Ravan – Concluding Part

So yesterday on the occasion of Dusherra, Ravan was burnt with all the fanfare and celebration that goes with the victory of good over evil. In my last couple of articles, we have seen that Ravan was quite a good King and his subjects were very happy under his rule. He was also religious, as he was ardent devotee of both Lord Brahma and Shiva. In his previous births, he was in service of Lord Vishnu.

Legend has it that when Ram had to conduct a puja before the war with Ravan, the rituals were presided over by none other than Ravan himself as there were no Brahmins in that area. Knowing well, that the rituals were to be conducted against his own self, he followed his duty of a Brahmin well. Ravan is supposed to have parted with his knowledge of administration to Ram before he breathed his last. Ram is supposed to have accepted Ravan as his guru for that brief moment and what we know as Ramrajya (rule of Lord Ram) is nothing but based on Ravan’s knowledge of administration. Finally, Ram had even to undergo penalty for killing Ravan, as killing Ravan was akin to brahma-hatya, killing of a Brahmin, a grave sin in those days.

Then why is Ravan still the villain of the epic? Why do we still burn his effigy every year, year after year with such joy and élan?

Ravan was the epitome of manhood but in the epic he has been shown as what a man should not be. Despite all the good qualities, the major error in his character was his hubris. He was a walking embodiment of pride and arrogance. In Hindu mythology, folklore, etc. pride and arrogance has been treated with a lot of contempt and has always been looked down upon, even amongst gods. Many a god has been humbled when pride sets in him. Why are we so averse to Pride? Pride and arrogance steals humility from man and when he loses his humility, he loses his ability to distinguish between right and wrong.

Ravan had lots of good qualities for which he was awarded with boons and recognition too. But all the virtues are what they are only when they are accompanied with humility and not arrogance. He is a stark contrast to the maryada-purshottam (man among men) Lord Ram.

With reference to the epic Ramayana, however vile be the act of Lakshaman in mutilating Surpanakha’s face, the same cannot be justified with kidnapping of another man’s wife, as an act of retribution. What the author of the epic might be trying to establish is the difference between the way of the civilised and the rule of the jungle. What Lakshaman did was not a civilised act, but then Ravan was a King and an extremely educated and well-versed one at that. Where did all the education and knowledge go when faced with a personal crisis of sorts? Was it fair for a King to endanger his entire kingdom for what was apparently a personal problem? A good King and an able administrator must distinguish between what is a threat to his persona as against his nation. It is not that he did not have good advisors – Mandodari, his wife did advise him to give up his claim on Sita and so did many others. But Ravan was consumed by his hubris and thus could not distinguish between what was wrong and what was not.

The long and short of it all is, that yes, Ravan was unparalleled in his stature, but such characters whose vision is impaired by pride and arrogance can be annihilated by even a mortal. No matter how virtuous one is, a single vice can be fatal and unpardonable. In Ravan, we see the fatal in abundance and thus all the boons and virtues are of no help during the final act.

The burning of Ravan’s effigy is not to be seen as burning of the character of Ravan, but burning of the evil in the character. When we burn Ravan, we burn all that’s evil in ourselves and around us. If we are not doing that, then we are simply following a ritual, and not participating in the act. There are a number of temples in India dedicated to Ravan, as a hero; I sincerely hope they are worshipping what was good in him and not doing so as an act of being anti-establishment or anti-Aryan!

With this I conclude my series on Ravan. I hope I have done justice to the character who had the capability of heroism in him, but due to a significant error in his character, ended up being an ant-hero in the epic Ramayana.

Ravan – Part 2

Many scholars have said many things about Ravan’s womanising ways, but that too is a contradiction in the opinion of many. Many have said that though he had many wives, which was probably a norm for Kings in those days, he always respected women. This can also be understood by the fact that his subjects were both happy in his regime and respected him as a King. A kingdom cannot be happy and content, if the women in the kingdom were insecure. Besides, many felt that his kidnapping of Sita, had less to do with his womanising ways or lust for women, than revenge for the wrongful mutilation of his beautiful sister, Surpanakha. However, there are different opinions on this matter, based on different versions. Let us understand this in a slight detail.

According to one version, a sage-woman by the name of Vedavati was performing penance to propitiate Lord Vishnu and gain him as a husband. Ravan was moved by her beauty which seemed to have been enhanced due to the penance, but she rejected his advances. When Ravan tried to force himself on her, she is supposed to have ended her life by burning herself. Before dying, she had vowed to be the cause of his death in her next birth. Later Vedavati is reborn as the first child of Ravan and Mandodari. It had already been prophesied that Mandodari’s first born would be the cause of Ravan’s death. On the birth of their daughter, she was ordered to be killed. However, Subahu, who was given the task of killing the child, was unable to kill the baby-girl and abandoned the child and lied to Ravan that he had killed her. The child was later found by King Janak, who brought up the child as Sita (also known as Vedavati, sometimes) and the rest as they say, is history.

