The very act of creation in Hinduism starts from the premise that good and bad are equally important in the larger scheme of things. Brahma, the creator, whether explicitly instructed to or not, brought into existence all beings and everything. Not just good beings and good things.
It is said Lord Brahma first conceived the Prajapatis, leaders of creation and the Saptarishis who would write the Vedas and provide other spiritual guidance to all of existence. These were his Manasputras or sons that were born in his mind. An apt reminder to new age manifestors that the mind is where creation begins.
As a Prajapati, Sage Kashyap brought forth life of many kinds. He fathered the Devas, the Asuras and the Danavas among other beings. One could look at the Devas as lesser Gods than the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, since the Devas were created, as opposed to always existing. They are said to possess God-like qualities and attributes.
The Devas were also known as ‘Suras’ or celestial beings while on the other end of the spectrum were the Asuras, including the Danavas or the demons. Not all Asuras are Danavas or demons. Asuras, generally referred to immensely strong, proud and power-hungry beings, not necessarily bad. They would often lock horns with the Devas and out of these conflicts would come more creation.
The Devas were born of Kashyap and ‘Aditi’. ‘Aditi’ in Sanskrit means that without boundaries or limits. Her sons were also known as Adityas. ‘Diti’ on the other hand, literally meaning an idea or brilliance was said to have approached her husband Kashyap at dusk, which he warned her was not an auspicious time to procreate. However, he could neither refuse his wife nor get her to change her mind and from their union came forth the Asuras.
The Asuras thus are basically born of ignorance and desire as opposed to the Devas who are born out of knowledge and virtue. The Danavas or demons on the other hand, usually counted in the class of Asuras, were born of Sage Kashyap and his wife Danu and are closer to being the polar opposites of the Devas.
Neither the Devas nor the Asuras were innately good or bad. They just had a greater propensity to a given quality. Hindu mythology does have instances of Asura kings who were good. Prahlad was one such Asura king. He was the son of Hiranyakashipu, one of Diti’s sons, and was said to be an ardent Vishnu devotee and was said to have had ruled righteously, after his father’s death. His grandson Bali, also called Mahabali or Maveli in the South of India was highly revered for his righteousness, generosity and justice.
Indra, despite being the King of the Devas was also susceptible at times to less than God-like behaviour and had to face the consequences of his actions. One of the worst curses he received was from the Sage Gautam for impersonating the sage and sleeping with his wife Ahilya. The enraged Gautam cursed Indra that he’d be covered with a thousand ‘yonis’ or vulvas.
Of Course, the Gods intervened on Indra’s behalf since the cosmic balance of good and bad was now at stake. What would happen if the hero of a film decided not to be ‘good’? Would he stop being the hero? Divine intervention usually prevented the well-planned script from going awry. In this case, Gautam was mollified by the Gods and he softened his curse. The yonis were transformed into 1000 eyes and Indra earned the epithet Sahasraksha (one with a thousand eyes).