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Rakshasas
Table of Contents
Rakshasas.............................................................................................................................1
Table of Contents.................................................................................................................1
Rakshasa Lineage as per Uttarakanda..............................................................................2
Rakshasa fight with Vishnu.............................................................................................4
Sri Lanka from Kubera to Ravana...................................................................................5
Cannibals in Germany 7000 years ago!...........................................................................8
Vanara Rakshasa Conflicts............................................................................................10
A Rakshasa from Tenkathittu Yakshagana....................................................................10
Ravana रावण......................................................................................................................13
Ravana was an uncle to Veda Vyasa.............................................................................14
Both Hanuman and Ravana were great musicians.........................................................14
Sri Lanka from Kubera to Ravana.................................................................................14
Ravana had very little Rakshasa Genes.........................................................................14
Ravana was not a brahman by behaviour......................................................................15
Ravana is a respected hero in Sri Lanka........................................................................15
Ravana as described in Balakanda, Valmiki Ramayanam 15th Sarga (Reference).......15
Ravana’s 1 year wait for Sita.........................................................................................16
Ravana’s Tapas on Siva (Bhukailas: Gokarna).............................................................17
Ravana as a handsome, scholarly and devoted brahmana.............................................17
Method of worship from Puja, to Japam to Tapas.........................................................17
Impression of Indra from a Heroic Protector to a Position Preserver............................17
एषः रावणः.....................................................................................................................19
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Rakshasas
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The Rakshasas are one of the tribes of Sri Lanka., today. They look exactly like
you or me. So do the Yakkas (Yakshas) and the Veddhas. So if you were
looking for strange teeth and many heads and magical powers, they do not
exist now-a-days. Valmiki described Ravana as Dasanana or Dasagreeva,
which literally means one with 10 heads or 10 throats. This has been
interpreted by some as meaning that he knew the 4 vedas and 6 sastras, and
by others as meaning that he had 10 crowns, one for each place that he ruled.
The word Raksha means to protect. In the Uttarakanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, it is
said that the tribes who agreed to protect the waters, at Brahma’s request were the
Rakshasas and the those who wanted to eat (yaksha) became the Yakshas. The
story of the Rakshasas that follows, is what Agastya and other rishis told Rama after
his coronation.
Heti and Praheti were two Rakshasas who were as strong as Madhu and Kaitabha.
Praheti was into Tapas and Dharma. Heti wanted a good wife. Yama was a king of the
South. He had a sister called Bhaya (which means fear). Heti married Bhaya and they
had a son called Vidyutkesa (lightning hair)! Heti got Vidyutkesa married to
Salakatankata, the daughter of Sandhya (twilight, Surya’s wife).
They had a son called Sukesa (good-haired), whom they happily neglected, while
they had a good time. Sivaand Parvati saw the neglected child and blessed him with
quick growth, long life, wealth and a city that could fly though the air.
A gandharva called Gramani, gave his daughter Devavati in marriage to Sukesa.
Sukesa had three strong and powerful sons called Mali, Sumali
and Malyavan. Vidyutkesa himself was half Rakshasa and half Deva. (Remember that
Bhaya was Yama Deva’s sister). Sukesa was therefore one fourth rakshasa and
3/4ths Deva. (His mother was Sandhya’s daughter). So Mali, Sumali and Malyavan
were 1/8 rakshasa, 3/8 deva and half gandharva. Look at the racket that people
today make of jathis – when the sources were so mixed up!
The three brothers were learned, handsome, powerful, united and devout. They did
Tapas to please Brahma. Then they went about attacking and defeating the devas
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and the asuras. They askedViswakarma to build a city for them. He asked them to
occupy the city of Lanka, that he had already built out of gold, at the command
of Indra. It was situated on the central peak of the Trikuta hill. It was 30 yojanas wide
and 100 yojanas long. 3000 sq yojanas could be 192000 sq miles or 18750 sq miles,
depending on whether a yojana means 8 miles or 2.5 miles. Modern Sri Lanka is
25000 sq. miles in area.
A gandharva lady called Narmada had three beautiful daughters and she gave them
in marriage to the three brothers. So now, they had many children and they were
1/16 rakshasa, 3/16 deva, 12/16 gandharva. The lady we are interested in is Kaikasi
the daughter of Sumali and his wife Ketumati (because she is Ravana’s mother).
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Malyavan, told his brothers, that the Devas now had Vishnu, the slayer
of Hiranyakasipu, on their side and he was prepared to fight for them. But his
brothers would not be dissuaded. They decided to carry the war into the enemy camp
and along with Jambha, Vrtra and other powerful Rakshasas, they
attacked Amaravathi the capital of the Devas.
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Lanka was now given to Vaisravana, Kubera to live in and rule and he lived there with
the Yakshas. Kubera himself is often described as a Yaksha, but his
Visrava blessed Kaikasi with 3 sons, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana and 1
daughter, Soorpanakha. Visrava was a brahman and the son of Pulastya and the
grandson of Brahma. So Ravana and the other were half brahman, 1/32 rakshasa,
3/32 deva, 3/8 gandharva. So they were more brahmana than they were rakshasa
genetically, anyway. It is said that Ravana was made ambitious by his mother, that
Kumbhakarna was cannibalistic and that Vibhishana was pious. But all of them did
learn the Vedic rituals and did perform yajnas and other such practices when they
ruled Lanka later.
