Asura (asura)

The asuras are the older siblings and rivals of the gods, often translated as demons though they are neither uniformly wicked nor weak. Their kings include the generous Bali and the devout Prahlada, and their teacher Shukracharya holds the secret of raising the dead, which is what the churning of the ocean and the theft of the nectar are ultimately about. The Bhagavad Gita reuses the word morally rather than genealogically, describing an asuric temperament as one built on arrogance, cruelty and the conviction that the world has no order.