Ravanasura - A multi faceted personality

Ravana was the formidable king of Lanka who came close to becoming an unquestioned ruler of the three worlds. Indeed, the timeless epic Ramayana is as much about the defeat of Ravana as much as it is about the life of Rama, King of Ayodhya. So, if Ravana had learnt his lesson and controlled his ambitions, would it have been necessary for Lord Vishnu to incarnate upon earth as Rama son of King of Dasaratha? This article attempts to understand the character of Ravana in light of what the scriptures tell us.

Ravana’s birth itself is controversial. According to the Bhagwatha purana, Lord Vishnu’s dwarapalakas namely Jaya and Vijaya once were cursed to lose their celestial status and be born on earth. They were offered a choice of seven righteous lifetimes or three unrighteous lifetimes. Jaya and

Vijaya who were appalled at their predicament chose the number three over seven. Thus, during the first lifetime, they were born as the wicked Asura brothers Hiranyakashipa and Hiranyaksha. They were slain by Vishnu during his Varaha and Narasimha avataras. In the second lifetime, they were born as Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarana and were slain by Vishnu who incarnated as Rama, King of Ayodhya. In the third lifetime, Jaya and Vijaya were born as Shishupala and Dantavakra and were slain by Vishnu who reincarnated as Krishna. Thus following the tale from the Bhagwatha purana, Ravana was meant to be and probably could not really help being what he was. For who can fight destiny? Not even the Gods.

As far as lineage goes, Ravana was blessed with the very best of parents that a person could hope for. His father was the great sage Vishrava who was the son of Pulastya and the grandson of none other than Brahma himself. Thus, on his father’s side, Ravana was a direct descendant of Brahma the creator and a Brahmin. He however took after his mother Kaikasi who was the daughter of King Sumali of the Daityas or Asuras. The Daityas were said to have descended from Diti; the second wife of sage Kashyapa and were essentially brothers to the Devas/Gods who were descended from Aditi, Kashyapa’s first wife. The scriptures tell us that Kaikasi was a very ambitious lady and that the sage Vishrava recognized her true ambitions when she approached him and asked him to marry her. Vishrava also warned Kaikasi that given the time of their marriage, their offspring were bound to turn out very bad. But, this information did not deter Kaikasi who was soon blessed with not just one but several children.

The eldest of Kaikasi’s children was Ravana. It is said that he was born with ten heads and was thus named Dasamukha or ‘one with ten heads’. He had two younger brothers namely Vibheshana and Kumbakarna. In addition, Kaikasi gave birth to a sole daughter by the name Soorpanakha. However different sources cite Ravana having more siblings than the ones named. For instance, Ravana is said to have had a brother named Mahiravana who was a powerful magician and became the ruler of the netherworld. In addition, there is also some mention of Khara and Dushana in the Ramayana. But, all sources agree that Ravana also had a half brother older than him. Kubera, the lord of wealth was the first son of Vishrava and Ravana would always have a contentious relationship with his half brother.

As a child Ravana was said to have been very diligent and intelligent; an ideal scholar in all respects. However, his father also noted that Ravana tended to be arrogant and aggressive; taking after his maternal side. Ravana was very well educated and he was recognized as a very learned and proficient individual even by his enemies. He mastered the Vedas, Shastras and the ways of the Kshatriyas. He mastered the use of every weapon known to be used and was a great sorcerer. Vishrava must have realized that Ravana was meant to rule a kingdom. It is said that Ravana performed several pujas as a Brahmin including one for no other than Shiva and Parvati themselves. The puranas tell us about the magnitude of Ravana’s learning and skill. He was unmatched in his knowledge of the nitishastra. Indeed, after his defeat towards the end of the Ramayana, Rama orders his brother Lakshmana to learn the art of nitishastra from the dying Ravana. In addition, he was a very well renowned Veena player; his personal emblem being the Veena. Already a great musician and scholar, Ravana added leadership qualities to his list of virtues. He was the undisputed leader amongst his siblings and even after growing up, his brothers and sister except Vibheshana would primarily defer to his judgment despite having differences of opinion.

After gaining all the skills, Ravana approached his mother Kaikasi who encouraged him to perform a severe penance to gain boons from Brahma, the creator. Ravana and his brothers immediately embarked on a severe penance. At the end of the penance that was so severe that it worried Indra, king of the Gods and traditional enemy of the Asuras, Brahma appeared before Ravana to grant him his boons. Ravana’s requests definitely portended trouble. He initially asked for immortality. Brahma instantly refused such a request that could only result in disaster for the world in general. What evil would a boon of immortality do in the hands of so ambitious and aggressive and individual! Undeterred, Ravana did not even stop to argue with Brahma. Instantly, he asked for immortality in a roundabout fashion. He requested that he might not die from Devas, Asuras, Kinnaras, Nagas, Yakshas and other important life forms. As a boon, it was a formidable one and would have been catastrophic if it were not for a slight neglect on the part of Ravana. In his haste, Ravana had forgotten all about men and monkeys; the two life forms that he considered so insignificant that he overlooked them completely. A wise Brahma immediately understood the significance of this omission and readily granted the boon much to Ravana’s delight.

Flushed with success of his penance, Ravana immediately set about on his cherished dream which was total world domination. He began by attacking Devaloka/Heaven and conquering the Gods. Indra and the rest of the devas including Agni and Vayu were imprisoned as common prisoners. Such was his might that it is said even the Sun God Surya needed his permission to rise and set everyday! After conquering the nether world and heaven, Ravana set his sights on Lanka; the island kingdom ruled by his half brother Kubera. The relationship between Ravana and Kubera were ever strained; Kubera accusing Ravana of succumbing to greed and avariciousness. Ravana however took this opportunity of driving Kubera out of Lanka without any of his prized possessions. Lanka, a fortified island and a rich kingdom was a matchless prize. Kubera was also forced to part with the Pushpaka Vimana; a vehicle that would transport a person to any place of desire. In the end, a defeated Kubera chose to abandon Lanka and his possessions and establish a Yaksha kingdom with Alkapuri as its capital.

