Asuras are entities that take on varying roles in the Asian religions. In the old Vedic religion, they were simply gods of moral/social phenomenon who regularly competed with the Devas, who were gods of natural phenomenon.
In Hinduism, they are fanatical, demon-like entities associated with carnal and materialistic pleasures, and often thirsted for violence, opposed to the more peace-inclined Devas. There are many kings and rulers of the Asura, but one major Asura Lord is based on Virocana, also known as Maha Vairocana or Dainichi Nyorai, the king of the asuras who, alongside Indra, searched for the secret of enlightenment.
In Buddhism, they are the lowest rank of deities and are jealous gods addicted to various malign passions, while said to be one of the four unhappy births, being representative of a human being incapable of peace and always angered with the world, while also seeking strife and violence. In Japanese Buddhism, they are demigods, or semi-blessed beings. Powerful protectors of Buddhism, yet fierce and quarrelsome, they are partly good and partly evil, like humans. Their realm is believed to be a world of strife said to be located on the ocean floor. Some say Ashura was an Indian royal who converted to Buddhism. In other traditions, Ashura was a sun goddess who was feared for bringing droughts. The leaders of the Asuras were called Asurinda or Asurendra ("Asura Lord"). The principal leaders are Vemacritin (also called Vepacitti), Rahu (also called Veroca, Verocana, or Virocana) and Paharada. The appearance of the Megami Tensei series' Asura is most likely based on the Japanese Buddhist depiction of the Asuras.
However, in Zoroastrianism, Asura are known as Ahura, and are depicted as the forces of good, led by Ahura Mazda. In fact, the Indo-Iranians, the term asura (or in this case ahura) originally referred to divine beings on par with the gods. After the Aryans went their separate ways from the Iranians, the asuras came to be seen as rival gods, eventually even demonic. The struggle between the devas and the asuras possibly reflects the conflict between the tribes who worshiped a pantheon led by the god Indra and the tribes who worshiped the gods called the asuras.
Near the end of the final dungeon, the protagonist and his party encounter Asura. If the protagonist recruited Lucifer, Asura is turned back into Ahura Mazda, his true form, and joins the party. Otherwise, he will fight the protagonist.
Shin Megami Tensei[]
"Origin: India. The supreme god of Vajrayana. He is also known as Maha Vairocana, the god of fire and light. He is the universe himself and exists within the smallest of things. He is portrayed sitting meditating on a white lotus, in the center of both realms."
—Shin Megami Tensei A-Mode DDS dictionary
As the one responsible in leading the forces of the Ring of Gaea in order to intervene in God's summoning on the Basilica and bringing forth a world of freedom under the demons (and, for some, a world of survival of the fittest), Asura stands in his chambers located on the heart of the last floor basement of the Basilica as the last enemy and final boss fight the protagonist must face on Law and Neutral alignments; while serving as a non-playable ally if he is Chaos aligned, providing aid in the attainment of the "Devil Ring," a valuable item needed for the final showdown against Michael to become available. In contrast to this, Asura's own throne room is inaccessible unless the protagonist has the "Angel Ring" in their possession, but only if they follow the Law route. No item is required in the Neutral path.
He poses as the leader of the Gaean army that has taken control of the inferior part of the Basilica, and serves as the most powerful servant of Lucifer on Earth, guiding his demon generals on the complete obliteration of the Messian faction alongside the Chaos Hero and his female partner Rie.
After encountering the protagonist, Asura mocks him, stating that "to have betrayed one who cared about [him] (referring to the Chaos Hero) in order to follow the orders of one who has done nothing for [him]," he is truly a "shining example of a servant of God." With that said, Asura proceeds to engage the heroes in the final battle, where he is slain and the balance of the world finally restored.
According to him, he is actually Ahura Mazda, cursed by God to be the demon Asura.
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey[]
"A violent group of demons in Hindu lore. They were very powerful and caused the gods great trouble. They are a strict group and attack anyone who runs counter to their ideals. They were originally gods of light who were worshipped in Persia. The Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda was one of them."
—Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey compendium
Asura appears as the violent demon lord of Sector Delphinus, initially as a mass of Formless demons scattered throughout Delphinus. These could possess crew members and manifest a form of violent insanity until Zelenin and the protagonist intervened using the MK gun. The fleeting demons began coalescing in giant hives around Delphinus' higher levels. At one point, these Demons also taunt Zelenin by claiming that the Elves' crewmen consider her a sex object, something that deeply unsettles her even after Asura himself is defeated. When a sizable number of them had been destroyed, they gathered in a giant stone statue of Asura, recreating their massive form.
