Rāvaṇa’s Conquest of the Lokas

Rāvaṇa was protected by a vara (a boon) from Brahmā. After it, he began a campaign of conquest through the earth, the higher realms, the underworld and the realm of the dead. He made kings and devas pay tribute. At the height of his power he held the title Lokatrayeśvara, lord of the three worlds.

The vara and the beginning

Brahmā gave Rāvaṇa freedom from death at the hands of devas, asuras, gandharvas, yakshas, rākshasas and serpents. No force other than a human could challenge him. He turned at once to conquest.

He first took the earth and its human kingdoms, and then moved on to the divine realms and the underworld. He raised a vast rākshasa army from Laṅkā and began his campaigns.

This is in the Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 15.

Conquest of the kings of the earth

Rāvaṇa marched through the kingdoms of the earth and demanded tribute and submission. No divine weapon could kill him, and many kings gave way. Those who refused were defeated.

King Anaranya of the Ikshvāku line refused to submit. He fought bravely, but he was defeated and mortally wounded. As he died, he pronounced a śāpa (a curse) on Rāvaṇa: a descendant of the Ikshvāku line would kill him.

King Marutta’s yajña. Rāvaṇa came to the court of the great Ikshvāku king Marutta, who was performing a magnificent yajña (fire ritual) with Indra and all the devas present. The devas were afraid of Rāvaṇa’s coming and fled in disguise. Indra became a peacock, Yama became a crow, Kubera became a chameleon, and so on. They did this to avoid fighting Rāvaṇa at that holy moment. Rāvaṇa scattered the assembly of the devas and took the offerings of the yajña.

This is in the Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 24–26.

Conquest of Yama’s realm

Rāvaṇa then turned to the divine realms. He attacked the domain of Yama, the realm of the dead. Yama’s armies fought fiercely. The Kāladaṇḍa, the staff of death and the most terrible weapon in existence, was raised against Rāvaṇa.

Brahmā himself stepped in. A covenant forbade the use of the Kāladaṇḍa, because it would destroy all living beings without distinction and not only Rāvaṇa. So Yama could not use his most powerful weapon. Rāvaṇa fought Yama’s forces and defeated them, and Yama had to accept the supremacy of the rākshasas.

This is in the Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 16.

Conquest of Varuṇa’s realm

Rāvaṇa then went to the realm of Varuṇa, the deva of the waters. Varuṇa’s sons and armies met Rāvaṇa in a great battle on the ocean. They fought with great courage, but Rāvaṇa’s power, guarded by the vara, was too great. Varuṇa’s realm submitted to Rāvaṇa.

This is in the Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 17.

The pātāla campaigns

Rāvaṇa went down into the underworld. In the seven pātālas he subdued the nāgas and other beings.

There he met the Nivātakavacas, a race of dānavas living in pātāla. Brahmā had given them a vara that made them safe from the devas. Neither side could kill the other, because each had divine protection. So Rāvaṇa made a pact of friendship (maitri-saṃdhi) with them. He made alliances in the same way with the Kālakayas and other groups who accepted his supremacy.

This is in the Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 19–20.

The Kailāsa episode

One of the best known events of the campaign was Rāvaṇa’s coming to Mount Kailāsa, the eternal home of Bhagavān Śiva. He tried to show his power by uprooting the mountain. Bhagavān Śiva pinned his arms with one toe for a thousand years. Rāvaṇa composed the Śiva-Tāṇḍava Stotra and surrendered, and then he was released. He was given the divine sword Candrahāsa. In this episode Rāvaṇa’s power, great as it was, met its limit in the presence of Mahādeva.

The full account is told in Rāvaṇa at Kailāsa. It is in the Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 21.

The women he wronged

Rāvaṇa’s pride also reached women of great virtue and rank.

He met Vedavatī in the forest and tried to seize her. She pronounced a śāpa and gave up her body. She would be born again as his destroyer.

He assaulted Rambhā, the apsarā wife of Nalakūbara, the son of Kubera. For this Nalakūbara pronounced a śāpa: if Rāvaṇa touched any woman without her willing consent, he would die at once.

These two events set the terms of Rāvaṇa’s end.

This is in the Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 22–23 and 34–35.

Height of power

At the height of his power Rāvaṇa ruled from Laṅkā as Lokatrayeśvara, sovereign of the three worlds. The devas paid tribute, though unwillingly. The kings of the earth sent their wealth. The realm of the dead and the underworld accepted his supremacy. His Pushpaka vimāna travelled through all the worlds. His rākshasa army was the largest and most feared in creation.

The Vālī episode

Rāvaṇa also met Vālī, the great vānara king of Kishkindhā, in this period. That meeting ended not in defeat but in friendship. It is told in Rāvaṇa and Vālī.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 15–31
• Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 15: the vara of Brahmā and the start of the conquest
• Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 16: Yama’s realm and the Kāladaṇḍa
• Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 17: Varuṇa’s realm
• Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 19–20: the pātāla campaigns
• Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 21: the Kailāsa episode
• Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 22–23 and 34–35: Vedavatī and Rambhā
• Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 24–26: Anaranya and Marutta’s yajña