INTRODUCTION

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ravana

puccho zara puccho

WHY IS RAVAN CONSIDERED EVIL ?
IN WHAT WAY DOES RAM PRAISE
RAVANA?
WAS RAVANA THE SAME IN HIS
CHILDHOOD AS HE WAS THERE IN
HIS ADULTHOOD?
DOES RAVANA ONLY HAVE NEGATIVE
TRAITS ?
DO YOU FEEL RAVANA IS A VILLIAN
OR A HERO IN DISGUISE?

RAVANAS CHILDHOOD

RAVANAS FATHER
. He was also the father ofKubera(king of the yakshas)
also called Vaishravana, from his first wife. Rishi
Vishravaswho married the daitya / rakshasha princess
Kekasi and begat Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Meenakshi
(surpanakha) and Vibhishana
The story of Ravana's birth is a rather interesting one.
Brahma Dashagreeva in known to us by the name
Ravana.
Brahma the Creator gave rise to fourteenPrajapatisDaksha, Vasishtha,
Narada and others. Among them
was Pulastya, a great sage. Pulastya had two sons,
Agastya and Vishrava. Both grew up to beMaharshis.

BIRTH PLACE OF RAVANA

People ofBisrakhvillage in Uttar
Pradesh claim thatBisrakhwas
named after Vishrava, and Ravana
was born there. Ravana's
grandfather, the sagePulastya, was
one of the ten Prajapatis or mindborn sons of Brahma and one of the
Saptarishi (Seven Great Sages Rishi)
in the first Manvantara.

BIRTH STORY

Nevertheless, Kaikesi was resolute, and managed to trick Vishrava

into accepting the marriage proposal; she asked him while he was
performing a Yajna. Vishrava was irked by this conspiracy, and he
cursed that all the children born as a result of this sinful relationship
will likewise be unscrupulous, and will tread the path ofadharma.
Shocked and saddened by this curse, Kaikesi pleaded to her
husband, asking him to revoke it. Vishrava was initially unmoved,
but later eased it up a bit. He said the children would be immoral
but for the last one, who will be a true embodiment of righteousness
With time, the couple gave birth to four children - Dashagreeva,
Kumbhakarna, Shurpanakha and Vibhishana.
Dashagreeva in known to us by the name Ravana.

AS A CHILD
Right from the childhood Ravana was an
aggressive but kind hearted person. Once
during his childhood Ravana just saved the life
of goat, he risked his life and killed an
alligator.
when one of the disciple in his fatherss
ashram was suffering from a danger snake
bite. Then Ravana and his brother
kumbhakarn cross a sea and mysterious
jungle and also fought demons to bring the
plant of nagbuti from shulgiri parvat .

The gruesome side of

Lust for women

Ravana had always lusted for beautiful
women.
In spite of having married the immensely
beautiful Mandodari, he was a habitual rapist.
Ravana had many wives but Mandodari was
the most elegant, beautiful and intelligent.
There is a mention in the episodes of the
Ramayanathat he forced several women;
amongst them was a sage-womanVedavati.

Sage Vedavati
One well known example of Ravanas lust
for women of the sage Vedavati.
Vedavati meditated day and night. Ravana
proposed her in the middle of her
penance, and got rejected.
finding himself firmly rejected at every
turn, he grabbed her hair. This greatly
incensed her, and she forthwith cut off her
hair, and entered fire in front of his eyes

Abduction of Sita
Abduction of Ramas wife Sita in itself was an
utterly wicked act of Ravana.
Knowing that he cannot take on Ram, he
decided to take the backdoor. He had his
wicked uncle Maricha appear as a golden deer.
Ram chased the deer for the sake of Sita to gift
her, while the dastardly Ravana abducted her
The only reason he couldnt rape sita was
because of Brahmas curse that if he violates
another woman again, his head will burst.

Refusal to listen to his family

Ravana did not even listen to his family when
they tried to advise him.
Raavan's wife Mandodari, brother Kumbhkarn,
brother Vibhishan and son Meghnaad had, at
different stages of war, tried to explain Ravana
of his wrongdoings and had asked him to return
Sita with honour and respect.
In return, the power-drunk Raavan humiliated
all of them, and even banished Vibhishan, along
with a death threat.