Asura is a violent demon who seeks to "polish" the human spirit by having it devolve into a state of savage barbarism. Fittingly, his signature attack is Asura Roga, an attack that leads the targets to develop the Rage ailment, which raises their attack but causes them to mindlessly attack any target in the battlefield: themselves, the enemy or their own allies. This will usually result in the party being wiped out in several turns without any chances to strike back or recover from the injuries. For this reason, it is best that the protagonist either bring Physical-resistant demons and/or armor, or field demons with low Strength to minimize the self-inflicted damage. Avoid Phys-reflecting demons like Doppelganger since they will damage their teammate assailants even more. Fire resistance helps the party weather his main attacks, and access to Ice skills will be useful in triggering more Co-Op attacks. It's also strongly advised to Guard on the first turn to greatly mitigate the number of party members infected by Rage.
After being destroyed, he leaves behind his rare forma and Delphinus' Rosetta, opening up access to Sector Eridanus.
Asura later returns in Sector Fornax, in which he appears as an invisible demon which can hurt the protagonist with impunity unless he has the upgraded Enemy Search program. Upon being discovered, he manifests a Formless demon to attack while he hurries to Fornax' basements to shed his shape and assume his true form: Asherah.
Shin Megami Tensei IV[]
Asura appears in the Challenge Quest, Samurai and Hunters United. He has been attacking humans in the Ouji region and this has lead Nozomi to make a Quest for aid to fight him in the Jouhoku region. He appears as a red foe on the map. Arrogant and prideful, he tells Flynn to know his place as a human and that he'll send him to the land of the dead. As his body starts to crumble at the end of the battle, he expresses his surprise at being defeated by a human.
Asura relies heavily on multi-target Physical and Fire attacks. Having a demon or armor that nulls Fire can cause Asura to lose some turns spent attacking, along with a way to take advantage of Asura's Ice weakness. Nozomi acts as Flynn's partner during the battle, however this can cause multiple problems. Nozomi will use Gun and Force skills to attack Asura, both of which he nulls, which can lead to him gaining smirk status. Furthermore, if Nozomi is knocked out, the battle ends and Flynn will be forced to meet her in Ueno again before he can resume the battle.
Asura, along with Mithras, can be found outside Arioch's castle after accepting Amon's quest, "The Winged Sun." After learning from the protagonist that they were sent by Amon, the two immediately become hostile and attack but both are defeated and killed. After completing the quest, he becomes unlockable for fusion.
Majin Tensei[]
Asura can be recruited in Scenario 44, if neither Uriel or Zouchouten have joined the party.
Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs King Abaddon[]
"The king of India's Asura tribe, known as Maha Virocana. In Buddhism, he is known as The Great Sun God. As the god of light and fire, Asura is said to have the power to lead the entire universe to good."
Asura appears as an optional boss, provided that Raidou has completed all other quests from Yatagarasu and provided that Raidou's alignment is Lawful, the Case File "A critical request" shall open up in Chapter 7.
Raidou must go through the Akarana Corridor to find Asura. When Goto-Douji asks why Asura wants to go to an alternate space-time, Asura replies he wishes to leave for the future, to assist the forces of Chaos of that time. Raidou must choose if he dares to challenge Asura and then after the fight he must decide Asura's fate. Upon being beaten, he explains his current form as Dainichi Nyorai is not his true form and that he was once Ahura Mazda.
Raidou can choose to allow Asura to go join the armies of Chaos so that he may pursue his desire in once again becoming Ahura Mazda or to have him return to being Dainichi Nyorai. Goto will comment about the potential ramifications Raidou's decision could have on their world.
Soul Hackers 2[]
Asura is a demon of the Fury race and appears as the boss of Milady's Soul Matrix 3F.
Asura is initially weak to Ruin skills, but he possesses a skill called Raw Fury, which he immediately uses upon being afflicted with a status ailment. Raw Fury removes the status ailment, along with increasing Attack, Aim and Dodge, but lowering Defense. As the battle progresses, Asura will use the Path of Carnage skill, which increases his attack power and allows him make additional moves per turn. However, this skill also changes his affinities to be weak to more elements. The first time Asura uses Path of Carnage, he will become weak to Fire and Electricity skills. The second time, Asura will gain a weakness to Electricity and Force skills.
Asura can be fused with any kind of Nihil weapon to obtain Vajra, a Knife-type weapon with an attack value of 450 and a hit rate of 100. It boosts all stats by 10.
