There are many interesting facts related to the demon king of Lanka named Ravana’s life. Here you know about the history/facts of Ravana/Ravan OR Biography of Ravana.
Mostly, everyone associated with Hinduism, also all will remember Lord Rama and all the stories related to him like Ram Ravana War, according to the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana and other ancient Hindu textbooks.
You must have heard the name of Ravana/Ravan because every year the effigies of Ravana are burnt at different places on the day of Dussehra festival, he was a vicious person, so Lord Rama killed him. There are so many untold facts and unheard things of Ravana’s life. Let’s know about him…
Biography of Ravana
Ravana was the king of Lanka, now the place is Shri Lanka, and he is a tremendous storehouse of knowledge, and like him, a scholarly pundit had never been in this entire world before nor will it ever be.
It is believed that he was a great scholar politician, commander of architecture, a scholar of much knowledge related to science. Through his accomplishment and power, he had acquired many elusive powers in his life.
The demon king Ravana was also noted for making him perform enchantment, tantra mantras, hypnosis, and many types of magic. In short, Ravana was a man who was proficient in almost 64 arts just like God.
Despite all this, Ravana could not save his life after walking on the path of unrighteousness, he killed by Lord Ram. Let’s know more in detail…
There are different facts mentioned in different texts about the birth of Ravana. The Hindu mythology says Ravana was born to the great sage Vishrava and his wife Kaikesi.
The sage Pulastya who was Ravna’s grandfather was the mind-born son of Brahma and also he was one of the Saptarishi during the period of Manu.
| Ravana’s Nick Names | Dashaanan, Ravula, Lankeshwar, Lankeshwaran, Ravanasura, Ravanaeshwaran, Eela Vendhar |
| Ravana’s Birth Place | Greater Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar, UP, India |
| Ravana’s Birth Date | Between 5224BCE & 5104BCE |
| Ravana’s Birth Era | Treta Yug |
| Ravana’s Death | Dec 04, -5076 Sri Lanka |
| Ravana’s Father | Vishrava |
| Ravana’s Mother | Kaikesi |
| Ravana’s Wife | Mandodari |
| Ravana’s Childs | Indrajit Atikaya, Akshay Kumar, Narantak, Devantaka, Trishira, Prahstha |
| Ravana’s Siblings | Vibhishana, Kumbhakarna, Ahiravana, Kubera |
Ravana’s father Muni Vishrava had two marriages during his life, his first wife was Varvanini and his second wife was Kaikesi. His first wife Varavnini gave birth to a son called Kubera.
And his second wife Kaikesi conceived at inauspicious times and gave birth to ferocious demons like Kumbhakaran, Shrupankha, Ravana, and Vibhishan.
Ravana was a great scholar politician, the architect of architecture as well as the knowledge of many science-related texts.
Through his accomplishment and tapobal, he had acquired a lot of elusive powers in his life, due to which he was known to perform Indrajal, Tantra Mantra, hypnosis, many types of magic, etc.
On the basis of his policies, Ravana invaded the main states around him such as Ang Island, Malay Island, Varahadweep, Shankh Island, Kush Island, Yashdeep, and Andhra Pradesh.
Then came the number Lanka of Kuber state that was established on Lanka at that time. Kubera, who was also Ravana’s half-brother, defeated him from Lanka and drove him away, and took control of Lanka himself.
After escaping from there, Kubera started living in the area around Mount Kailash, now known as Tibet. At that time, Kubera also had a Pushpak Vimana which moved at the speed of mind and could be carried anywhere in the air which Ravana snatched from Kubera.
After that Ravana attacked Indraloka to establish his dominion, after which Ravana’s son Meghnath defeated Indra and took Indraloka, after which Meghnath was also known as Indrajit. From then on, Ravana was addressed by saying the name of Trilok the conqueror.
Ravana may have been very unrighteous, but he was devoid of devotion to Lord Shiva from the beginning and considered Lord Shiva to be the greatest.
Ravan loved song music very much, due to this, you would have seen Veena in the hand of Ravana in many pictures. Ravana used to play the veena and he used to play the veena so well that the gods from heaven came to hear his veena playing.
In order to make his son immortal, Ravana, on the strength of his power, ordered the new planets that when my sons are born then all of you have to stay in the 11th place.
All the gods accepted the talk of Ravana, but Shani Dev disregarded the talk of Ravana and sat down on the 12th. Because of which Ravana became so angry that Ravana forcibly kept Shani Dev in his palace for many years.
According to a legend, it is famous that once when Ravan Havan was performed for many years to please Lord Shiva.
In the southern part of India, Ravana is considered as God because it is believed that no poor person was poor in the era of Ravana because everyone’s house was full of gold. Ravana was very much attached to gold, due to which he made his palace and the whole of Lankapuri gold.
Some Interesting Theories About Ravana’s Ten Heads
A query that is often asked, is why Ravan has ten heads. Ravan is the crucial character in the mythology which has ten heads. There are a few perceptions according to some mythological stories which help to know about Ravana.
Ravan was the great king of Lanka according to the Hindu epic Ramayana. The real name of Ravana is Dashamukha which means Ten Headed and he was the son of Visravasa and Kaikasi.
There are some theories that Might be Interesting to know about Ravana’s ten heads…
The old legend interpretation of Hindu religion says that Ravana’s ten heads are symbols of the ten human emotions.
These emotions are Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moha, Mada, Matsary, Manas, Buddhi, Chit, Ahankar which are defined in the order as Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Pride, Jealousy, Mind, Wisdom, Alertness, Ego.
According to one more explanation, Ravana’s ten heads represented ten scriptures. Ravana had mastered in total ten scriptures in his lifetime.
These ten scriptures include four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, the Atharvaveda and includes six Shastras: Vedanta Darshan, Yoga Darshan, Sankhya Darshan, Vaisheshika, Nyaya Darshan, Meemansa.
Another legend interpretation says that Ravan was an awful devotee of Lord Shiva. He performed many austerities to please Lord Shiva. Having failed at pleasing Shiva, Ravana decided to cut his head as an offering to the Shivlinga to show his devotion to the god.
When Lord Shiva graced him with his divine presence and bestowed upon him ten heads and twenty arms for the one lost head.
READ | Indian Culture Religion and Festivals
Like this Ravana’s ten heads then become a symbol of his mankind, knowledge, and intelligence while his twenty arms were a symbol of his power.
Ravana birth date and death date (Ravana date of birth)
Ravana is a legendary figure in Hindu mythology and the main antagonist of the epic Ramayana. According to Hindu scriptures, Ravana was born to the sage Vishrava and his wife Kaikesi.
His birth is often associated with the holy days of Navaratri, especially the 7th day (Saptami) of the Hindu Ashwin month Shukla Paksha (the bright two-week/fortnight), which usually falls in September or October.
As for his death, Ravana’s downfall is an important event in the Ramayana. He was defeated and killed by Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This event is depicted in a great war between Rama’s army and Ravana’s army. According to the Ramayana, Ravana’s death occurred on his tenth day (dashami) of Shukla Paksha in the month of Ashwin.
In many parts of India this day is celebrated as his Dussehra or Vijayadashami and symbolizes the victory of good over evil.
The dates given are based on Hindu calendar calculations and may vary due to various sources and traditions.