Asura

Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are mythological lord beings in Indian texts who compete for power with the more benevolent devas (also known as suras). Asuras are described in Indian texts as powerful superhuman demigods with good or bad qualities. The good Asuras are called Adityas and are led by Varuna, while the malevolent ones are called Danavas and are led by Vrtra.

In the earliest layer of Vedic texts Agni, Indra and other gods are also called Asuras, in the sense of them being "lords" of their respective domains, knowledge and abilities. In later Vedic and post-Vedic texts, the benevolent gods are called Devas, while malevolent Asuras compete against these Devas and are considered "enemy of the gods" or demons.

Asuras are part of Indian mythology along with Devas, Yaksha (nature spirits) and Rakshasas (ghosts, ogres), and Asuras feature in one of many cosmological theories in Hinduism.

Etymology and history

Monier-Williams traces the etymological roots of Asura (असुर) to Asu (असु), which means life of the spiritual world or departed spirits. In the oldest verses of the Samhita layer of Vedic texts, the Asuras are any spiritual, divine beings including those with good or bad intentions, and constructive or destructive inclinations or nature. In later verses of the Samhita layer of Vedic texts, Monier Williams states the Asuras are "evil spirits, demon and opponent of the gods". Asuras connote the chaos-creating evil, in Hindu mythology about the battle between good and evil.

Asura (2012 film)

Asura (Japanese: アシュラ, Hepburn: Ashura) is a 2012 Japanese anime film directed by Keiichi Sato and based on a manga of the same name by George Akiyama. Asura tied for the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature at the 16th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

Plot

Mid 15th-century Japan. Flood, drought and famine have transformed the landscape of Kyoto into a barren wasteland. More than 80,000 people perished between 1459 and 1461. This desolate state serves as the backdrop to the beginning of the country's greatest civil war. In this era, a boy is born a beast - Asura. Abandoned as an infant, an eight-year-old boy wandered around the world with his axe and was forced to learn the means of surviving in the wild. In time, he learns to kill and eat humans as well. He stumbled upon a monk who he intended to eat but the monk repelled him. The monk gave him temporary shelter and food because he sees Asura within this boy, naming him Asura. He teaches Asura the Buddha chant hoping one day Asura would understand it and leaves the boy on the side of the road.

Asura (disambiguation)

The Asuras are a race of power-seeking deities in Hinduism.

Asura may also refer to:

Kart racing

Kart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports.

Karts vary widely in speed and some (known as Superkarts) can reach speeds exceeding 260 kilometres per hour (160 mph), while amusement park go-karts intended for the general public may be limited to speeds of no more than 25 kilometres per hour (16 mph).

History

American Art Ingels is generally accepted to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rodder and a race car builder at Kurtis Kraft, he built the first kart in Southern California in 1956. Instantly popular, Karting rapidly spread to other countries, and currently has a large following in Europe.

The first kart manufacturer was an American company, Go Kart Manufacturing Co. (1958). In 1959, McCulloch was the first company to produce engines for karts. Its first engine, the McCulloch MC-10, was an adapted chainsaw 2-stroke engine. Later, in the 1960s, motorcycle engines were also adapted for kart use, before dedicated manufacturers, especially in Italy (IAME), started to build engines for the sport.

Kart (disambiguation)

Kart or KART or Go-kart or similar may refer to:

See also

Kard, Armenia

Kard (Armenian: Կարդ, also Romanized as Kart’; formerly, Gyard, Gyrad, Gyard Nerk’in, Gyart’, Kard Nerk’in, Girt’, K’irt’, and K’art’i) is a village in the rural community of Geghi, Syunik Province, Armenia. The National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia (ARMSTAT) reported it was uninhabited at the 2001 and 2011 censuses.

References