There is another version of his alleged womanising ways. According to this version, Ravan tried to force himself on Rambha, an apsara, who was already engaged to Kuber’s (Ravan’s elder brother) son. Rambha pleaded to let her go as she was like a daughter to him, but Ravan could not be deterred. Seeing this, Kuber’s son cursed him that if he ever tried to force himself on any woman, then his ten heads would fall of his head. Some scholars also say that it was for this reason that Ravan could not violate Sita’s chastity when she was in his custody, and not necessarily due to his strong character and will, which many of Ravan’s admirers feel.

As I mentioned there are different opinions about Ravan’s womanising ways, but his strong will and the strength of character cannot be questioned. Many have also opined that he was well aware of the fact that Sita was his daughter, and it was due to this that he never even touched Sita. His only objective was to avenge his sister’s insult. Or was there some other objective?

Let me tell you a story here –

Once, when Vishnu was in his abode, Viakuntha, there were two dwarpal (gatekeepers) by the name of Jaya and Vijaya. Once when the Sanath Kumars (sons of Lord Brahma, who were born out of his mind, and thus are also known as Brahma’s manasputra) were visiting Vishnu, they were not allowed entry, as the Kumars were in the form of small children, and thus were not recognisable. However, this denial by the dwarpal angered the Kumars and they cursed Jaya and Vijaya that they would be expelled from Vaikuntha and would be born on earth. Vishnu however, agreed to mitigate the curse, after all they were just doing their duty. Vishnu gave them a choice. They could take seven births as devotees of Lord Vishnu or three births as enemies of Lord Vishnu. Jaya and Vijaya chose the option of enemies as this could bring them back to Vaikuntha and serve their Lord earlier than as devotees.

 Jaya & Vijaya on the Eastern gate at Jagannatha Temple, Puri, Odisha, India

In the first birth, Jaya and Vijay were born as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha, who were killed by Vishnu as Narasimha and Varaha. In the second birth, they were born as Ravana and Kumbhakarna, who were killed by Vishnu as Ram and in the third birth; they were born as Sishupala and Dantavakra, who were killed by Vishnu as Lord Krishna. After these three births, Jaya and Vijaya return to Vaikuntha to serve their Lord.

Ravan Kidnapping Sita - Raja Ravi Verma

Coming back to Ravana, could his kidnapping of Sita (aka Lakshmi) be a way to come face to face with his Lord Vishnu and enhance the end of his second birth? Is this another case of pre-ordained destiny?

Well as they say, gods have their own ways and who are we mere mortals to understand them!! Leela, as they say!! 

Ravan - Part 1

Some time back, I wrote about Ravan’s family (Ravan's Family – Kumbhakarna, Ravan's Family – Surpanakha , ravans-family-meghnaad , ravans-family-vibhishan ). Some of my readers felt it strange that I left out Ravan himself. Was I playing safe and being politically correct? My answer to all is a loud No. I am a great admirer of Ravan as a character who had lots to admire about. A few aspects of his nature were definitely not what can be considered to be ‘popular’, to put it mildly, but even with them, the character of Ravan needs some critical appreciation.

Critics might question the timing of this article, especially when the nation is getting ready to burn effigies of this character, but then, man today is more rational than when the rituals started. I am hoping that today we can differentiate between what is good and what is evil and at the end of it all we will burn only the evil and retain all that is good.

Ravan was born to a Brahmin sage Vishrava and the Daitya princess Kaikesi (it is important to note that the word ‘daitya’ should not be understood as a giant; this could just be a community during those times, however, strength was a quality with this community as mentioned in the myth). It is said that Kaikesi’s father wanted her to marry the most powerful person on earth, so that they could produce exceptional children. He rejected all the kings, as none were greater than he. Kaikesi then identified sage Vishrava, but unfortunately she had approached him at an inauspicious hour. Vishrava warned her about this as this implied that her children would have evil leanings, but nevertheless agreed to marry her. Thus Ravan was half Brahmin from his father’s side.

Ravan is sometimes referred to as Dashamukha, implying that he had ten heads. In mythology, such references are significant. Some sources say that he was so named as his face reflected ten faces from the crystal necklace that his father had gifted him on his birth. A more commonly accepted explanation is that he was so intelligent, that he had the brains of ten people. Under the tutelage of his father, Ravan is supposed to have learned all the Vedas and other holy scriptures. He was also well-versed with the art and crafts of the Kashatriya community. Under the guidance of his maternal grandfather, he was well-versed with all the ethics of the Daitya community. He is also depicted with twenty hands, once again implying that he was very strong or that his strength was equal to that of ten people. He was gifted in music too, and was supposed to be an excelled Veena player.

