“When unrighteousness crosses all bounds, a great war erupts—one whose echoes resonate through the ages.”
In the world of Raj Comics, the name ‘Mahabali Bhokal’ is synonymous with valor and justice. Yet, a hero’s greatness is measured not by his own power, but by the might of the adversary he confronts. Within Bhokal’s epic saga, the ‘Divyastra and Maharavan’ series stands out as a thrilling, spine-chilling tale that introduced readers to a darkness far crueler than even Ravana of the Treta Yuga.
At the heart of this saga lies Maharavan—an immortal descendant of Ravana who possessed not only eighteen supreme powers but also ‘Amrit’ (the nectar of immortality) flowing through his veins instead of ordinary blood. Standing alongside Maharavan was the illusory army of ‘Kalanka Nagari,’ which included the deceitful Tusharacharya, Himraj (the master of icy powers), and the demonic sisters Dankini and Kapalika, who practiced human sacrifice.
Do you know the secret that brought the invincible Maharavan to his knees? How did Bhokal use the ‘Jwala-Shakti’ (Flame Power) of his deity to dry up that immortal nectar—a substance that no weapon could destroy?
In today’s special article, we delve into the history of Raj Comics to explore its most powerful and ruthless villains. From Maharavan to Kaalkoot, let us discover the ten mighty demons who put Mahabali Bhokal’s valor to the ultimate test.
The Ultimate Sinner Maharavan: Ravana’s Immortal Descendant and Lord of 18 Superpowers
Maharavan is a direct descendant of Ravana, the ruler of Lanka in the Treta Yuga, and the greatest, cruellest, and most powerful supervillain of this entire saga. His body was as huge as a mountain, and he was as strong as a thunderbolt. Along with this, through rigorous penance, he had obtained such infallible powers from Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh that there was no way to counter them. He possessed 18 kinds of superpowers and dozens of demonic arts, including holding the Sun itself on his palm, tearing apart mountains with his thunderous roar, casting a web of hypnosis, and fanning a fierce fire with his breath.
Instead of ordinary blood, nectar flowed through Maharavan’s body, due to which it was impossible to kill him with any ordinary weapon. Even when Bhokal broke Maharavan’s head and torso into hundreds of pieces with his sword and divine weapons, all those pieces magically joined together again, and Maharavan stood up once more, laughing.
Maharavan also possessed Shri Ram’s mantra-powered ‘Rampash,’ which he had deceitfully obtained from Brahma Ji and with which he even dared to bind Hanuman Ji. Maharavan’s end became possible only when Bhokal awakened the sacred ‘Flame Power’ of his revered Mahaguru Bhokal. That divine fire completely dried up the nectar flowing through Maharavan’s veins, after which Bhokal’s sword cut this great sinner into pieces and ended his existence forever.
The Deceitful Tusharacharya: Immortal Tantrik of Deception, Disguise, and Illusion
Tusharacharya was Maharavan’s chief advisor and the greatest expert in ‘Kapat Vidya’ (Art of Deception) in the universe. He was so cunning that whenever an enemy dealt him a fatal blow, he would use the power of his ‘Pseudo-Death’ to disappear while pretending to die and then stab the enemy in the back as soon as they lowered their guard.
It was Tusharacharya who, along with Maharavan, turned Bhokal’s wives, Saloni and Rupsi, into stone statues, controlled their minds, and brought them into the war against Bhokal. Tusharacharya’s deceptive knowledge was so powerful that he trapped Bhokal, Dhanusha, and Atikrur in a false desert created through illusion, where they began attacking one another with their own hands. At last, when Dhanusha severed Tusharacharya’s neck with his divine arrow, the deceitful game of this cunning Tantrik came to an end.
Himraj: Demon Emperor of the Snowy Mountains and Lord of the Snow Powers
Himraj was Tusharacharya’s brother and the cruel king of the snowy continents. He remained in deep hibernation for six months. On Maharavan’s orders, Tusharacharya woke Himraj prematurely from his sleep by concentrating the radiant heat of Suryadev in one place. Himraj possessed the power to rain down enormous rocks of ice, lower the temperature so drastically that everything froze, and create thousands of ‘Snow Monsters’ from the sweat of his body.
