#MADA

[kjxlll]

madagascar party 2024 theme 8: human au :)

[cotl-inspiteofyou]

Mada

[reeceweep24]

This is what happened in the MV right guys?

[nissolia]

[p5x-theories]

Shadow battle icons (part three)!

[battysoda]

one of my favorite videos ever btw

[dailydemonspotlight]

Mada - Day 58

Race: Vile

Arcana: Magician/Tower

Alignment: Dark-Law

June 19th, 2024

Alcohol has been an important aspect of many lives, and of course, many religions. Whether it be the fates of Dionysus, the mesopotamian Ninkasi, or even Osiris, several gods represent different types of alcohol, consumption of said alcohol, and the metaphorical 'life of the party.' However, not all of these gods represent the good parts of alcohol; how it draws people together, how it can be a great time waster, etc; instead, they focus on the negative, almost life-ruining aspects. One of these gods, and today's Demon of the Day, is the Asura of wine and recklessness, Mada, whose name literally means intoxication and arrogance. Yep, we're delving back into Hinduism, and today is a doozy- not just due to Mada himself, but everything surrounding him.

In Hinduism, a stark separation is made between two sides of an eternal conflict- the Devas versus the Asuras, two different sides of the same coin, that being of deities. On one end, a Deva is a representation and an avatar of things such as selflessness, righteousness, and love; however, an Asura is its stark opposite. As the children of the deity Diti, Asuras are powerful and represent envy, greed, and selfishness, standing in opposition to their more benevolent counterparts. However, this doesn't mean that an Asura is inherently evil- from what I've found, they're less outright villainous and more simply driven by desire instead of love, driven by the same things that drive so much of humanity today. Of course, as a result of this, almost all Asura do take evil roles in the mythos surrounding their eternal war with and jealousy towards Devas, though in the earliest texts surrounding them in Sanskrit, the distinction was less... distinct. Early on, Asuras were actually divided into two themselves, with the good ones being led by Varuna, and the evil ones Vritra.

Importantly, though, as the mythology developed, Asuras were lumped in as being simply the dark reflection of the Devas. Now, what does this have to do with Mada? Past the intoxicator being an Asura, I simply find the topic interesting, and it helps us get a better idea of what makes Mada so weird. See, this alcohol-fueled demon isn't a child of Diti, not in any traditional sense. Instead, Mada is a member of the Arishadvargas, a set of six desires which serve as stark opposites to humanity's own self-interest. In several Indian religions, achieving Moksha is the ultimate goal- in a way, Moksha is the ultimate understanding, and a freedom from the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The Arishadvargas, on the other hand, are some of the most dangerous threats to achieving Moksha, being translated to 'Enemies of the Mind.' And, of all of these, Mada is representative of Ego.

In the Mahabharata, the biggest source for Hinduism and its fates, Mada appears as an Asura made not from Diti but rather an incredibly powerful sage named Chyavana, who made him for a pair of twin gods named the Ashvins in response to regaining his eyesight and youth. As the story goes, the twins were rather upset about not being invited by Indra to indulge in an elixir of eternal life called Soma, who had told them that they were engaging with mortals far too freely. Enraged, the pair went to find Chyavana, who conceded to their wishes and began a ritual sacrifice in their name to show Indra the support mortals had. Indra had gone to intervene, refusing to acknowledge the twins as worthy gods, which forced Chyavana's hand.

The sage retaliated quickly by summoning Mada, who is described as follows.

His object gained, he now attempted to destroy Indra. Then by the virtue of that saint's ascetic energy, an evil spirit came into being, a huge demon, Mada by name, of great strength and gigantic proportions. His body was incapable of being measured either by demons or by gods. His mouth was terrible and of huge size, and with teeth of sharpened edge. One of his jaws rested on the earth, and the other stretched to heaven. He had four fangs, each extending as far as one hundred yojanas, and his other fangs were extended to the distance of ten yojanas, and were of a form resembling towers on a palace, which might be likened to the ends of spears.

Realizing the danger that Mada represented, Indra capitulated, and Chyavana dismissed Mada under the condition that the Devas let the Ashvins feast. This tale shows what Mada represents quickly and fantastically, being a representation of envy and ego- after all, he was summoned in a fit of envy. Whenever summoned, Mada isn't just a destroyer, however- he manipulates those to whatever he sees fit. Unfortunately, not a lot is given regarding Mada, but extrapolations can be made from his name and role in the Mahabharata, and overall what we do have is interesting enough, and opens a further dialogue on the Asuras themselves.

In SMT, I have to say that, after reading his description in the story itself, I actually do quite enjoy his design, as off-kilter as it is. It's rather curious, with the flames burning possibly representing both the flames of passion and possibly the idea of burning drinks, or how alcohol is easy to light on fire. The diamonds resting on his limbs seem to also represent excess, showing an overcompensation for ego. Overall, while I was confused at first, I've grown to really enjoy this design, and it's surprisingly fitting, all things considered. I hope this guy continues to be a mainstay throughout the series to come!

[beartimi]

imma try stop drawing them

[nrgmada]

LIKE EWWWWW HE'S SO GROSS

[madaaamr]

I have two moods To be around u and to understand u

But u have a thousand moods And it changes very quickly depending on u Whenever I see u, a song will play on my mind I can't guarantee which song it is Depending on the vibes u effuse

But u have a thousand moods And I can't predict it even with my best efforts It feels like all of my observations burn in flames whenever I see u No theory will ever put u wrong No theory will ever bring me victory

I have two moods To be around u with 'Not a Bad Thing' plays inside my head and to understand u with an impossible sudoku in the back of my mind

But u have a thousand moods And I have a hard time to figure which one each time I just can't crack ur code I am not even sure whether there is any code I guess it is what it is It is just who u are

But I have two moods To be around u, is it too much to ask? and to understand u, would u mind sharing a little piece of our mind with me?

-mad spontaneous poem as always in the transition from 19 to 20 of January 2025 with these 3 songs playing in my mind:

[i-think-pictures]

[nilfruits-confessions]

I had a dream where mada called nine a fag

.

[nineriddlersbf]

Does anyone else have animals they associate with the characters?

Starting with Nine because he's the one I think about most (you'd never guess lol)

I associate him with common genets, red foxes (silver morph specifically) and grapevine epimenis moth to name a few. (photo credits: 1, 2, 3)

The former two are resourceful and adaptable, omnivorous mesopredators, with curious tendencies but that remain fairly skittish and wary. They're also mostly nocturnal, and the mv takes place at night. That fits how I see Nine, and the striped tail of the genet and reddish eyes remind me especially of him. The red fox is also because of the fox and the grapes fable mention in the lyrics. The moth is mainly because the colors just fit really well, but moths overall do make me think of Nine. I have more (like Australian magpies) but this post is already dragging on lol

Another one is great blue herons for Mada. They don't have Mada's all black eyes unfortunately, but they're majestic yet eerie, very tall, and can stab through other animals with that beak. The feather crests also kind of make me think of their hair. (photo credit)

And they're really freaky sometimes (this one's sunbathing)

(photo credit)

[nissolia]

[p5x-theories]

Apparently some of the Persona art from previous betas never got posted to this blog, so uh, here's a quick catch up with them too, heh.

[postcard-from-the-past]

Minola Mada Hurst on a vintage postcard