Understanding that his domination of the worlds was nearly complete, Ravana retired to Lanka to rule over his dominions. As a citadel, Lanka was matchless. Its walls were strong and well defended. A guardian spirit watched over the main gate ensuring that no enemies ever entered the city. The city itself was designed by none other than Vishwakarma, the architect of the Gods. Legends talk about the wealth of Lanka during the rule of Ravana. It was said that even the poor ate out of vessels of gold and silver and hunger was virtually unknown. Despite his aggressive intentions, Ravana himself is credited to have been a very able and benevolent administrator. He was ably aided in this by his brother Vibheshana who strove to walk the path of Dharma above all things. Vibheshana was destined to stay with Ravana and help moderate all his orders until he got banished from the kingdom for speaking against the abduction of Sita, wife of Rama.

Perhaps one of Ravana’s greatest weaknesses was his behavior towards women. Ravana had several wives, the chief consort being Mandodari, the daughter of Mayasura. Mandodari was a virtuous queen and the mother of several of his sons including the illustrious Indrajit and his brothers Prahastha, Atikaya, et al. But instead of being satisfied, Ravana made advances towards every woman that caught his fancy. Some sources tell us that he was also present at the Swayamvara ceremony of Sita but could not lift the bow of Shiva purely due to his arrogance and conceit.
He coveted Rambha the celestial nymph who was the wife of Kubera’s son and molested her. However, when she refused to give into his advances, Ravana cleverly turned the argument around claiming that Rambha had once an affair with a king and subsequently with his descendant thereby making her different from an honorable woman. When Kubera’s son found out about the incident, he cursed Ravana, declaring that another encounter with an unwilling woman would cause his heads to shatter to a thousand pieces. The curse definitely defined Ravana’s behavior with other women. In the case of a beautiful woman named Vedavati, Ravana had to control himself in lieu of the curse but that did not help for his advances caused her to jump into flames declaring that she would be reborn to destroy him. It is also said that the curse also helped protect Sita’s chastity during her abduction by Ravana.

Ravana continued to make errors in judgment. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and he moved from one blunder to another, angering many a mortal and God in the bargain. A true devotee of Lord Shiva like all other Asuras, Ravana is said to have composed the Shiva Tandava Stotra while trying to gain boons from Shiva. Shiva who was busy at the moment dancing the tandava with his consort Parvati knew of his devotee’s intentions but chose to ignore them. Enraged, Ravana decided to lift the Kailasa Mountain which was the abode of Lord Shiva and take it with him to Lanka. Shiva, in turn enraged by Ravana’s presumptions trod heavily back with his foot nearly crushing Ravana in the

process. It is at this time that Ravana realized his mistake and begged Shiva to end the misery; even sacrificing his numerous heads to the God. A calm Shiva appeared before Ravana and presented him with the Atma Lingam after formally naming him Ravanasura.
Ravana continued on his way back to Lanka taking the Atma Lingam with him only to lose it on the way. The spot is now said to be Rameshwaram today.

The Ramayana reveals that Ravana made all the mistakes that an unheeding, power drunk mortal could make. He did not listen to good advice from his uncle Mareecha and forced him to transform himself into a golden deer to lure Rama out. He got himself provoked by his sister Soorpanaka’s outburst and without thinking rationally, embarked on an agenda to humiliate Rama that led to his own destruction. His brother Vibheshana repeated told him about the offense involved in abducting a woman, a married one at that. However, Ravana chose to ignore these warnings and getting angry in the end, he banished Vibheshana from the kingdom without thinking of the consequences. Vibheshana promptly joined forces with Rama and kept him informed of all of Ravana’s secrets. While Vibheshana did the right thing by taking the path of righteousness and good, there are still some people who question Ravana’s action in the light of military strategy and tactics. Did it really do Ravana any good by banishing a close insider? Even Ravana’s other brother, the great Kumbakarna advised Ravana to return Sita to her husband Rama. Ravana once again chose to disregard this advice. However, Kumbakarna merely shook his head at his brother’s folly and fought in the war and was slain by Rama. Ravana was thus consistently warned by his well wishers but it was his tragic choice that he chose to disregard all good advice.

Ravana’s life is a classic example of brilliance gone wrong. He was given the very best instruction and was truly great in his abilities and achievements, a fact that was duly noted by his favorite God Shiva. However, he never truly learnt the lesson of humility. His arrogance and conceit were boundless. Instead of following the path of Dharma, he consistently chose to flout it time and again. Instead of gaining fame for his countless good qualities, Ravana became known for his improper behavior towards humans and women in particular. His atrocities kept growing in number and eventually became so terrible, that it took an incarnation of Vishnu to subdue him.

In the end, as he lay dying on the battlefield, holding on to the very last breath and giving Lakshmana instruction on Nitishastra and proper administration, Ravana is said to have commented dryly, “Never assume that you have all the time in the world and take nothing for granted. Never procrastinate. I conquered the Heavens and imprisoned Yama, the lord of Death to my bedstead and Shani, the ninth planet under my throne. I told myself that I will always have time to finish them later. What good did this procrastination do? They prevailed anyway.”

[Photo and Content credits:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaya-Vijaya, wikipedia.org, https://indiaheritagesites.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/exploring-the-elephanta-caves/, ]