Himraj possessed a divine Rudraksha rosary given to him by Lord Brahma, through which he could force any god to obey his commands. Using the power of this rosary, he forced Pawan Dev and Yamraj to enter the battlefield against Bhokal. Himraj’s pride was shattered when Mahabali Bhokal caught him in his iron-strong hands and carried him directly across the galaxy, extremely close to Suryadev. The intense heat of the Sun melted all of Himraj’s icy powers and turned him into water vapour.
The Three Illusory Sisters of Kalanka City: Dankini, Kapalika, and Kalankini
The responsibility of protecting the secret and cursed capital of the demons, ‘Kalanka Nagari’—which was built upon the ruins of Ravana’s burnt Golden Lanka—rested with three extremely powerful demonic sisters:
• Dankini:
Dankini had hundreds of poisonous and sharp ‘Electric Stings’ growing all over her body. She could unleash such a heavy shower of these stings from her body that they could pierce even iron chests and rocks. Using her power, she tore open the ground, drew boiling lava out of Patal Lok, and attempted to drown Bhokal and Dhanusha in a pool of lava. Finally, when she fired her most infallible weapon, ‘Tridank,’ Bhokal broke it with Mahadev’s Trident. After her defeat, when Dankini tried to deceive Bhokal by assuming a beautiful form, Atikrur shattered her pride with his Dantak.
• Kapalika:
Kapalika was the most terrifying practitioner of Tantra and human sacrifice. She was performing a massive ‘Blood Sacrifice’ using the blood contained in eleven lakh pitchers to make all the demons of Kalanka immortal. She had filled those Kumbhas by draining the blood of innocent sages and humans. She possessed a ‘Mahamund’—a huge human skull that floated in the air—which chewed enemies with its jaws. In addition, Kapalika possessed the power of ‘Magnetic Blood Attraction,’ through which she could tear open the veins of distant enemies and draw all their blood into her mouth. When she attempted to suck the blood of Bhokal and Dhanusha, Bhokal took out a hollow ‘Tube Arrow’ from Shri Ram’s quiver and connected it directly to the blood pool containing eleven lakh pitchers. The blood from the eleven lakh pitchers rushed into Kapalika’s mouth at such a tremendous speed that her stomach swelled like a balloon and burst with a terrible explosion.
• Kalankini:
Kalankini was the worshipped goddess of Kalanka City, the eldest of the three sisters, and the mistress of great destruction herself. She had received a boon from Lord Brahma that as long as she remained alive, no demon of Kalanka City could be killed, and no external power could use its abilities within the boundaries of Kalanka. Kalankini’s life force resided in four divine nails buried in the foundations of Kalanka. When Atikrur sacrificed his life and uprooted those four nails, Sankatmochan Hanuman placed those nails upon Bhokal’s arrow. Bhokal’s arrow then tore through Kalankini’s chest. As she was dying, the maternal love hidden within Kalankini awakened, and she sacrificed her life after granting the boon of resurrection to her goddaughter Sarupa’s son, Atikrur, and to Dhanusha.
Maharakshas Kalkoot: The Mountain-Like Monster and Lord of Drought and Famine
Kalkoot was such a great demon that his body resembled a huge mountain. By performing penance for ages, he had received a boon from Lord Brahma that no god would be able to defeat him directly. Kalkoot could change the weather with a gesture of his fingers—he could stop the clouds, cause terrible drought and famine across the Earth, and create havoc by causing heavy rainfall elsewhere. The kings and people of the Earth trembled in terror because of him. When Bhokal confronted him, Kalkoot showered rocks from his body. In the end, with a single powerful blow from the divine mace received through the grace of Sankatmochan Hanuman, Kalkoot’s mountain-like body was scattered like a heap of sand.
Kalbhujang: The Flying Mahadragon Born from the Sacrifice of 5,100 People
Kalbhujang was Kalkoot’s most destructive dormant superpower. Kalkoot had awakened this giant winged dragon/python by sacrificing 5,100 innocent Bhils and other humans. Kalbhujang’s poisonous hiss was so deadly that it turned the water of an entire river into poison, and as soon as it was consumed, thousands of animals and humans died in agony. When Bhokal attacked him in the air, Kalbhujang swallowed Bhokal into his stomach with the force of his powerful breath. Before falling into the pool of poison inside Kalbhujang’s stomach, Bhokal remembered Mother Kali’s destructive sword and, with a single stroke, severed the veins of Kalbhujang’s heart from within and emerged by tearing open his chest.
