Spirituality

Things you might not know about Ravana

Some say ravan was the greatest devotee of Lord Shiva. Some say there was no match for his excellence in Vedic knowledge, music, fighting skills, and devotion. They say he was the most incredible brother who ever lived and abducted Maa Sita just to get vengeance for his sister. They even say he was so righteous that he never touched Maa Sita while in captivity.  

Similarly, others say he was evil personified and was responsible for killing millions of innocent souls. Who was Ravana? Was he a righteous person, few think, or was he a true evil who deserves burning every year? Let’s see a few facts and debunk a few misconceptions about Ravana.

Birth of Ravana. 

 Brahma had four sons, Sanaka kumara, Sanatana kumara, Sanandana kumara, and Sanat kumara, who had a blessing that they shall not age beyond 12. Well known in Vedas, they used to roam around in the universe singing praises of the Divinity. One, they reached the gates of Vaikuntha 

Jay and Vijay are two doorkeepers of Lord Vishnu. They guard outside the gates of Vaikuntha, the abode of lord Vishnu. They prohibited these Sanat Kumars from entering the Vaikuntha. Sanat Kumars requested, pleaded, and told these gatekeepers who they were, but Jay Vijay prohibited them from entering in false pride.

Being offended by the rudeness, these Sanat Kumars cursed these two gatekeepers that they shall become daemons and would attain salvation only through their Lord Vishnu. So, Jay Vijay became Ravana and Kumbhakarna and got released from their demonic birth by getting killed by Prabhu Ram, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself.  

 Ravana lifts Kailasa.

 Once, Ravana donated his head ten times to please lord Shiva. Being overly proud of his achievement as the greatest Shiva devotee in the world, he tried to carry mount Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva, to Lanka. Lord Shiva pushed his left pinky toe, and the hands of Ravana were trapped under the Kailasa for a thousand years.

After that, he started shouting, which echoed to the entire universe, and he got the name Ravana (Rav means a loud noise in Sanskrit). After that, he composed the Shiva-Tandav Stotram that devotees sing even today. The devotee should never carry the pride of his devotion, and Lord Shiva tried to make him understand this, but despite being trapped under the mountain, Ravana refused to listen.  

Ravana’s revenge.

 Its popularly believed that Ravana abducted Maa Sita to avenge the sliced nose of his sister Shurpankha. But in reality, Shurpankha lusted for Lord Ram first, and when Prabhu Ram denied her, she tried to kill Maa Sita.

In retaliation, Laksham had to cut her nose off. When she reached Lanka with her bleeding nose to get revenge, she ignited lust in the mind of Ravana by describing Maa Sita’s beauty and her physical features over and over again. It was lust and not vengeance that drove Ranava toward Sita’s abduction.    

Ravana’s righteousness.

 Ravana was so righteous that he abducted Maa Sita but never tried to force them to be intimate with her. This is another misconception about Ravana. Reality is a bit different. Kubera was the half-brother of Ravana, and Kubera had a grandson named Nalkuber. Nalkuber was engaged to be married to Rambha.

Being overpowered with lust, Ravana raped his grandson’s fiancé Rambha. Nalkuber found out about this, and he cursed Ravana that the next time he forced himself on a woman against her will, his head would explode and turn into ashes. The curse was the only reason and not some righteousness behind Ravana for never touching Maa Sita.    

 

The greatest devotee of Lord Shiva.

 Once, Ravana was performing Lord Shiva’s Puja near a pond. To test his devotion, Lord Shiva hides all the lotuses from the pond and the flowers in the nearby trees. To complete the Puja, Ravana needed flowers but couldn’t find one, so he started chopping his heads one by one and offering them to Lord Shiva.

Seeing this devotion, lord shiva restored all nine heads of Ravana and presented him with the Chandrahasa, the invincible and terrible sword of lord Shiva. Since that day, he has been known as the greatest devotee of lord shiva. Do you know what the ten heads of Ravana represent? They represent Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chit (will), Lobh (greed), Mada (pride), Maatsarya (envy), Ahamkara (ego), Kaam (lust), Krodh (anger,) and Moha (delusion).

Ravana was the owner of Lanka.

 Vaishnava was the grandson of Brahma and the brother of the legendary sage Agastya Muni. He had two wives, Illavida and Kakashi. Kakashi gave birth to four children-Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, and Shurpankha. And Illavida gave birth to Kuber.

Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, and Kuber did an arduous penance of Lord Brahma. But as their intentions differed, everyone got what they wished for or deserved. Kuber was declared as lord of wealth and lord of the north direction. Apart from that, he was gifted with Pushpaka Vimana (flying celestial chariot) and the golden city of Lanka.

Ravana got immense powers from Brahma, and misusing those powers, he attacked Lanka and occupied it forcefully with the help of his demon army, snatching it from Lord Kubera, his half-brother. The Pushpaka Vimana, on which he abducted the Maa site, was also stolen from his brother Kuber.   

Ravana had many great qualities. He was a great poet, a well-learned scholar of Vedas, and an inventor of a musical instrument called Rudra-Veena. Apart from being a great politician, he was a master of sciences who wrote a book on astrology known as Ravan Samhita. Even though he forcefully snatched Lanka from his brother, he was a magnificent king to his pupil, and there was no poverty in his kingdom during his rule. Then why do we burn his effigy every year?

Even though Ravana had many extraordinary good qualities, he was egoistic, overly ambitious, and lustful. He let these bad qualities overpower his good qualities, making some grave mistakes in his life. One of the reasons why we burn Ravana every year is to remind ourselves that all of us have good and evil in us, and it’s our duty not to let the darkness within us overcome the light. We hope you have gained some new insight into who Ravana really was.

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