You probably know that Vishnu took the avatar of Rama to put an end to Ravana’s evil ways. But did you know that Ravana was a Shiva devotee? And that Shiva was quite fond of him? Ravana was a very learned man and his beautiful hymns to Shiva pleased the lord greatly!
Ravana was a king who lived in the south while Shiva’s home, Kailash, was up in the north.
One day Ravana thought it was a good idea to bring Kailash to the south so that he could always be by Shiva’s side. Ravana was used to having his way and it didn’t occur to him that this was quite a preposterous ambition! So he walked all the way from Lanka to Kailash and started to lift up the mountain!
Parvati, who was watching Ravana’s actions, was furious. She, unlike her husband, had no patience for Ravana’s arrogance. She told Shiva in no uncertain terms that Ravana must be prevented from doing this. Who did he think he was?
Shiva, too, felt that this time Ravana had gone too far. So Shiva pressed the mountain down and trapped Ravana’s hands. Ravana howled in pain but Shiva didn’t budge. Finally, Ravana began singing hymns to Shiva about his love for him. After Ravana sang 1001 hymns, Shiva’s heart softened and he released him.
Another time, Ravana’s penance pleased Shiva so much that he gave him jyotirlinga, a stone that was a symbol of the lord’s radiance. It was a powerful object and had the power to make Ravana invincible!
Shiva told Ravana that the stone would stay wherever he put it down, so he must be very careful with it.
Ravana was delighted. With this stone, his powers would greatly increase. He was determined to take it to Lanka.
Just as he had great strength, Ravana also had great discipline when it suited him. He did not eat, he did not sleep. He suppressed all his human urges. He walked for days together, his mind focused on reaching Lanka and setting the stone down there.
The gods became uneasy. Yet again, a boon given to a devotee was proving to be a thorn on their side! Ravana was certain to cause trouble if the stone reached Lanka.
Varuna, the water god, decided to act. He made Ravana’s bladder full! Ravana desperately wanted to relieve himself but how could he do that when he was carrying the sacred stone? It would be an insult to Shiva! He didn’t know what to do.
Just then Ravana saw a young cowherd standing by the road. He seemed to be a godsend! What’s more, the boy looked dull and stupid so Ravana decided to make use of him. It didn’t seem likely that he would run away with the stone.
“I will give you a jewel if you hold this stone for a few moments. I’ll be back soon,” said Ravana.
The boy nodded and took the stone from the king. The second Ravana disappeared from view, the cowherd put the stone down!
You see, the cowherd was none other than Ganesha! His father Shiva had rewarded Ravana but Ganesha knew what would happen if Ravana succeeded in taking the stone to Lanka. He teamed up with Varuna to outwit Ravana!
The stone sank into the ground at once. When Ravana came back, happy and comfortable at last, he was enraged to see the cowherd standing with his hands empty.
In his anger, Ravana knocked the boy on his head. If you visit Gokarna, you will see a Ganesha statue with a depression on its head even now!