A fervent devotee of Lord Shiva. Earned blessings from Lord Bramha too. Believed to be having knowledge of all 4 Vedas, and 6 Upanishads. Abducted Sita to avenge the humiliation Rama and Lakshman caused on his sister, Surpanakha. Not to forget, he kept Sita respectably, unharmed and safe. Primarily, Lanka prospered in his rule. Why is he considered evil then?
Following his conquest of Lanka, Ravana encountered Lord Shiva at his abode in Kailash. Unknowingly, Ravana attempted to uproot and move the mountain on a whim. Shiva, annoyed by Ravana's arrogance, pressed his little toe on Kailash, pinning him firmly and painfully under the same. His ganas informed Ravana of whom he had crossed, upon which Ravana became penitent. He composed and sang songs praising Shiva, and is said to have done so for thousands of years, till Shiva released him from his bondage. Pleased with his bravery and devotion, Shiva gave to him the divine sword Chandrahas ("Moon-blade"). It is during this incident that he acquires the name 'Ravana', meaning "(He) Of the terrifying roar", given to him by Shiva - the earth is said to have quaked at Ravana's cry of pain when the mountain was pinned on him. Ravana in turn became a lifelong devotee of Lord Shiva. Ravana is said to compose Shiva Tandava Stotra, a hymn to Lord Shiva
At the time of the Ramayana, set several hundred years later, Ravana is shown as dominating all human and divine races - so much so that he can command the Sun as to his rising and setting.
In the Bhagavata Purana, Ravana and his brother, Kumbakarna were said to be reincarnations of Jaya and Vijaya, gatekeepers at Vaikuntha, the abode of Vishnu and were cursed to be born in Earth for their insolence.
These gatekeepers refused entry to the Sanatha Kumara monks, who, because of their powers and austerity appeared as young children. For their insolence, the monks cursed them to be expelled from Vaikunta and to be born in Earth. The all-merciful Vishnu agreed that they should be punished but agreed to mitigate their curse. He asked them whether they would want to be undergo seven births as devotees of Vishnu or three births as enemies of the Lord. Since they wanted to get back as soon as possible, they agreed to be born in three births as enemies of God.
In the first birth, Jaya and Vijaya were born as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. Vishnu incarnated as Varaha and Narasimha and killed them both. In Treta Yuga they were born as Ravana and Kumbhakarna and were killed by Rama. Then in Dwapara yuga, and in their final birth, Jaya and Vijaya they were born as Shishupala and Dantavakra and killed by Sri Krishna. After the end of three births, they returned to Vaikunta.
Thus, to fulfill the curse that was upon Jaya and Vijaya, to die at the hands of the avatar of Lord Vishnu, Ravana is said to have planned the kidnapping of Sita so as to entice Lord Ram to pursue him and kill him in return. Ravana had no other option than to kidnap Sita to lure Lord Ram into a fatal battle. If kidnapping Sita for other pleasures was even one of the motives of Ravana, then there is no explanation for Ravana keeping Sita totally safe and untouched in his house, Lanka. Since there was no other way for him to fulfill the curse upon him to die at the hands of Lord Vishnu's avatar, he had to cultivate nefarious wickedness, violence and hatred, and invite Lord Ram to kill him. Of course, this might be called a type of devotion that is stupid and infamous. But his inner aim was to cross the ocean of birth and death, through that act of self abnegation and surrender to Lord Vishnu, and be Lord Vishnu's gate keepers again and be at His devotion.
Ravana serves mainly as an antagonist and villain in the Ramayana, though sometimes he was shown as a great noble man. Nevertheless, he is considered to have possessed several virtues, the foremost being his knowledge of the sacred books, medicines and sorcery. Ravana was a great devotee of Shiva and is supposed to have composed the Shiva Tandava Stotra.
Perhaps the reason why he is shown to be a completer evil in the Indian version of Ramayana is to promulgate a moral to the audience. A moral that good triumphs over the evil is what every parent teaches their child, and to reinforce it, Ravana is shown as the villain in the version of Ramayana that is telecast to the Indian audience.
Not sure how true this is, but I had read somewhere that Ravan was cursed by Brahma that he can not force himself on any woman, lest his head shall explode and, hence, he did not force Sita.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I still respect him for a lot many things.