Rāvaṇa Vṛttānta

The Tulasī Rāmāyana tells in the Bāla Kāṇḍa how Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa and Vibhīshaṇa were born in the line of Pulastya Brahmā. They were born as the result of a brāhmaṇa’s śāpa (a curse) on King Pratāpabhānu. Although their birth was high, the force of the śāpa made the elder two take on tamo-guṇa (the quality of darkness) and live as rākshasas.

All three brothers did fearsome tapas and received varas (boons) from Brahmā and Śiva. Rāvaṇa then took Laṅkā from Kubera, married Mandodarī, and with his son Meghānāda, also called Indrajit, won the three worlds and even captured Indra.

Birth in Pulastya’s line

Because of the brāhmaṇa’s śāpa, told in the account of King Pratāpabhānu, Pratāpabhānu, Arimardana and Dharmaruchi were born again in the line of Pulastya Brahmā. They became Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa and Vibhīshaṇa. The sons, servants and other kinsmen of Pratāpabhānu were born again as the rākshasas around them.

Pulastya was a great muni and a mānasaputra (a son born from the mind) of Brahmā. Even so, the brāhmaṇa’s śāpa made Rāvaṇa and Kumbhakarṇa ruled by tamo-guṇa, and they lived as rākshasas.

Rāvaṇa had twenty arms and ten heads. His huge body was a match for mountains. Kumbhakarṇa’s body was enormous and terrifying to his enemies, yet he loved only eating, drinking and sleeping. Vibhīshaṇa was gentle and devoted to Śrī Hari.

The tapas and varas

The three brothers went to the forest and did ghora tapas (fearsome austerity) for thousands of years. Brahmā and the devas were pleased by this very hard tapas and came to offer them varas.

• Rāvaṇa asked to be unbeatable by all beings except nara (men) and vānara (monkeys). He looked down on them as too small to fear.
• Kumbhakarṇa’s mind was confused by Sarasvatī’s prompting. He did not ask for a great vara. He asked for dīrgha-nidrā, long sleep without end.
• Vibhīshaṇa asked humbly for friendship with tapasvis (those who do tapas), bhakti toward Śrī Hari, and a heart that would never turn away from dharma.

Śiva and Brahmā together gave each brother what he asked for.

The seizure of Laṅkā

In the middle of the ocean, on the Trikūṭa mountain, stood the very beautiful city of Laṅkā. A million of Kubera’s yakshas guarded it at all times.

Rāvaṇa was drunk with pride. He attacked with his rākshasa armies and took the city. He found it safe from enemies and well suited to be a capital, so he made it his rājadhānī (capital). He then married Mandodarī, the daughter of the great māyāvi (master of magic) Maya, and he arranged marriages for his brothers too.

Conquest and misdeeds

Rāvaṇa was drunk on his varas. He turned on Kubera, attacked him and took the Pushpaka Vimāna. In his pride he also went to Kailāsa and shook the mountain with his arms to test his strength. This was great arrogance, done before the home of Śiva himself.

Rāvaṇa spoke to his gathered rākshasa warriors: “The devas are our enemies for all time. They hide and slip away from us. From today let us destroy every yajña and holy rite that brāhmaṇas perform, wherever we find them. The yajña offerings keep the devas strong. When they have no havis (offering), they will grow weak and fall into our hands.” Then Rāvaṇa sent his forces out into the world.

Meghānāda, Rāvaṇa’s son, was a mighty hero of unmatched courage. He led a great campaign against the devalokas (the worlds of the devas). He fought the devas, overcame them and captured Devarāja Indra himself. Brahmā hurried there. He pleased Meghānāda with many varas and got Indra set free. From that day Meghānāda was known across the world as Indrajit, “the one who conquered Indra”.

The rākshasas laid waste to svarga (heaven), the earth and the lower worlds. Yajñas were broken, Vedic study was silenced, japa and tapas were destroyed, and adharma overcame dharma. The earth shook under Rāvaṇa’s footsteps. When he roared, unborn children slipped from their mothers’ wombs. Rāvaṇa had never met an enemy he could not beat, and he roamed freely in all directions. He took by force divine women, yakshiṇīs, kinnaras and others, and made them his wives. The divine cities of Amarāvatī, Alakāpurī and others were razed and left empty.

The weight of these misdeeds then moved Bhūdevī, the Earth, to go to Brahmā and ask for relief.

Sources

• Tulasī Rāmāyana, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Rāvaṇa Vṛttānta
• Tulasī Rāmāyana, Bāla Kāṇḍa, the misdeeds of the dānava king