Dúshaṇ

Family: Rákshases · Role: giant · First appears: Book I, Canto 1 · Nárad

In Nárad’s summary of the poem, Dúshaṇ is named among the fiends who died beneath Ráma’s might. In Book III, Canto 17, Súrpanakhá names him among her siblings, alongside Khara, Rávaṇ, Kumbhakarṇa and Vibhishaṇ.

In Book III, Canto 22, Khara orders Dúshaṇ to summon the giant warriors and prepare his chariot for battle against Ráma. Dúshaṇ rallies the fleeing giants in Book III, Canto 25, leading them in another attack, but Ráma kills him in battle in Canto 26. Later accounts of the fighting at Janasthán likewise name Dúshaṇ among the slain, and in Book VI, Canto 46, he is recalled as one of those who smote and slew Lakshmaṇ.