Can we imagine what a story would be like without a villain? The value of a hero is only increased if there is a villain. The struggles the hero goes through to overcome the roadblocks the villain lays are interesting to read or watch. Without them, the story would be uninteresting—like a dish without marmasala (salt and spices) that is guaranteed to taste bland.

What would be the role of gods if there were no devils? Demons and devils, though they may not be savory characters, make the story exciting because they provide the necessary ingredients for the plot. Everyone, including gods, needs a cause to fight for justice, righteousness, and to bring order from chaos. God Vishnu incarnates only when bad actors cause atrocities to living beings. Villains are the reason for Vishnu to return. Without them, Vishnu would have no job. Perhaps it is for the same reason that the temporal leaders, although they preach against war, do not like the world to be at peace for a long time. Sometimes they incite wars so that they can remain in the spotlight as heroes. Additionally, they benefit from wars because wars require manufacturing various equipment, arms, ammunition, and other air, ground, and sea defense systems, not to mention the thousands of people who are needed to make them and defend the country. A war is an interconnected system that requires interconnected operations to run. Eventually, it can become a profitable enterprise.

Is Bali a Villain?

Before taking up the case of Bali, the king of the Ashura clan, let us return to a popular Hollywood film named Star Wars. The film became a box office hit because of its epic story between good and evil. On one side, there are the Jedi Knights represented by Luke Skywalker, and on the other hand, there is Darth Vader, who was formerly a Jedi Knight. Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, was drawn to the dark force to save his wife. Throughout the film, Darth Vader symbolizes evil because he is controlled by Emperor Palpatine, the lord of the Dark Force representing the Sith Order. However, at the end of the film, Darth Vader redeems himself by giving his own life for Luke Skywalker, his son.

After having taught Hindu art and religions of Asia for many years at American universities, I hope I have gained some insights into the nature of evil. To explain or rather understand the concept of evil in Hindu tradition, the character of Bali is most beneficial. First, let us examine who Bali is. The great-grandson of Hiranyakashipu, Bali is already lumped together with the class of Ashura, the demonic race, simply being associated with Hiranyakashipu, one of the evil characters of Hindu mythology. We often hear the popular caution that we should not judge a book by its cover. By the same token, one should not judge a person by his race or skin color, but by his character and actions. Bali, therefore, falls into that gray area; although he belongs to the demonic race, he is more like Prahlad, his great-grandfather, who went on to become a paragon of godly devotion and good karma. Similarly, Bali was a pious and generous king of the demons, which went against his swa-dharma (intrinsic character).

In my last posting about snakes, I talked about evil represented by the snake as a negative force because a snake, by its nature (although not all species of snakes are venomous), is venomous. In class, students often ask me why there is evil in the world. As I am not a theologian, I find it hard to answer citing textual references. My simple answer, as I have understood it, is that evil is like pain, and it is necessary to contrast with pleasure. Without experiencing pain, how can one appreciate pleasure, i.e., the absence of pain? Hence, in Hinduism, evil is not a separate entity that is unrelated to one’s life. Evil is part of life, and it comes in many forms such as ignorance, bad judgment, bad action, negative thinking, dementia, or anything that prevents us from attaining enlightenment or moksha, i.e., release from rebirth.

Generally, evil arises from ignorance, selfishness, ego, hatred, anger, and all the negative emotions that lead us to act negatively against others. Hence, its presence acts as a speed bump, keeping us vigilant and on our toes. Let us consider for a moment, if we lived in a utopia (if there is such a thing) with no crime, no pain, no suffering, no disease, no worry about money, no long lines anywhere, no need to report to a superior, and no punishment for wrongdoing because no one does any wrong. In other words, it is like heaven with the caveat that it is located here on Earth. If that were true, then human beings would not be motivated to make progress materially or spiritually. They would have no concept of dukkha (suffering, unhappiness), We make medicine because we get sick; we make products to make our lives easier. We are constantly inventing something new, i.e., making improvements upon improvements, for example, from iPhone one to iPhone fifteen.

In Hindu philosophy, the existence of evil is often seen as a necessary force for the progression of the soul and the maintenance of cosmic balance. One key idea is that evil, or adharma (absence of righteousness), serves as a contrast to dharma, allowing individuals to make conscious moral choices. The Bhagavad Gita emphasizes this duality, where Krishna explains to Arjuna that without challenges or obstacles, including those posed by evil, growth and spiritual evolution would not be possible. The presence of evil creates the conditions for humans to practice virtue, self-discipline (self-policing), and ultimately transcend material desires (Gita 2.47-50).

