Ravana -- The brahmarakshssa (cross between a brahmin and a devil)

The Villan Lankeshvara – Emperor of (Sri) Lanka Ravana
Written on August 17, 2013
By Jay Hettiarachchy

Ravana is portrayed as the “bad guy” and enemy of Rama who was the heir to the throne of Ayodya in North India (the good guy) in Ramayana  a classical epic believed to have been authored by Valmiki during the period approximately between 5^th and 4^thcentury B.C. in Northern India. Ravana, according to Ramayana is a Brahmarakshasa (of mixed birth between a Brahmin father and a Rakshasa mother) king of Lanka (Sri Lanka). Rama and Ravana are the central characters depicted in Ramayana.

Ramayana is not only a narrative of the “war” between Rama and Ravana, but also a war between North India and Lanka (Sri Lanka of today). According to Ramayana, Ravana kidnapped Rama’s wife Seeta, in retaliation of Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of Ravana’s  sister Suparnakha who tried to seduce Rama when he was in exile. In the war that ensued in Lanka, Ravana was finally killed by Rama in battle and Seeta was rescued.

Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, is one of most popular deities worshipped in the Hindu religion. Each year, many devout pilgrims trace his journey through India and Nepal, halting at each of the holy sites along the way. The poem is not seen as just a literary monument, but serves as an important component of Hinduism, and is held in such reverence that the mere reading or hearing of it, or certain passages of it, are believed by Hindus to free them from sin and bless the reader or listener. Rama's return to Ayodhya and his coronation are celebrated as "Diwali" also known as the Festival of Lights.

Ravana is described as having 10 heads and 20 arms and is vividly portrayed in Rajasthani painting of incidents of the Ramayana, flying away with Seeta, fighting with Rama, and sitting with his demon councilors (Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana)

Ironically, the epic Ramayana is not as popular in Sri Lankan society as in India. On the contrary, Ranvana is as much worshiped as a popular deity in India as Rama and not as much or as enthusiastically in Sri Lanka. There are many popular places of worship of Ravana in India than in Sri Lanka. In the Buddhist variant of Ramayana, Dasaratha was the king of Benares (Varanasi) and not of Ayodhya. Nonetheless, there is an extensive tradition of oral story telling based on the Ramayana in Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, and Maldives.

Analysis:

There is no historical evidence of a Lankeshvara Ravana (emperor Lankeshvara) who lived in (Sri) Lanka or usurped a wife of the heir to the throne of Ayodhya in North India although some attempts have been made by some people in Sri Lanka  to make believe the Ramayana story of a war that took place between a Rama and a Ravana. Moreover they believe that Rama was aided by a monkey king Hanuman who built a bridge between south India and (Sri) Lanka to bring an army of monkeys to fight with Ravana and kill him and save Seeta from captivity.

Such stories are prevalent in most primitive societies in which gullible people live and pass them down to the younger generations who continue to propagate them generation after generation.