The Immortal Mrityujit: The King Who Became More Powerful Whenever His Head Was Severed
Mrityujit was Kalkoot’s elder brother and the king of Mrityu City. He had received a boon from Lord Shiva and Brahma that even Yamraj himself could not take his life. The most terrifying feature of Mrityujit was that every time his head was severed, it would reattach itself to his torso, and his power would become twice as great as before.
Using the power of his magical hypnotic ring, he had conspired to get Bhokal killed at the hands of Atikrur. When Bhokal freed Atikrur from his control, the old man, Hanuman Ji, revealed the hidden secret of defeating Mrityujit. Bhokal and Atikrur cut Mrityujit’s body into a thousand pieces in the air with their arrows and continuous blows from Dantak. Before those pieces could fall to the ground and reconnect, Atikrur sealed them inside strong bags and threw them into the infinite emptiness of space, ending Mrityujit once and for all.
Matsyaketu: The Water Demon of the Ocean of Poison
Matsyaketu, the protector of the bottomless ‘Vishsagar’ surrounding Kalanka City, was a giant half-human and half-fish water demon. He was the master of the giant man-eating whales and ocean storms within the poisonous sea. When Bhokal and his Bhil army were crossing Vishsagar in boats, Matsyaketu shattered the boats with powerful blows from his tail and began drowning the army. Bhokal remembered Lord Ganesha’s divine ‘Ankush’ and placed it upon Matsyaketu’s head. As soon as the Ankush was placed upon him, Matsyaketu’s anger completely subsided. He bowed his head, seated Bhokal’s entire army upon his back, and carried them across the Ocean of Poison.
Kalvindu: The Embodiment of Darkness and Black Illusion
Kalvindu was Kalankini’s illusory son, who appeared as a tiny black dot in the sky and gradually transformed into dense darkness that covered the entire sky. Any army or warrior upon whom he cast his shadow would instantly shrink, be pulled into that black point, and perish. He had swallowed many contingents of the Bhil army. When he attempted to cast his dark shadow upon Bhokal, Bhokal followed the old man’s advice and released a ‘Fire Arrow’ from Lord Shri Ram’s quiver. The divine, Sun-like light released from that arrow burned Kalvindu’s darkness to ashes.
Kalanka’s Other Supporting Demons and Generals
Many other dreaded demon generals were also active in the service of Kalanka and Maharavan in this Mahagatha:
• Naraketu: He was unaffected by any human weapon.
• Papadeva: He possessed immense physical strength equal to that of hundreds of elephants.
• Angraj: He could release burning embers and fireballs from his body.
• Mayasingh: In the blink of an eye, he could assume the terrifying form of a lion, dragon, or illusory demon.
• Ajgora: A mythical and gigantic dragon living in the forests of Kalanka, who could uproot trees and rocks with his hiss. Atikrur killed Ajgora by tearing apart both of his jaws with his bare hands.
The Final Conclusion of the Mahagatha
The ‘Divyastra and Maharavan’ series is not merely the story of Mahabali Bhokal’s unmatched bravery, but also the story of the victory of the eternal truth of Sanatan Dharma, which says, “Yato Dharmastato Jayaḥ”—where there is Dharma, there is victory.
Throughout this Mahagatha, it is proven that no matter how powerful the enemy may be—whether he possesses a huge, mountain-like body like Kalkoot, the boon of immortality like Mrityujit, Tantric Maya like Kalankini and Kapalika, or the pride of 18 superpowers and nectar-filled veins like Maharavan—the path of unrighteousness ultimately leads to destruction.
While, on the one hand, a mother’s selfless love, Atikrur’s sacrifice for his brother, Dhanusha’s dedication towards his goal, and the guidance of Sankatmochan Hanuman himself strengthen the foundations of truth, on the other hand, Mahabali Bhokal abandons his pride and dedicates himself to the feet of God and to humanity. It is then that he becomes immortal as the revered and invincible ‘Mahabali’ throughout the three worlds.
The Bhokal Maharavan Series
· Chudail Maa
· Divyastra
· Kaalkoot
· Mrityujeet
· Dankini
· Kapalika
· Kaalanka
· Mahayuddh
· Maharavan
