Ravana - Hero or Villain ?

Ravana : Mythology's Anti Hero

Throughout history, the world has had its heroes, the quintessential babyfaces who fight through insurmountable odds, always walk on the right path and no matter what comes up, they never back down from a challenge. And quite frankly, the world needs heroes. The world needs a feel good moment to believe that Good overcomes evil, that finally there is a time of reckoning when what's evil succumbs to the forces of good. And history has from time to time given us these heroes, the good guys who shoulder the responsibility of representing a million voices and fight evil. Sometimes these heroes can be fictional and yet have such an impact that they have a deep rooted influence on how people think and how the system works. Amitabh Bachchan is essentially one such example of how a fictional character influenced a country of 125 crore people. Given the moniker ' ANGRY YOUNG MEN' he basically set the bar for what's considered the Indian Hero. The one guy who fought evil, defied the corrupt authority, got the girl and killed the villain in the end. There was a sense of deep rooted satisfaction and anticipation everytime he appeared onscreen, he was the people's voice, he was their champ, his win symbolized the victory of good over evil. If we move away from the realms of fiction, Indian Mythology has always had its heroes but none bigger than Lord Rama of Ayodhya. He is the 'Great One', the perfect husband who overcame great challenges to rescue his wife from the clutches of the evil demon king Ravana. BUT, was Ravana really evil ? Was he as bad as what mythology tells us to believe ?  Personally, i have always been intrigued by Ravana. I dont actually believe he was a good guy, but i dont think he was a bad guy either. To me Ravana was what the world categorizes as an 'ANTI-HERO'.

The Legend Of Ravana

Ravana, was the king of Lanka who was widely considered the greatest warrior the world had ever seen. A true devotee of Lord Shiva, he is described as having ten heads, hence symbolizing the immense amount of knowledge and wisdom he had. He was strong, knowledgeable and to top it all off, he was perhaps the best king of his era. 

So what is it that made him 'The Evil Demon King' ? Well,mythology tells us the story of the Ramayana, whereby King Rama of Ayodhya is on exile accompanied by his wife, Sita and his dutiful and loyal brother, Laxman. Things take an interesting turn when Shurpanakha, the sister of Ravana, the king of Lanka is attracted to Rama and on approaching him for marriage is blatantly rejected. To add insult to injury , Laxman cuts off her nose. On hearing this an enraged Ravana abducts Sita and keeps her as his hostage. Lord  Rama, along with Laxman gathers an army of apes and storms into Lanka, kills the Evil King Ravana and rescues Sita; a feel good ending to this story which establishes Rama as the hero and Ravana as the villain.

But is that really the case ? Is Ravana really evil ? Sure, he must be considering he is still burnt every year. We practically have an entire festival celebrating his death. But the lingering question remains, was Ravana really the man we are made to believe or was he, a victim of the manipulation of history ? 

If we look at the character of Ravana, at first instance he is this astonishingly great specimen. So knowledgeable was he, that he had ten heads(Dasanan) indicating his command over all subjects and his control in all directions. He was an excellent poet and a hardcore devotee of Lord Shiva. He had excellently described Shiva's Cosmic dance in a strotam known as Shiva Tandava Strotam. He was a stupendous fighter with great skills and is widely regarded as the greatest warrior that ever lived. But his exploits dont stop there, he was also an expert of the Vedas and had deep interest and knowledge about astronomy. His statesmanship was so highly regarded that it is said Lord Rama himself had instructed Laxman to learn statecraft and the art of diplomacy from the demon king before he breathed his last. 

That's that, but his greatness is very well described in the very book(epic) which established him as a villain. If we look at the events of the Ramayana, Ravana actually did what a HERO does or what a typical hero would do. It was his love and affection for his sister which had made him enraged at Rama and drove him to conduct the abduction of Sita. It wasn't Ravana the king who had done it, yet it was Ravana, the brother. This in no way justifies his actions, which are rightly condemned but this was a brother doing what it takes to protect the integrity of his sister and avenge her humiliation. 

Even after abducting Sita, he never touched her. He even made sure she was treated in the best possible way and that all her wishes were attended to. This again indicates it wasn't lust that made him abduct Sita but it was that brother within him that made him do what he did.

Interestingly, in many other versions of the Ramayana, most notably a Sri Lankan and Buddhist version of the Ramayana, it is said that Ravana actually facilitated Rama's win . Its said that before the battle, he had himself performed a puja whereby he had brought along Sita as the ritual demanded the presence of both Rama and Sita. After the puja ended, both Rama and Sita bowed down and touched his feet whereby its said Ravana responded by blessing Rama by saying "Vijaya Bhava" (may you succeed and win). He blessed Sita and took her away with him. If this isn't greatness i dont know what is.

But that's not where it stops. Even when as the battle culminated towards its end, Rama frustrated of his attacks being thwarted by Ravana with ease, takes out his Brahmastra, which was the mother of all weapons back in the day. Ravana too had his Brahmastra but seeing Rama draw his. chose not to, for he knew the collision of two brahmastras would mean subsequent destruction of this universe. What followed remains the moment when "Good finally conquered Evil". But infact the demon king was slayed because he chose to be slayed, he laid down his life because he knew at that moment it was either his life or the end of this world. He chose to be the bigger man as he so often was.

There are million versions of the same story, every story told differently. And maybe that's what it is. But the way i see it, the Ramayana wasn't a battle between the forces of evil and the angelic forces. Its only in Ravana's death that we get Rama, History has its own way and one went down as the Divine Hero we worship while the other forever remains entrenched in history as what is Evil. But essentially they were both heroes, Ravana was to Lanka what Rama was to Ayodhya, he was their hero just as Rama was Ayodhya's. He was Shurpanakha's hero. He was every sister's ideal brother. He was as much a hero to many, as Rama.

Ravana knew what he did was wrong, he knew it would end with his death. He just did what he had to do. At different points of time, he did what was required of him. He did what he had to do as a brother, he did what he had to do as a king. The demon king wasn't slayed, the demon king allowed himself to be slayed.

Ravana might not be a hero, but he wasn't a villain either. Maybe we can never properly define him for he was far too great for the average human mind to understand. But he will live on as the one character we love to hate. The world might not remember him the way he deserved to be remembered, but the world needs him. And every year we remind ourselves about the great demon king that lived. He is as big a part of our history as all our Gods and Goddesses.He isn't our hero, nor is he our villain. He is our Anti Hero, he is Mythology's greatest Anti Hero, the one man who still divides opinions. He is the Great One, he is Ravana.

To conclude, i would say that i believe the only person who truly understood Ravana was Lord Rama himself, maybe that's why Rama isn't a mere human. He saw what the world failed to see. He saw Ravana the champion. Not Ravana, the Evil King. The following video very beautifully illustrates the very essence of Rama's interpretation of Ravana