Rakshasa in fiction
The term Rakshasa, originally referring to a demon in Hindu mythology, has been used in western literature and culture. The following are some examples:
In Lord of Light
In Roger Zelazny's novel Lord of Light the Rakshasa, there spelled "Rakasha", are a type of extraterrestrial beings consisting of "stable fields of energy". They were present before the arrival of humans on the planet of the novel, and apparently native to it.
The Rakasha were supposedly once material beings, but long ago used unspecified technology to move their atman into energy fields. This gave them immortality, but "born of matter they do ever lust after the flesh" (p. 32). Although it might seem rather foolish of the Rakasha to use highly advanced technology to abandon bodies and then find that they preferred having flesh after all, they have the power to sometimes possess human bodies. Because a mortal who inhabits a body dies with it, unless he transfers his atman into an unused body, while a Rakasha can survive the destruction of its resident body, the Rakasha's choice does give them advantages that not making it would have lacked.
Their natural shape is that of a glowing flame, although they can briefly take nearly any shape they choose to. In their normal shape they are capable of flying, seeing in all directions and surviving most attacks by material weapons (although some compounds can repel them). When inhabiting a human body, they lose the power to fly for unlimited distances and (presumably, as they never do so) to change shape, but gain the ability to enjoy alcohol, good food and sex.
They seem more amoral than intentionally evil, normally lacking consciences. One of their preferred pastimes is gambling, and gambling debts are the only promises that they can be relied upon to keep. Gambling with Rakasha can lead either to death or great power, as the Rakasha can give powerful gifts but have little desire for other material things than the body of their fellow gambler.
The Rakasha seem to have no clear hierarchy, although they are led by a very old and powerful Rakasha called Taraka. They also control several kinds of lesser energy beings, the only kind explicitly named being the "fire elementals" (note that these resemble mobile thunderbolts more than classical, western fire elementals).
In other fiction
Rakshasa have long been a race of evil villains in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. They appear as animal-headed humanoids (mostly with tiger or monkey heads) who are masters of illusion (which they mostly use to disguise themselves) and are very hard to kill.
Although not particularly common in Western fiction, the short-lived 1974 television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (which influenced The X-Files) has an episode (Horror in the Heights) featuring a Rakshasa which - ilke its Dungeons & Dragons counterpart - is vulnerable to blessed crossbow bolts.
In the manga Fist of the North Star, the character Shachi is referred to as "Rakshasa, the Asura-devouring beast".
In the Exile and Avernum series of games, Rakshasas are magic-casting tiger lookalikes; they're one of the more particularly nasty adversaries in the later stages of the game.
In Linley's Dungeon Crawl roguelike game, the Rakshasa is a type of monster found in the main dungeon levels, and able to create illusionary copies of itself.
In the video game FreeSpace 2 the Rakshasa is a class of enemy Shivan cruiser.
In the Fantasy novel Song in the Silence, by Elizabeth Kerner, the demons are referred to as rakshasa by their dragon enemies.
In the Children of the Lamp novels by P.B. Kerr, the elder djinn of the Marid tribe is named Mr. Rakshasas.
In the Gold Digger comic series, the character Genn is a member of the Rakshasa race, which is a genderless race of shapeshifters who feed off of the ethereal energy of other beings for sustenance.
The Palladium RPG has Rakshasas as a race of Demons, but here, it is spelled "Raksasha".
Was referenced in the Outer Limits episode, "Under the Bed" an episode about child stealing myths(boogeymen). Also mentioned were Babba Yaga, Norse Trolls, Jinn, and the American Boogeyman.
A group of rakshasas makes a brief appearance in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods.
In the MMORPG Tantra Online, Rakshasa is a character class resembling a female assassin.
In the game Final Fantasy I (packaged with Final Fantasy II and released as "Final Fantasy Origins" by SquareSoft for Playstation), there is a Tiger-headed creature called a Rakshasa which is a tough spellcaster. In the original Final Fantasy for the Nintendo Entertainment System, this was shortened to Mancat due to the constraints of the 8-bit machine.
Rakhasas are also creatures of the Haunt class in the RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne by Atlus.
In the White Wolf game Exalted, the raksha is the name by which the Fair Folk refer to themselves as a race.
In F. Paul Wilson's novel The Tomb, hero Repairman Jack confronts a Bhagavad Gita-studying foe who commands a pack of demonic Rakosh (Rakoshi, plural). While the name of the creatures is not an exact match for Rakshasa, the correspondence of origin, name, and demonic character is clear.
In the 2006 turn-based strategy game Heroes of might and magic 5, the Rakshasa is a powerful melee unit in the Academy faction. It is humanoid in appearance, but has the head of a tiger and blue skin, with glowing lower arms and legs. The upgraded unit (from Rakshasa rani to Rakshasa raja) has the head of a lion and four arms. The Rakshasa are supposed to be vengeful spirits whom the wizards have learned to control.