Ravana - The Many Headed Monster

Ravana had ten heads, twenty arms, and copper-coloured eyes, and bright teeth like the young moon. His form was as thick as a cloud or a mountain, or the god of death with open mouth. He had all the marks of royalty, but his body bore the impress of wounds inflicted by all the divine arms in his warfare with the gods. He was scarred by a thunderbolt of Indra, by the tusks of Indra's elephant Airavata, and by the discus of Vishnu. His strength was so great that he could agitate the seas and split the tops of the mountains. He was a breaker of all laws and a ravisher of other men's wives... Tall as a mountain peak, he stopped with his arms the sun and moon on their course, and prevented them rising. His presence creates a fear so paralyzing, that wherever he travels, the sun does not give out its heat, the winds do not blow and the ocean becomes motionless.'

Ravana was lord and master of the Rakshasas, the numerous and powerful demons of the Indian underworld. His abode, was the large island of Lanka (now known as Ceylon) from which he ousted his half-brother Kuvera, lord of the Indian elves. The city is described in the Ramayana as being of great size and beauty. Ravana often left Lanka in his magic chariot to sow seeds of mischief and evil. By spending many years in penance and worship of Brahma, Ravana forced the great god to repay him by making him invulnerable against all the gods, and allowing him to assume any form or shape he desired. He then declared war on the gods, conquering them one after the other, taking them back to Lanka where they were forced to work as his menial servants. The gods were unable to escape the archdemon's power, and they had to perform humiliating tasks: Vayu, the god of the winds, swept the house; Agni, god of fire, did the cooking; Varuna, lord of the ocean, supplied water; Kuvera, god of wealth, supplied money. Eventually the gods escaped from their bondage and Ravana knew that eventually the gods would get their revenge. The only weapon that could save him was immortality. Pretending humility, he went to Siva and began to do penance, hoping that eventually the god would grant him his wish. He stood on one of his ten heads, encircled by a ring of fire, for one thousand years. He then cut off that head and stood on another one, for another millenium. Eventuall he came to his last head. Then Siva spoke, asking him what he desired. Three things, Ravana answered: Atmalingham, the sacred phallus, for his mother; and for himself immortality and the most beautiful woman in the universe. Siva had to grant him his wishes, but he outsmarted the fiend on his journey back to Lanka and forced him to give back the rewards. This defeat filled Ravana with such rage that he decided to step up his war against the gods. In desperation the gods, knowing that none among them was powerful enough to defeat the demon, called upon Vishnu the Heavenly Father. After great deliberation, Vishnu cut himself into quarters. Each separate part became a mortal, the strongest and purest of whom would be chosen to slay Ravana. The segment of Vishnu which developed into the purest being was Rama. Rama created a host of monkeys and bears to fight by his side against the archfiend. They began the battle by killing off large numbers of Rakshasas. At this Ravana became so incensed that he abducted Rama's beautiful wife, Sita, with whom the king of the demons had fallen in love. He hid Sita on his island abode, and threatened to eat her if she didn't become his wife. Sita refused persistently and managed to ward Ravana off long enough for Rama to build a bridge across to Lanka. Rama rescued Sita, and carried on the fight. Numerous battles were waged on Lanka, where both adversaries were equal in strength. Rama finallly vanquished Ravana by shooting an arrow, which Brahma had given him, through the demon's chest. The magic arrow pierced the demon, came out at the other side of his body, and returned to Rama's quiver.

'Ravana fell to the ground and expired, and the gods sounded celestial music in heaven and assembled in the sky and praised Rama as Vishnu, in that he had slain Ravana who would otherwise have been their destruction.' Source material: Charles, J,W. and Hyatt, V. The Book of Demons