and the [[Asura]]s, Namuchi led a vast army against the Devas. Indra striked down countless Asura warriors. Yet Namuchi remained impervious to every attack. Realizing that he could not be slain by Indra's weapons, Namuchi retreated into the rays of the Sun, as [[Surya|Surya's]] rays protected him.

Indra, however, discovered him. Cornered, Namuchi proposed a pact that would make him untouchable. He declared that he could not be slain by staff or bow, nor by the palm of Indra's hand nor by his fist. He further insisted that he could not be killed during day or night, nor by anything that was either wet or dry. These conditions were phrased so carefully that they seemed to rule out any possible means of attack. At last, Indra agreed.<blockquote>"Oh, noble giant, I will not kill you by wet or dry thing, in the night or in the day, with my fist nor palm, with a staff nor bow. What I say is true."</blockquote>With this assurance, Namuchi emerged from the rays of the Sun. Through the power of [[Sura (alcoholic drink)|Sura-liquor]], he deprived Indra of his very strength. In some accounts, he stripped from him the essence of food itself and even the [[Sura (alcoholic drink)|Soma]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stuhrmann |first=Rainer |date=1985 |title=Worum handelt es sich beim Soma? |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/000000085790081868 |journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=85–93 |doi=10.1163/000000085790081868 |issn=0019-7246|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Indra, suddenly weakened and desperate, sought the help of the [[Ashvins]], as well as the goddess [[Saraswati]]. He lamented to them that though he had kept his word and honored the treaty.<blockquote>By means of the Surâ-liquor Namuki, the Asura, carried off Indra's (source of) strength, the essence of food, the Soma-drink. He (Indra) hasted up to the Asvins and Sarasvatî, crying, 'I have sworn to Namuki, saying, "I will slay thee neither by day nor by night, neither with staff nor with bow, neither with the palm of my hand nor with the fist, neither with the dry nor with the moist!" and yet has he taken these things from me: seek ye to bring me back these things! — Satapatha Brahmana, translated by [[Julius Eggeling]] (1900), Kanda XII, Adhyaya VII, Brahmana III, Verse 1<ref>{{Cite web |title=Satapatha Brahmana Part V (SBE44): Twelfth Kânda: XII, 7, 3. Third Brâhmana |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe44/sbe44067.htm |access-date=2019-12-30 |website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref></blockquote>It was with their guidance that Indra found a way to turn the conditions of the pact against Namuchi himself. Indra waited until [[twilight]], time which is neither fully day nor fully night. Namuchi was again cornered at the seashore and he was suffocated with [[sea foam]] a substance that is neither entirely wet nor entirely dry. With this strange weapon, he struck Namuchi and severed his head.

This victory came with a great cause. Though Indra had not broken the literal terms of his vow, he had violated its spirit. Namuchi, as a son of the sage [[Kashyapa]], was regarded as a [[Brahmin]], and in killing him Indra incurred the terrible sin of [[Brahmahatya]]. This sin manifested as Namuchi's severed head which rose against Indra following him across the worlds.

At last, unable to bear the torment, Indra sought the counsel of [[Brahma]], who instructed him to perform an act of purification. Indra was told to bathe at the sacred confluence of rivers known as [[Arunasangama]]. Obeying the command, he immersed himself in the holy waters, and there the sin of Brahmahatya was washed away. From that time, Arunasangama was regarded as a pilgrimage.<ref name=":0" />

2) In the [[Padma Purana]], Namuchi is described as a captain of the Asura king [[Hiranyaksha|Hiranyaksha's]] army. In this account, he fights [[Indra]] and briefly renders him unconscious. He made the elephant Airāvata thrust its tusks on the ground. He then uses his magical powers to create an army of monstrous creatures. However, [[Vishnu]] intervenes and destroys Namuchi's creations with the [[Sudarshana Chakra]]. Ultimately, it is Indra who delivers the final blow and kills him.<ref>{{Citation |last=Dejenne |first=Nicolas |title=The Śivaśarmopākhyāna of the Padma Purāṇa as a bizarre compendium of epic and purāṇic tales of Pitṛbhakti |date=2023-11-21 |work=Visions and Revisions in Sanskrit Narrative |pages=369–386 |url=https://doi.org/10.22459/vrsn.2023.15 |access-date=2025-09-07 |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-76046-589-6}}</ref>
----The [[Indra]]-Namuchi myth' has varying stories across puranas like [[Padma Purana]]. Some are scattered throughout the [[Brahmana]] literature (cf. VS [<nowiki/>[[Vajasaneyi-Samhita|Vajaseneyi Samhita]]] 10.34; PB [<nowiki/>[[Pancavimsa Brahmana]]] 12.6.8, MS [<nowiki/>[[Maitrayani Samhita]]] IV.34; TB [<nowiki/>[[Taittiriya Brahmana]]] 1.7.1.6)', the fullest version is in the [[Shatapatha Brahmana]]. Indra defeating Namuchi itself originates from the [[Rigveda]] (e.g. 10.73):

{{Verse translation|tvaṃ jaghantha '''namuciṃ''' makhasyuṃ dāsaṃ kṛṇvāna ṛṣayevimāyam {{!}}
tvaṃ cakartha manave syonān patho devatrāñjasevayānān {{!}}{{!}}|War-loving '''Namuci''' thou smotest, robbing the Dāsa of his magic for the Ṛṣi.
For man thou madest ready pleasant pathways, paths leading as it were directly God-ward.|lang=en|attr1=RigVeda [[transliteration]] of Book 10, Hymn 73, Verse 7<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rvsan/rv10073.htm|title=RigVeda Book X Hymn LXXIII, 'Indra' (Sanskrit and Transliteration)|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2020-01-08}}</ref>|attr2=RigVeda [[translation]] by Ralph T.H. Griffith (1896) of Book 10, Hymn 73, Verse 7<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv10073.htm|title=RigVeda Book X Hymn LXXIII, 'Indra'|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2020-01-08}}</ref>}}

== See also ==

* [[Mahabali|Bali]]
* [[Brahmahatya]]
* [[Danu (Hinduism)|Danu]]
* [[Mara (demon)]]
* [[Shatapatha Brahmana]]
* [[Vritra]]

== References ==
<references />

== External links ==

* https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/namuci

The above link is the primary source of the article. This webpage covers many other Indra-Namuchi storylines.

[[Category:Asura]]
[[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Rakshasa in the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Rigveda]]

Namuchi - Revision history

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