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| L for Lord of Lanka Google Images |
With three queens by his side, the emperor rejoiced in art and culture. He himself played the veena. A great Shiva-Bhakta, Ravana had done severe penance for decades to acquire a number of boons from Lord Shiva.
He had mastered the Vedas while becoming an expert in all modes of warfare. Acquiring vast amounts of land and wealth, Ravana did not hesitate to share them with his siblings.
Alas...
The Lord of Lanka’s bad time was imminent when his sister Soorpanaka lusted after Lakshmana. Rama’s younger brother cut off her nose in a fit of temper when she made a nuisance of herself.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” might be a modern saying. But the meaning applied to all times, it seemed. The scorned Soorpanaka instigated her powerful brother to kidnap Sita.
Living an exemplary life until then, Ravana made the mistake of kidnapping Lord Ram’s wife. Though his brothers Vibhishana and Kumbakarna advised him to return Sita to her husband, Ravana’s arrogance would not permit that.
And thus fell the mighty Lord of Lanka – because of his blind love for his sister and his arrogance. All the boons that he had acquired from Lord Shiva did not save him from sure death at the hands of Lord Ram.
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I knew this. :) wondering if there is a twist I missed.
ReplyDeleteNo, this story is straight as an A. No twists :D
DeletePride can bring even the mightiest down, eh? But what caught my eye was that even the poor ate in golden plates :O I can only imagine what rich people were like *Faints*
ReplyDeleteLike It Happened Yesterdy
LOL! He was a great emperor - all said and done, Ravana was the avatar of one of Lord Vishnu's gatekeepers Ajaya-Vijaya. The greatness must have rubbed on some way, right?
DeleteOh I did not know this about Ravana's sister. I knew about her love for Lakshmana but I did not know that Ravana kidnapped Sita on her saying. I thought he lusted after her, so he kidnapped her.
ReplyDeleteI'm learning so much :)
There are many schools of thought on this. One story even proclaims that Sita was Ravana's daughter. I went with the one where Surpanaka's the instigator of the kidnapping :)
DeleteRavana was such an interesting character in Ramayana. Even I was not aware that he kidnapped Sita at his sister's behest. Though I have heard that he was very good looking :)
ReplyDeleteWell, with ten heads, I am sure its a matter of taste ;) He was an interesting character - no doubt about it. Otherwise, why would Lord Vishnu leave Vaikunta, be born as a mortal to slay an ordinary person? :)
DeleteSoorpanaka was actually besotted by Rama before she tried her charms on Lakshmana. Ravana's and Rama's destinies were also entwined. Nice one.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's true. Rama told Soorpanaka clearly that he is a one-woman man. And then she went after Lakshmana. Thank you Suzy :)
DeleteSomehow, I have empathized more with Ravana than Ram. Yeah, I'm weird like that! The latter part of Mahabharata where he makes Sita undergo the test of purity and then banishes her is something that I have never been able to digest.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you point about Ram making Sita undergo penances. It took me many years to make my peace with him. As for empathising with one, I suppose each was doing the role meant for him :D
DeleteMy grandfather used to tell me tales from the Ramayana and Mahabharata...this reminds me of him and his stories. Thanks for that. :)
ReplyDeleteSanch @ Living my Imperfect Life
Sanch, you paid me the ultimate compliment. I have always tried to emulate my Grandpa :D
DeleteYes, he was very learned, but sometimes even the most intelligent of people take wrong decision in fit of emotions. Ram had asked Lakshman to learn from Ravana during his last moments.
ReplyDeleteVery true! That's what is meant by Destiny, I suppose. That tidbit about Ram asking Lakshman to learn from Ravana I didn't know. Thank you for sharing Ruchi :)
DeleteRavana was indeed an exemplary person...His penance and worship of Lord Shiva was unparalleled...I have always read about him as evil and it was a refreshing change to read about him as a person with good attributes who let his love for his sister bring out his demonic side.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
Thank you Little Princess :D
DeleteOf course they blame the woman :D
ReplyDelete@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
hahahahaha! It's not blaming the woman Tarkabarka Holgy. It's the women who bring forth strong emotions in men. We need to have more respect for ourselves, what say? ;)
DeleteVinash kale vipreet budhi is so apt in Ravana's case!
ReplyDeleteYeah! :)
DeleteIf you cant see past your nose you'll lose it!
ReplyDeleteabsolutely true! :) Thank you for stopping by moondustwriter
DeleteWell, well, you chose nicely for L! ;-) Lord of Lanka... We have a few Sri Lankan sites named after Ravana of course, and opinion on him is split into two extremes. Very interesting tidbit!
ReplyDeleteThank you Devika! The moment I thought of Lanka, you know who came to mind even before Ravana ;)
DeleteSundry you have made me rethink the character of Ravana. I know he wasn't that bad but every great hero has one tragic flaw that brings about his downfall. Very Shakespearean!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Ahana! That sure is a compliment indeed :D
DeleteJust catching up with posts as I was feeling under the weather yesterday. I liked that you brought to light Soorpanaka's role in the entire sequence of events. She was an important trigger. A lot of people are not aware of it. Good one, Sundari. :)
ReplyDelete*Shantala @ ShanayaTales*
Thank you so much Shanaya! Hope you are feeling better :)
Delete:) yeah all his good qualities n Shiva bhakti did not save him because of this wrong he did! I did not know he had three queens, know only Mandodhari
ReplyDeleteEven I got to know only when I researched on Ravana recently for A-Z. Learning so much on our mythology. Loving it. Thank you Lak :D
DeleteOne mistake lead to Ravana's downfall. Sad how such a learned and powerful man became a villain.
ReplyDeleteSo true! But then, it was pre-written I suppose. Thank you for stopping by :)
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