m. (in fine compositi or 'at the end of a compound'f(ā-).) Name of a class of demons (possibly so called either from their fondness for flesh[ piśa-for piśita-]or from their yellowish appearance;they were perhaps originally a personification of the ignis fatuus;they are mentioned in the veda- along with asura-s and rākṣasa-sSee also ;in later times they are the children of krodhā-see)
पिशाचः [पिशितमाचामति, आ + चम् बा˚ ड पृषो˚] A fiend, goblin, devil, spirit, malevolent being; नन्वाश्वासितः पिशाचो$पि भोजनेन V.2; Ms.1.37;12.44. -Comp. -आलयः phosphorescence. -चर्या the practice of पिशाचs -द्रुः a kind of tree. -बाधा, -संचारः demoniacal possession. -भाषा 'the language of devils', a gibberish or corruption of Sanskrit, one of the lowest Prākṛita dialects used in plays. -सभम् 1 an assemblage of fiends. -2 pandemonium, the hall of their assembly.
m. (î, f.) Pisâka: -pu ra, n. N. of a village; -grihîta-ka, m. one possessed of a demon; -tâ, f., -tva, n. con dition of a Pisâka; -pati, m. ep. of Siva; -vadana, a. having the face of a Pisâka; -½uraga-râkshasa, m. pl. imps, serpents, and demons.
Is the name of a class of demon mentioned in the Atharvaveda and later. In the Taittirīya Samhitā they are associated with Raksases and Asuras, while opposed to gods, men, and fathers. In the Atharvaveda they are described as kravyād, eaters of raw flesh,’ which may be the etymological sense of the word Piśāca itself. It is possible that the Piśācas were, as suggested by Grierson, really human foes, like the north-western tribes, who even in later times were reputed eaters of raw flesh (not necessarily as cannibals, but rather as eaters of human flesh in ritual). This is, however, not at all likely, the Piśācas having in all probability only meant ghouls * originally: when they appear as human tribes, they were presumably thus designated in scorn. A science called Piśāca- veda or Piśāca-vidyā is known in the later Vedic period.
noun (masculine) a fiend (Monier-Williams, Sir M. (1988))
demon (Monier-Williams, Sir M. (1988))
imp (Monier-Williams, Sir M. (1988))
malevolent or devilish being (Monier-Williams, Sir M. (1988))
name of a class of demons (Monier-Williams, Sir M. (1988))
name of a Rakṣas (Monier-Williams, Sir M. (1988))
ogre (Monier-Williams, Sir M. (1988))
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