Additionally, in the Mahabharata, it is illustrated that evil plays a role in the cosmic cycle of creation, preservation, and destruction. Lord Vishnu, in his avatars, descends to earth to restore balance when adharma prevails, suggesting that evil is part of the natural order and serves to catalyze divine intervention. The Rigveda also touches upon the idea of duality, highlighting the cosmic tension between forces of light and darkness, good and evil, which sustains the universe.

If we simply take life and death as a metaphor for good and evil, we will understand the concept better in simpler terms. Since the universe is constantly evolving with the birth of a star, a planet, or a galaxy, and eventually their demise, we may equate death with evil. If that is the case, evil exists in the universe on a cosmological scale. But evil is not permanent, and hence one need not worry about being in that condition for an eternity as is the case in the Western tradition. Evil or the negative force will pass, as there is life after death.

To continue with the story from the Bhagavata Purana manuscript, I begin with a series of paintings dealing with life, death, curse, consequences of one’s actions, and finally redemption. These themes are necessary aspects of life, and through words and images, they come alive like today’s cinema or video. These illustrations are, therefore, yesterday’s moving images. One of the stories illustrated here is King Parikshit’s actions leading to his death.

When King Parikshit found out that he had only seven days to live and how he would die, he gladly accepted it and decided to spend the time he had at his disposal listening to the Bhagavata Purana that contained wisdom. Rishi Suka, the son of Rishi Vyasa, was selected to be the narrator of the scripture, which he divided into seven sections for narrating within seven days. Hence, the tradition of narrating Bhagavata Purana in seven days (saptaha) came to be established.

Parikshit was the son of Abhimanyu and the grandson of Arjuna. When the Mahabharata war ended, all male members of the Kuru Dynasty perished except Parikshit, who was still in his mother Uttara’s womb. Lord Krishna took special interest in him. The young boy, like his father and grandfather, had the power to conquer the world and become a just king because he had knowledge and power. But power, if not controlled, can distort the person’s perception. That is exactly what happened to Parikshit, and that changed his destiny. When he became the king of Hastinapur, it came with unlimited power. Right at that moment, with the death of Lord Krishna, the time changed from Dwapar to Kali Yuga, as though the day had turned into night. He came under the influence of Kali Yuga. As a result, Parikshit became arrogant and intolerant.

In this scene, Sage Suka discourses the king about the body and spirit not being one, even though Atman resides in the body. On the foreground, a person who is dead is seen lying on a bed, as an example of the body without prana. When prana leaves the material body, it has no function, which remains useless, and it’s fed to the fire as shown in the next painting. On the foreground, there are two scenes—one on the left and the other on the right.

When the news of Parikshit’s cause and time of death was announced, another sage, Kashyapa, who knew the mantra of extracting snake venom, rushes to the site of Parikshit to save the king in hopes of receiving a reward for rendering his life-saving service. Snake Takshya, who was going to bite the king, knows this, and he too rushes toward the same direction to complete his mission, which is to kill King Parikshit. Although they both meet, Kashyapa doesn’t recognize Takshka, who is disguised as a Brahmin. The Brahmin asks the reason for the sage’s haste. When the sage revealed his mission, the snake offered him a greater prize, which the sage accepted, thinking that what is fated can’t be altered. This is the earliest incidence of bribery in human civilization. We see this in a movie when a hired killer is offered more money than the person who hired him; he flips the side, and the hunter now becomes the hunted.

In the next scene, depicted on the left, the king is seated while the snake Takshka, disguised as a Brahmin, appears in real form and bites his left hand.

The third painting is quite interesting as it combines three separate but related scenes. On the upper register, the king thanks Sage Suka for his services. Through his recitation of the Bhagavatam, the king is now knowledgeable of the immortality of Atman (soul). As the sage takes leave with his party, in the next scene below, precisely at the end of seven days, the snake Takshaka kills the king by biting him.

In the next painting, King Parikshit is cremated on the riverbank as his subjects on earth and celestial beings in the sky praise him.

Finally, the story comes to a climax. When King Parikshit’s son, Janamejaya, comes to know the identity of his father’s killer, he vows to kill not only Takshka but his entire snake species on the land, tantamount to a genocidal act.

To wipe out the entire snake species, he organizes a Sarpa Sastra Yagna. As hundreds of rishis chant the powerful sarpa mantra, thousands of snakes from near and far places come out of their holes and jump voluntarily into the agni kunda (fire pit). This is a spectacular scene. Some snakes even come flying from faraway lands to sacrifice themselves. Such was the power of the sarpa sastra yagna!