Ravan as you've never known him before

Why and how did the tradition of burning Ravan, the descendant of Lord Brahma and a great  devotee of Shiva and blessed by both, evolve?

Rahul Rajan, who works with Philips India, is the son of an Army officer and has an active interest in mythology, fantasy and science fiction. He he has researched deep into the realm of Hindu religious texts and mythology, weaving together a plethora of seemingly unrelated tales to create a new story that will compel the reader to wonder if this tale might not have been the true version after all. What the author presents in Rudravan (Shiva’s Ravan) is a tale we think we are familiar with, but are actually not. It is a tale of cosmic powers that decide the fate of universes with their actions. And in that process, he presents a brand new tale, culled from our own legends, of a Ravan you have never known before.

Like most Hindu writings, the Ramayana is not as simplistic and pedestrian an epic as some are eager to believe. Ravan was a Brahmin, the son of Rishi Vaishrava and the grandson of Pulatsya. Ram, though God incarnate, was born in a family of Kshatriyas. As a Brahmin, Ravan was custodian of Brahma-gyan (the knowledge of God). Killing him meant Brahma-hatya-paap, the sin of Brahminicide, that Ram had to wash away through penance and prayer. Another reason why this atonement was important was because Ravan was Ram’s guru.

The story goes that after releasing the fatal arrow on the battlefield, Ram kneels at Ravan’s feet and says, “Lord of Lanka, you abducted my wife, a terrible crime for which I have been forced to punish you. Now, you are no more my enemy. I bow to you and request you to share your wisdom with me. Please do that for if you die without doing so, all your wisdom will be lost forever to the world.” Ravan opens his eyes and raised his arms to salute Ram, “If only I had more time as your teacher than as your enemy. Standing at my feet as a student should, unlike your rude younger brother, you are a worthy recipient of my knowledge. I have very little time, so I cannot share much, but let me tell you one important lesson I have learnt in my life. Things that are bad for you seduce you easily; you run towards them impatiently. But things that are actually good for you, fail to attract you; you shun them creatively, finding powerful excuses to justify your procrastination. That is why I was impatient to abduct Sita, but avoided meeting you. This is the wisdom of my life,” and then dies.

Rajan’s book is completely entrenched in the mythological fantasy genre and so, is very different from the “realistic” takes on mythology. Here, the Gods are universe-spanning in their presence, and almost every character is superhuman. But, despite all that, their travails are no less compelling. The book also has a distinct sci-fi feel to it, and manages to cover a whole lot of ground with the pace never letting up.

His version of the final battle is indeed fascinating. The army of Ram arrives upon the shores of Lanka and the Great War begins. Relishing this opportunity, Ravan defeats Ram in a hard-fought duel, but is distracted by Hanuman and Lakshman. As he turns his attention to them, he is badly injured by a recovered Ram, and taken back to Lanka. In the days that follow, the mightiest of Lanka’s warriors are killed, while Ravan lies recovering. Left all alone, Ravan still rides into battle undaunted, and defeats Ram for the second time. But, before he can deal the killing blow, he is challenged by Lakshman. In the ensuing battle, he fatally injures Lakshman. But, once again, he is thwarted, as Hanuman manages to fetch the divine herbs that can cure any injury. The battle begins again, and Ravan confronts Ram once more, and a furious battle is fought. And Ravan is surprised to find himself stalemated by Ram. He realises that something more than the spirit of Parashuram is augmenting the prince of Ayodhya, making him more powerful than ever before. He discovers that the prayers of Sita are fuelling the strength of her husband, and realises that Vishnu had tricked him into abducting Sita, creating a haven of light within the dark of Lanka. Enraged beyond measure, Ravan strikes against Sita with all his power, seemingly annihilating her. And then, believing Ram to be deprived of the source of his strength, he plans to kill the avatar of Vishnu and achieve the impossible. But, at that very moment, something utters the name of “Ram”, and the mortal avatar of Vishnu attains complete Godhood. Even as Ravan watches in horror, he sees Ram unleash the ultimate weapon, the Brahmaastra at him. Instantly, Ravan realises that this is the end. Somehow, Vishnu has managed to defeat every boon. As the arrow comes screaming towards him, he screams to Vishnu for answers. And then, time itself stops, and Vishnu appears. It is revealed to Ravan that Ram has ascended to Godhood through the absolute surrender of the soul of Hanuman, who is actually an avatar of Shiva. The use of Sita was simply to distract Ravan from the truth of Ram’s power, and trick him into attacking an innocent girl. This proved to Shiva that his devotee had surrendered completely to the dark, thus convincing Shiva to surrender his avatar to Vishnu’s, and thus defeating the boons of both Brahma and Shiva.

Ravan finally acknowledges the victory of Vishnu in this cosmic game, and accepts his fate. Finally, the divine weapon pierces the heart of Ravan. And with that, dies the only being that needed the combined might of the two greatest Gods to defeat him.

The writer is a retired Army officer and a defence and security analyst based in New Delhi