Shiva devotee. Scholar. Strategist. Warrior. Philosopher. Musician. Poet. An unparalleled polymath he was. Yet, for generations, Ravana was remembered as the 10-headed ‘villain’ of the Ramayana.
Now, as the teasers of Nitish Tiwari’s Bollywood magnum opus by the same title spur fresh conversations, the spotlight has once again turned to the epic’s most enigmatic character.
Long portrayed as the demon king who abducted Sita, Ravana is increasingly being viewed through the prism of his achievements and contradictions rather than as the embodiment of evil alone. The renewed fascination is set to play out on the big screen as cinephiles compare Yash’s portrayal of the Lankan king with Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama.
“Ramayana has had several time-specific interpretations. In the current era, Ravana’s persona is seen more as that of a regal lover of life,” says Aarcha Lakshmi, a research scholar studying the social relevance of the concept of dharma in the Ramayana. She also argues that Rama’s pious elegance, meanwhile, should not be equated with divinity, as is often done in adaptations.
No hero, no villain
“Valmiki Ramayana doesn’t portray Rama as divine. Rather, he is Purushottama — the exemplary man. It is in Ezhuthachan’s Adhyatma Ramayanam that he acquires a divine bearing,” she says, adding that in both, Ravana is less a study of good versus evil than an exploration of the vagaries of the human mind.
This fluidity in interpretation, says journalist and playwright Gowri Ramnarayan, is intrinsic to the epic tradition itself. “Ramayana and Mahabharata are not finished epics. They will continue. It is a living tradition that evolves over centuries. From that point of view, when you approach characters, each one is presented in a completely different way (in different reinterpretations) depending on each person’s imagination, knowledge, and creativity.”
Ravana, therefore, is not an archetypal evil manifested, says writer and ancient epics expert Jayaraj Thekkethil. The concepts of ‘hero’ and ‘villain’, he adds, are alien to Oriental philosophies. “Here is a figure whose father is a sage; who mastered the Vedas; was a prolific veena player; whose literary brilliance produced the Shiva Tandava Stotram, and whose understanding of shaastra (knowledge) and shastra (warfare) was profound. Above all, he was a great devotee of Shiva — among his foremost disciples,” he says.
Works attributed to Ravana include Ravana Samhita, associated with astrology and rituals, and Arkaprakasham, a treatise on distillation for rituals, medicine, and even intoxicants. “His knowledge of medicine was equally deep. One of the works attributed to him is Kumaratantram on Ayurvedic paediatrics. There are also manuscripts on Rasavada, dealing with alchemy, metallurgy, and mineral toxicology,” says Jayaraj. “His intelligence was extraordinary. Name the quality, and Ravana had it. Perhaps that is what the 10 heads symbolise.”
According to folklore, Rama asked his brother Lakshmana to seek scholarly guidance from Ravana while he was on his deathbed — the final words of wisdom on navigating life.
Ravana’s appeal, says Gowri, extended beyond fear and power. “I don’t think it was just fear that made his subordinates love him. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for him. Kumbhakarna was ready to sacrifice his life for him, and he was someone who knew right from wrong; just as much as Vibhishana did. And yet he supported Ravana.”
Even Mandodari, whom Gowri describes as the antithesis of Ravana, remained devoted to him while openly challenging his actions. “He had that magnetism which commanded adoration, love, adulation, and admiration. And there is no question of his valour. He was as fearless a warrior as Rama was. So what was the difference? The fact that he yielded to adharma.”
Why was he killed?
That is where the epics become explorations of states of mind rather than tales of heroes and villains. “Ravana’s intelligence sets him apart, but so does his inability to control his emotions. The lesson is perhaps about mastering the mind,” Jayaraj says. “Nowhere in the epics are characters branded simply as good or bad. What is explored is the interplay of the black and white regions of the mind. The interpretation is left to the reader.”
For Gowri, Ravana’s complexity is precisely what makes him stand apart from other figures in the mythology. “Rama and everybody else are comparatively flat characters. Whereas Ravana is the most rounded character who has so many dimensions. In interpretations, you have Ravana as he was, as he used to be, and as he became as power goes to his head,” she asserts.
Such nuanced readings were common across India before the epics came to be viewed merely as stories of good triumphing over evil, says writer and spiritualist Shoukath AV. “Ramayana is a text that has been adapted in every age according to its needs,” he notes, arguing that it cannot be reduced to “virtue v/s vice”.
Across India, several communities continue to revere Ravana. Among the Gondi people of central India, he is worshipped as a ‘dharma guru’. The Sachora Brahmins of Gujarat proudly trace their lineage to him, with some even adopting the surname ‘Ravan’. Temples dedicated to the Lankan king exist in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, and Baijnath, Himachal Pradesh, both of which have recently gained renewed attention through travel bloggers. “This reflects both the willingness of people to move beyond simplistic notions of good and evil, and the strength of a storytelling tradition that encouraged readers to interpret characters freely rather than categorise them,” says Shoukath.
This, says Vedic scholar Rajesh VR, is perhaps why there are so many versions of the Ramayana. “There is one where Ravana is Sita’s father, and another where he is the protagonist,” he notes.
“But if you read the myriad Ramayanas across this country in literary, folk, and tribal traditions, you will find different pictures of Ravana,” adds Gowri, pointing to the many ways the character has been interpreted.
Ravana’s fatal flaw, Rajesh says, was lust that clouded his otherwise formidable intellect. Several traditions also attribute this to the consequences of his karma. “According to some accounts, Ravana was a terror to women. Some versions say he molested Rambha and Vedavati, who cursed him that he would die if he touched a woman against her consent. That is one explanation for why he never touched Sita against her wishes,” says Rajesh. “Ravana was an exemplary emperor, but one overcome by maya or illusion, leaving him trapped by ego and unbridled desire. These two traits can destroy even the greatest talents.”
Even Kumbhakarna, Rajesh points out, is portrayed as highly knowledgeable. In Valmiki Ramayana, he delivers a ‘neethivaakyam’ (ethical counsel) to Ravana, questioning why he lusted after Sita when Mandodari, his own wife, was more beautiful. “He urges Ravana to act as a dignified king rather than succumb to desire. Yet, when Ravana refuses, Kumbhakarna chooses to stand by him as a loyal brother,” says Rajesh.
History of Rameshwaram
In contrast stands Rama, rising above the fluctuations of the mind. “Rama never wavers, even in the harshest circumstances,” says Aarcha. “He is called Aatma Raman because of his ‘aatma niyantranam’ — mastery over his own mind. The war, therefore, is between focus and distraction.”
Rajesh dismisses some modern narratives portraying Ravana as an outcast king slain by the upper-caste king Rama as “hilarious”. “A careful reading of the text is missing here. Rama was nowhere near Ravana in terms of talent. Rama was a Kshatriya, while Ravana was born to a Brahmin sage. After killing Ravana, Rama atones for ‘brahmahatya’ by worshipping Shiva at Rameshwaram. That’s how the famed coastal temple came up there,” he explains.
Notably, according to some versions of the Ramayana, Rama refused to celebrate the annihilation of Ravana, as he considered it a “tragic necessity” rather than a personal victory. “The core context of the Ramayana is about a soul maintaining focus over an efficient but distracted mind,” says Rajesh. “Ancient Indian philosophy revolves around mastery of the mind. Nowhere in the Ramayana or related texts is one character labelled ‘dushta’ (evil) and another ‘punya’ (holy) by birth.”
Ravana, he concludes, ultimately represents sophisticated brilliance consumed by hubris — vanquished not by a superhuman opponent, but by a mortal who attained divinity through steadfast adherence to his dharma and karma.