Persona 4 / Golden[]
Asura is the ultimate Persona of the Sun Arcana. He is only available after completing either Ayane Matsunaga's Social Link and receiving the Handmade Ticket from her, or completing Yumi Ozawa's Social Link and receiving the Annotated Script. Much like in Persona 3, he is the only Persona that learns Unshaken Will, which nullifies all mental ailments. Like the majority of skills exclusive to certain Personas, Unshaken Will cannot be passed on via fusion, making Asura the only Persona that can easily nullify all ailments if the appropriate skills are fused onto him.
Persona 5[]
"The Hindu king of Asuras is named Maha Vairocana, or "One Who Shines On All." In Buddhism, he is known as Dainichi Nyorai."
During a fusion alarm, Asura can be itemized into the Unparalleled Vajra knuckles, a more powerful version of the Vajra. Asura now possesses the Trait Atomic Hellscape, which reduces the costs of Nuclear Skills by 75%. Also, Unshaken Will is now exclusive to Asura once more, similar to previous entries.
Digital Devil Saga[]
Asura does not actually appear in both games, but as a demon title given to the boss demons initially "tuned" in the virtual battlefield, Junkyard, because the digital world is constructed under the "Asura Project" for selecting battle AI. In the second game, another group of demons which initially tuned in the "real world" is classified as "Yaksa" in contrast to the Asura demons. Even though many demons exit the Junkyard to the "upper realms," they still retain the Asura title during boss battles, such as Agni and Hayagriva.
In the novel Quantum Devil Saga, all "High Atmas," which are unique to individuals and stronger compared to the "Lesser Atmas," are classified as "Asura." This explains the reason that most non-boss or lesser-boss Atmas use the generic species titles instead of "Asura" to denote their lesser status.
Devil Survivor 2[]
"A violent group of demons in Hindu lore. They are very powerful and caused the gods much grief. They are a strict group who attacks anyone that runs counter to their ideals. They were originally gods of light who were worshipped in Persia. The Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda was one of them."
—Devil Survivor 2 compendium
Asura is unlocked by reaching Fate rank 3 with the Anguished One. He is also the strongest member of the Deity race.
Adds Phys Pierce. +50% to Max HP. Reduces damage received by 30% from skills that target all or random allies. When the enemy uses attacks that target random enemies, this demon will become the main target.
Innate
Ashura
8 MP
Inflicts Phys (Physical) damage (Power: 50) with 50% crit rate on all enemies. When an attack is successful, removes all stat buffs from all enemies. Damage dealt by this skill, including by the Chain Effect, will ignore the effects of all counter skills.
When attack is successful: Inflict Phys (Physical) damage (Power: 25) with 80% crit rate on random enemies 10 times. This skill will have Phys Pierce effect.
Innate
Gigantomachia
8 MP
Inflicts Phys (Physical) damage with 160 power on All Enemies.
Aragami (Awaken)
Epitome of Carnage
Auto
+20% to Critical hit rate, +15% to Phys damage.
Aragami (Gacha)
Blood Rush
6 MP
Increases own parties ATK and EV/AC by 20%. (3 turns)
Adds Phys Pierce. While this demon is alive, all party members will receive the following effect: +20% to Critical hit rate, +15% to Critical hit damage.
At start of first turn: Increases the ATK and EV/AC of all party members by 20% (3 turns), and decreases the DEF and EV/AC of all enemies by 20%. (3 turns)
Innate
Slaughter All
7 MP
Inflicts Almighty (Physical) damage (Power: 250) with 50% crit rate on a single enemy. Ignores all counter and death prevention skills.
Innate
Gigantomachia
8 MP
Inflicts Phys (Physical) damage with 160 power on All Enemies.
Aragami (Awaken)
Epitome of Carnage
Auto
+20% to Critical hit rate, +15% to Phys damage.
Aragami (Gacha)
Charge
6 MP
Self enters a state of Charge. Increases the next Phys attack damage by 125%.
Protector (Awaken)
Auto-Taruka
Auto
Casts Tarukaja at the beginning of the 1st turn
Protector (Gacha)
Master Assassin
Auto
+20% to single-target attack skill damage.
Psychic (Awaken)
Auto-Sukuka
Auto
Casts Sukukaja at the beginning of the 1st turn.
Psychic (Gacha)
Drain Phys
Auto
Adds Phys Drain.
Elementalist (Awaken)
Null Charm
Auto
Adds Null Charm
Elementalist (Gacha)
Gallery[]
Asura as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Asura as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2
Asura as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Asura Lord as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2
_15_16580.png "Devil Survivor 2 (USA) 15 16580.png (22 KB)")
.png "Asura (P O.A.).png (336 KB)")
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