The Mahabharata states that the pishachas are found in north-west India.
Everybody has heard of the pishachas; in most cases through the Hanuman Chalisa, which says: “Bhoot pishacha nikat nahin aave Mahavir jab naam sunave” (Ghost, pishacha do not come near when the name of Hanuman is heard).
Most people do not have a clear idea of what pishachas are like, but still fear them. There is no scientific evidence that they exist. For their description, we have to turn to our epics. Pishachas are said to live in cremation grounds and feed on dead bodies. A person dying an unnatural death is believed to become a pishacha. They are caught between heaven and hell, unable to redeem themselves. They have supernatural powers and bring diseases and fevers. They feed on human energy.
Some believe that pishachas can “possess” humans and make them behave in strange and violent ways, even making them insane. In Atharvaveda, there are mantras prescribed to be recited over such possessed individuals that invoke Agni to take the possessing pishachas between his teeth and devour them.
In some religious ceremonies, pishachas are given offerings to keep them pacified. It is no surprise that people pray to warrior deities like Durga, Chamundeshwari, Kali, Virbhadra, Subrahmanya and Hanuman to protect them.
According to the Puranas and Mahabharata, pishachas were created by Brahma and were one of the 18 Prajapatis or creators of the world. It is said their forms were awkward. They had dark complexions with bulging veins and protruding red eyes. Brahma granted them the power to assume any shape and to hide themselves by becoming invisible. Since then, the pishachas have hidden themselves in deserted houses and water bodies, only coming out at dusk and dawn.
The Mahabharata states that the pishachas are found in north-west India. The Nilamata Purana, also known as Kasmira Mahatmya, contains the folklore of the Kashmir region. It states that a group of pishachas used to dwell in an oasis in the middle of the Sea of Sand. They were friendly with the daityas, so Kubera, the Lord of riches, appointed a pishacha, Nikumbha, to keep them under check. Nikumbha with his pishacha followers used to fight the pishachas of the oasis, six months in a year; spending the rest in peace on the Himachal mountain. It took four ages to defeat them.
It is not that the pishachas are always portrayed negatively. In some Buddhist scriptures, they are mentioned as protectors of Buddhism. The famous grammarian Panini mentions in his book Ashtadhyayi that the pishachas are a warrior clan. In some texts, it is mentioned that they are the sons of krodha (anger). Perhaps the hint that the epics are giving us is that anger makes us a pishacha.
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