 When the good bird Jatayu tried to stop Ravana

from doing the heinous thing, he was killed (in
his death bed, Jatayu points to Rama, the
direction in which Sita was abducted).
When Vibhishana (the sanest of the demon
brothers) tried to reason with him, he was
banished from his kingdom.
When Hanuman the messenger brought a
peaceful message, he was arrested, violating the
international norms.
Ravana usurped the kingdom of Lanka built by
Viswakarama and ruled by Kubera. He terrorized
the learned men of the land.

Arishadvargas

Ravana is considered evil because he covered all

the six Arishadvargas:
kama lust for Sita
krodha anger at Lakshmana for ill treating his
sister
lobh greed for Kubera's lanka
moha delusory emotional attachment or
temptation to his throne
mada or ahankara pride, hubris in his
supremacy
matsarya envy, jealousy of Kuberas kingdom

Crucial facts
Ravan performed a yagya for Ram.
In one of the many versions of the Ramayana,
it is said that once Ram's army had created the
bridge to Lanka, they needed to get Shiva's
blessing for which they set up a yagya. But the
biggest bhakt of Shiva in the entire region was
Ravan, and since he was half-brahman, he was
also the best qualified to perform the yagya.
Displaying honour, Ravan actually showed up,
performed the yagya and gave Ram his
blessing.

As he lay dying, Ravan imparted

valuable knowledge to
Lakshman.
Since Ravan was one of the most
learned scholars to have ever lived,
Ram asked his brother Lakshman to
sit beside the dying demon-king and
learn from him important lessons in
statecraft and diplomacy.

 Ravan was so powerful, he could even

interfere with planetary alignments.
During the birth of his son Meghnad, Ravan
'instructed' the planets to stay in the 11th
house of the child, which would grant him
immortality. Saturn, or Shani, refused to do
so and stood in the 12th house instead. It
irked Ravan so much, it is said that he
attacked Shani Dev with his mace and
even imprisoned him.

Ravan was well-aware of his

impending doom.
Most powerful Asuras (demons) knew
that they were sent to earth to
perform a particular role. Ravan
knew that it was his fate to die by
the hands of an avatar of Vishnu,
something that would help him attain
moksha and give up his demon form.

He got the name Ravan later in life, and that

too from Shiva.
Ravan wanted Shiva to relocate from Kailash to Lanka,
and to make this possible, he tried to lift the mountain.
But Shiva, being who he is, put down his foot onto the
mountain, thus crushing Ravan's finger with his one
toe. Ravan let out a huge roar of pain, but at the same
time, he was so enamored by Shiva's power, he
performed the Shiva tandav stotram. It is believed that
Ravan plucked out nerves from his own hand to provide
accompanying music. Shiva, thus impressed, named
him Ravan (the one who roars loud).

EVERY
VILLIAN IS
NOT
A VILLIAN.

Scholar Ruler & Musician

Ravana himself being a great scholar, with immense knowledge in

the four Vedas and Upanishads, had a great knowledge in the field
of medicine too. Also, he was an amazing player of the Veena and
he could entrance everyone with his musical skills. His fabled
physique with ten heads and twenty arms is mainly due his huge
expanse of knowledge. He is also said to be a great doctor himself
even in those days. People were happy and led a wealthy life under
his reign. Lanka was beautiful, adorned, well maintained, and part
of the country were made of gold during his rule.
The academic prowess and intellect Ravana possessed is evident
from the scene at the battle when Rama urges Lakshmana to gain
knowledge from him. Lakshmana reluctantly stands near Ravanas
head and asks him to pass on what he knew about warfare and
various other aspects of the world. Ravana simply responds by
turning his head away. But, Rama stands near his feet, bows down
and requests him to share his wisdom which is when he sheds light
to Rama on what could destroy him and what could let him prosper.

Mystery of 10 heads
Ravana performed an intense penance to Lord Brahma for several
years during which he chopped off his head 10 times as a sacrifice to
appease Brahma. Each time he sliced his head off a new head arose,
thus enabling him to continue his penance. At last Brahama pleased
with his austerity and appeared after his 10th decapitation and
offered him a boon. Ravana asked for immortality which Brahma
refused to give but gave him the celestial nectar of immortality. The
nectar of immortality stored under his navel dictated that he could
not be vanquished for as long as it lasted. Ravana also asked for
absolute invulnerability from and supremacy over gods, heavenly
spirits, other demons, serpents, and wild beasts. Contemptuous of
mortal men, he did not ask for protection from these. Brahma
granted him these boons in addition to his 10 severed heads and
great strength by way of knowledge of divine weapons and magic.
Thus Ravana known as 'Dasamukha' or 'Dasakanta'(Dasameans ten
andmukha means face).

