Lineage of Rāvaṇa

Rāvaṇa’s family line runs from Brahmā to Pulastya, from Pulastya to Viśravas, and from Viśravas to Rāvaṇa, the ten-headed king of Laṅkā. Rāvaṇa came from a brahmarshi (a seer of the highest order) on his father’s side. Through his mother Kaikasī he also came from the strongest line of rākshasa chiefs. The Uttara Kāṇḍa tells this line in detail as the background to the conflict between Rāma and Rāvaṇa.

The root: Brahmā and Pulastya

The line begins with Brahmā. One of Brahmā’s mānasa-putras (sons born from his mind) was Pulastya, one of the Saptarshis (seven ṛshis). Pulastya was a brahmarshi of the highest rank and the founder of one of the great Vedic lines. Viśravas was born to Pulastya. He had his father’s brilliance and became a great brahmarshi himself. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 9)

Viśravas and his two families

Viśravas had two wives from very different worlds, and their children were very different too.

His first wife was Iḍaviḍā, also called Devavarṇinī, a daughter of the ṛshi Bharadvāja. From this virtuous union Kubera (Vaiśravaṇa) was born. He is the lord of the yakshas, guardian of wealth, and the first king of Laṅkā. Kubera took after his father in his love of dharma and became one of the eight Ashṭadikpālakas, ruling the north.

Then came the second line. The great rākshasa chief Sumāli saw that Kubera was the son of the brahmarshi Viśravas, and he thought that other children of Viśravas would also be very powerful. He sent his daughter Kaikasī to Viśravas in secret. He told her to win the ṛshi and bear children stronger than Kubera.

Kaikasī came before Viśravas at sandhyā-kāla (the twilight hour between day and night, which is not a good time). The ṛshi knew both her purpose and the bad time of the hour. He warned her: “You come to me at a cruel hour. The children born of this union, at this moment, will be rākshasas of fierce and terrible nature.” But he did not send her away. Kaikasī accepted the warning, and the union went ahead. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 9 and 10)

The four children of Kaikasī

Viśravas and Kaikasī had four children. Three were rākshasas of great power and one was of noble character.

Daśagrīva was the first-born. He became Rāvaṇa, the ten-headed king of Laṅkā. From birth he showed the signs of a rākshasa of rare power.

Kumbhakarṇa was the second son. He was huge in body, vast in appetite and terrible in battle.

Śūrpaṇakhā was born third. She was a rākshasī of fearsome beauty and violent passions, and she would play a key part in the Rāmāyaṇa.

Vibhīshaṇa was the fourth. He had the same parents as the others but a wholly different nature. He was devoted to Bhagavān Vishṇu, held to dharma, and was gentle and truthful. This is credited to Kaikasī’s request. After three fierce children she begged Viśravas that her fourth child be of noble nature. The brahmarshi agreed, and Vibhīshaṇa was born with a dharmic soul in a rākshasa body. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 11)

Rāvaṇa’s tapas and Brahmā’s boon

As the first-born, Rāvaṇa showed from childhood both the sharp mind of a brahmarshi and the ambition of a rākshasa. When he grew up he went to Gokarṇa and did the hardest tapas ever done. For ten thousand years, at the end of every thousand years, he cut off one of his ten heads and offered it as havis (an offering) in the sacrificial fire. He was about to offer the tenth and last head, which would have meant his death, when Brahmā appeared, stopped him and gave him a boon.

Rāvaṇa asked to be safe from the devas, asuras, gandharvas, yakshas, rākshasas and nāgas. In his pride he thought nothing of humans (manushyas), who seemed too small to be a danger. Brahmā gave the boon exactly as asked. Because of this, Rāma, as a human, stood outside the protection of Brahmā’s boon.

Kumbhakarṇa’s tapas was just as hard. He was made to ask for nidrā (endless sleep) instead of the power he wanted. Indra feared Kumbhakarṇa’s strength and arranged for Sarasvatī to bind his tongue at the key moment. Vibhīshaṇa asked for firm hold on dharma (dharma-nishṭhā) and for the knowledge of the Brahmāstra. (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 12 and 13)

Rāvaṇa’s grandfather Pulastya

Rāvaṇa had a special bond with his ancestral line. His own grandfather Pulastya once appeared before the young Rāvaṇa and blessed him. This link with a brahmarshi gave Rāvaṇa the highest Vedic knowledge. He was not only a physically powerful rākshasa but also a great paṇḍita, a scholar of the Vedas and tantra. His names include Daśagrīva (the ten-headed), Paulastya (of Pulastya’s line), and in later texts Laṅkādhipati (lord of Laṅkā). (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 9)

The family line in brief

• Brahmā
• Pulastya, a brahmarshi, son of Brahmā
• Viśravas, a brahmarshi, son of Pulastya
• Viśravas’s wife Iḍaviḍā bore Kubera (Vaiśravaṇa)
• Viśravas’s wife Kaikasī, daughter of Sumāli, bore Daśagrīva (Rāvaṇa), Kumbhakarṇa, Śūrpaṇakhā and Vibhīshaṇa

Sumāli’s line

Sukeśa had a son Sumāli, whose wife was Ketumatī. Sumāli’s daughters were Rākā, Pushpotkaṭā, Kaikasī and Kumbhīnasī.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 2 to 14