Ravan is supposed to have undergone a severe penance to propitiate Lord Brahma, who pleased with his penance, granted him a boon. Ravan asked for immortality, but Brahma denied the same. Ravan then asked for invulnerability from all gods, and other heavenly spirits, besides demons and all kinds of serpents and animals. It was beyond his stature to ask for invulnerability from humans at that stage of his life (which is why Vishnu had to take the human form of Rama later in the epic).

Armed with the boon of invulnerability he was made the head of the Lankan army by his grandfather. But Ravan was not satisfied by just the leadership of the army and so asked for the entire Lanka, which was ruled by his elder brother Kuber. His grandfather suggested to Kuber to concede to his suggestion as Ravan was unbeatable. Though Ravan is supposed to have usurped the throne of Lanka, his subjects were very happy and satisfied under his rule. It is said that even the poorest of the poor in his kingdom had utensils of gold and hunger was not known to anybody. The fact that later poets have called Lanka a kingdom of gold could just be a metaphor for the great rule and life under the rule of Ravan.

Ravan was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Once Ravan tried to please him by trying to take his abode with him to Lanka and in his devotion, he tried to uproot the entire Mount Kailash. Seeing his abode shake, Shiva got irritated with him and pressed him down with his toe. The pinning down was both painful and also a lesson of humility for him. To please Shiva he sang paeans in honour of Lord Shiva for many years. In Shiva’s honour Ravan is supposed to have composed the Shiva Tandav Stotra, a form of dance worship. Pleased with his devotion, Shiva had gifted him the coveted weapon, the Chandrahas (moon-blade), and Ravan became a life-long devotee of Lord Shiva. 

The episode has been very beautifully carved out in one of the sculptures in Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, India –

Next we will read about Ravan and women in his life and his alleged misdemeanours.

Ganesha and Ravana

Ravana, the demon King from the epic Ramayana, was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. Once Ravana went to Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva and after severe penance got a boon of invincibility from Shiva. Lord Shiva gave him a lingam (also referred to as atma-lingam) and told him to carry it to Lanka by foot and while on his journey back home, he should never put it on the ground and if he did, then the boon would not materialize and he would lose the lingam to the place he kept it. Some versions of the myth say that Ravana attained this boon after reciting the Shiva Tandav Stotram, which was composed by him in honour of Lord Shiva.

A statue from the temple premises

Seeing this, other gods were worried about the boon. They then requested Lord Ganesha to do something and somehow stop Ravana from getting invincible. Ganesha through his yogic powers filled Ravanas stomach with water. Soon Ravana could hold it no longer and he had to relieve himself. Ganesha took the form of a child and approached Ravana. Ravana asked the child if he could hold it for some time, till he relieved himself, but should not put it down. Ganesha in his disguise agreed to do so, but also mentioned that if the lingam got heavy then he would place it on the ground, but then he would call him before doing so.

Ganesha held on to the lingam and no sooner had Ravana left, he cried out saying he could not hold it as it was getting heavier by the moment. He called out for Ravana three times, but Ravana could not return on time. Ganesha then left the lingam on the ground and ran away. Ravana came to the spot, and tried to move the lingam, but could not. He put all the pressure of his twenty hands, but could not move the lingam. However, due to the enormous pressure, applied by him the shape of the region changed to resemble the ear of a cow and hence the place is now known as Gokarna (ear of the cow) which lies in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. Since then the lingam at Gokarna is known as the Mahabaleshwar lingam (maha – great, bal – power, strength and eshwar – god) as the lingam could not be moved even by the strength of the mighty Ravana.

Gokarna Mahabaleshwar Temple

When Ravana realized that he was cheated by a child, he chased the child to hit him on his head. Later Ganesha took his original form. It is said that the Ganesha idol in the premises of the temple has a hollow in the head which was formed after Ravana hit him there. The idol is thus also referred to as Kuttu (to hit with folded fists) Ganesha. The devotees worship the idol by gently tapping on the head of the idol with folded fists!

Some versions say that Ravana took the help of the child, as it was evening and time for him to perform the sandhya vandana (evening prayers).

This myth signifies the contribution of Lord Ganesha from stopping Ravana from becoming invincible. The myth also lends credence to the divine association with the region and the temple which has religious attractions like the temple. Gokarna is considered to be a centre of Sanskrit learning and many Hindus from the nearby regions perform the last rites of the dead at Gokarna.

The ten day festival of Ganesh Chaturthi comes to an end today, and so does my series on Ganapati.

As they say in aamchi Mumbai – 

Ganpati Bappa Moriya Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar yaa (meaning - Oh Ganpati My Lord, return soon next year)!!