PARAMBHAKT OF LORD SHIVA

On a journey to meet Lord Shiva, Ravana had to
get admit through Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva.
Over refusal to let him in, Ravana attacked
Nandi and Nandi, infuriated cursed ravana
saying, his entire empire, Lanka would get
destroyed by a monkey.
Ravana attempted to uproot and move the
Kailash mountain(Shiva residence) to show
Nandi his love for Shiva. Shiva annoyed by
Ravana's arrogance pressed his littlest Toe on
Kailash pinning him firmly and painfully under it

Shiva's soldiers informed Ravana of whom

he had crossed, upon which Ravana
became penitent. He plucked his nerves
and used them as strings to compose
music and sang songs praising Shiva for
years until Shiva released him from his
bondage. From then Ravana became a life
long devotee of Shiva. Pleased with his
resilience and devotion, Shiva gave him
the divine sword Chandrahas (ChandraMoon, Has-laugh) and told him that if it
was used for unjust causes, it would return
toShiva and Ravana's days would be

TRIGGERING THE BATTLE

Soorpanakha, the sister of Ravana is said to have been seduced
by the beauty and youthfulness of Rama, fell for him and
proposed to him. Rama, being faithful to Sita rejected her saying
that he would never take anyone else as a wife. After this initial
rejection, Soorpanakha approached Ramas brother, Lakshmana
to be insulted and rejected once again, saying she was not what
he expected out of a wife. Infuriated, Soorpanakha took it out on
Sita, attacking her, following which Lakshmana insulted her by
cutting off her nose. By Valmikis mention, this happens to be the
sole reason for triggering the battle of Lanka. Ravana gets
enraged by this ill treatment and the further advances as we
know lead to the abduction of Sita. Though, this action of Ravana
is not entirely justifiable, he cannot be blamed either. The mere
need to avenge the injustice that occurred to his sister led to his
act.

HUMANITARIAN
Also, during the period Ravana kept Sita under his watch, he
never forced himself on her in spite of his liking for her. Being an
illusionist, he couldve easily made Sita fall for him. But, his
humanity kept him from doing so.
It is also said that at the time of the battle between Rama and
Ravana was about to start, a Brahmin could not be found to
perform the yagna. Ravana being a Brahmin performed the
yagna favoring both sides for the battle that was to destroy him.
In spite of possessing such golden characters, Ravana himself
brought his downfall. Working his way to power from poverty
with a clear motive, Ravana gets lost in the warren of power and
loses his ideals in the process of succeeding. Ravana is neither
the demon as he is the portrayed nor is he a hero as some say.
There is a blurred line between the good and evil Ravana.

THE THALAIWA

Ravana appears as the chief character in Ramayana.

Indians declare Ravana as a figure of immense moral and
physical strength. His immense penance, learning, and
devotion to Brahma earned him the latters gratitude.
Brahma conferred on Ravana the benefit of near immunity,
making him resistant from destruction by gods or (other)
demons; by this he also acquired the capacity to change his
form. He was endowed with the strength of moving the
seas and splitting the tops of mountains.

Ravana was the first to discover missiles and bombs. This is

proved in the Mahabharata. They were filled with venom
and were called Nagashara, Agnishara and poisoned
arrows. These missiles were shot with a machine like a bow.
Ravana flag was the sun and moon flag with a drawing of
Ravana in the centre. This flag is drawn in the Ravana
Katha Ola leaf book.

SOME PEOPLE THINK

Some interpreters, such as the 19th century Bengali writer,
Madhusudan Dutt (1824-1873), were of the view that Ravana
displayed the qualities of masculinity, honour, faithfulness,
dependability, and justice to a great extent. Though the character of
Ravana may seem like a closed book, there is sufficient plurality in
Indian traditions that even Ravana is capable of some recuperation.
The Tamil Nadu countryside is exposed to folk forms that celebrate
Ravana as a hero and Rama as the villain who treated women
unfairly. Many Tamils know the Ramayana know it through its Tamil
version, the Kamban Ramayanam. In it, Ravana is highly venerated
as a Vedic scholar, an expert of music, a warrioras an embodiment
of everything moral. In short, Ravana is a tragic hero, not a villain.

REFERENCES

RAVANA SANHITA.
RAVANA SERIAL (ZEE TV)
Siya ke Ram(star plus)
Wikipedia
Book named:- karmayaan