Ravana
Indian mythology · rakshasa · power, scholarship, ambition
The ten-headed rakshasa king of Lanka, antagonist of the Ramayana. Not a simple villain: a master of the Vedas, a formidable ruler, and a devout worshipper of Shiva whose boons made him nearly invincible, undone by abducting Sita.
Stories
Hanuman's Leap to Lanka
Searching for the abducted Sita, Hanuman leaps across the ocean to Lanka, finds her captive in Ravana's grove, allows himself to be caught, and escapes by burning the city with his flaming tail.
The Abduction of Sita
Ravana sends a golden deer to lure Rama away from the forest hermitage, then carries Sita off to Lanka in his flying chariot. The dying vulture Jatayu, who fought to stop him, tells Rama what happened, setting the war in motion.
The Fall of Ravana
Kumbhakarna has fallen telling his brother he was wrong; Indrajit has fallen to Lakshmana. Ravana himself takes the field, and Rama, aiming at last for the heart rather than the ten heads that regrow, ends the war. Mandodari laments a husband greater than his own choice; Vibhishana lights the pyre.