In Hinduism, the Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes considered sinful and materialistic. The Daityas and Danavas together are Asuras. The Asura were opposed to the Devas. Both groups are children of Kasyapa. However, in early Vedic religion, both the Asura and the Devas were deities who constantly competed with each other, some bearing both designations at the same time. Asura is cognate with Ahura. The Oxford English Dictionary recognizes the use of the term in reference to Zoroastrianism where Ahura would perhaps be more appropriate.

In general, in the earliest text, the Rigveda, the Asura preside over moral and social phenomena. Among the Asura are Varuna, the guardian of Ṛtá, and Aryaman, the patron of marriages. Conversely, the Devas preside over natural phenomena. Among the Devas are the Ushas, whose name means "dawn", and Indra, the leader of the Devas. However, by the time that the Brahmana texts were written, the character of the Asura had become negative.

In later texts, such as the Puranas and the Itihasas, the Devas are the good beings, and the Asura are the bad ones. According to the Bhagavad Gita (16.6), all beings in the universe assume either the divine qualities (Daivi Sampad) or the material qualities (Asuri Sampad). The sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita describes the divine qualities briefly and the materialistic qualities at length. In summary, the Gita (16.4) says that the Asuric qualities are pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness, and ignorance.