Ravana and his brothers did tapas to please Brahma, their great grand father, at
Gokarna, which is on the west coast (near modern Mangalore). Brahma ruled other
than manavas and vanaras no one would kill Ravana.
With that boon, Ravana asked Kubera to leave Lanka and took his Pushpaka Vimana.
(Kubera resettled in Alakapuri, modern Nepal). Ravana defeated the Devas, including
Yama, who was held back by Brahma’s word. At a later time, his son Meghanatha
defeated Indra and became Indrajit.
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Page 6 of 20
Rakshasas
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Drawings of Rakshasas on the houses are used to ward off the evil eye. The
Ganesha idol to the side is for good fortune.
Notes:
1. rakSasa raakSasa rakSaka on Existence
2. Sri Lankans say that Rakshasas and Yakshas came there from Nepal
along the east coast. But Uttarakanda of Ramayana indicates that Yakshas
went to Nepal from Sri Lanka and that Rakshasas went to Rasatala when
defeated by Vishnu. This supports the “Out of India” theory of human
migration.
3. “In India, the origin of Violin is traced into the Ravanastrom.This
instrument is said to have belonged to a sovereign of India 5000 BC. Again, it
also replicates the ancient instrument called Ravan Hatta which is found even
today in Rajasthan. Mythology credits this creation to the Rakshasa king
Ravana from Ramayana. The Ravan Hatta was played on one string which was
22 inches long encompassing the 3 Octaves. Whereas the Violin encompasses
the 3 octaves on 4 strings with a finger board which is 5 1/4th inches long. This
5 1/4th when multiplied by 4 is 22 inches which was the size of the Ravan
Hatta. Both are played with a bow.” (Source)
4. Apocalypto – a clue to rakshasas?
5. Kaikasi is a place in Latvia, not far from Scandinavia.
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6. Cannibals in Germany 7000 years ago!
Compare the head gear worn by this person of an Indian Tribe with horns on
the rakshasa image in the previous photograph
At one place in the Valmiki Ramayana, Sita is afraid that the rakshasas will carry her
away and eat her. She least expects that she will be asked to be a bride. The
Uttarakanda of the Ramayana indicates that the Rakshasas are exogenous – not from
India – and that they came to Sri Lanka from an “elsewhere called rasatala.” There
are many theories as to where rasatala may have really been.
In the referenced article below, we see that evidence has been found of human
cannibalism and sacrifice in Europe (In France and Germany), 6000 to 7500 years
ago, during Europe’s early Neolithic period when farming was just beginning
Source and Reference for points below :
Page 8 of 20
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http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/mass-cannibalism-german-village.html
A new study suggests that mass cannibalism was practiced in south Germany in a
village now called Herxheim.
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Rakshasas
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=====
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
All Rights to the sourced material vests with the source.
Written by satyask
December 16, 2009 at 6:56 pm
The Rama Ravana war over Sita was not the first conflict between the Vanaras and the Rakshasas.
The Vanaras were fast and strong and had won over technically sound Rakshasas many times
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Page 10 of 20
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Page 11 of 20
Rakshasas
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Tenkathittu Yakshagana : Rakshasa : Photo Credit : Satya Sarada Kandula : All Rights
Reserved
Perhaps no one tribe has captured the imagination of indigenous people of India as
much as the giant, highly technical, exogenous Rakshasas.
While the white-washed version of our culture tries to tell us that Rakshasas were
dark, the fact remains that our heroes and heroines, Sri Rama, Sri
Krishna, Vishnu, Siva, Draupadi, Parvathi, Tara and so on were dark.
In one conversation actually Chandra demands of Brahma, why the dark and
beautiful Tara, should remain married to Brihaspati, instead of to a handsome fellow
like himself!
After reading about cannibalism in pre-historic germany, the idea keeps recurring in
my head, as to whether the tall and cannibalistic rakshasas could not in fact have
been europeans.
The people to the east of India are typically shorter and it is the people to the west
who are taller..!
Wherever they were from originally, rakshasas tend be favorites of small and
mischievous children, thanks particularly to wonderful movies like mayabazaar.
Page 12 of 20
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Ravana रररर
Ravana’s
Ancestry – His Rakshasa grandfather and his brothers lost to Vishnu.
Ravana was a devotee of Siva. His Tapas for the Atmalingam.
Ravana was Hanuman’s cousin, his paternal great-grandfather was Hanuman’s
maternal great-grandfather.
Page 13 of 20
Rakshasas
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Ravana was 4th in line from Brahma. (Brahma – Pulastya – Visravas – Ravana).
Vyasa was 5th in line from Brahma. (Brahma – Vasishtha – Sakthi – Parasara – Vyasa).
Ravana’s wife Mandodari was the daughter of Maya Danava, a great astronomer,
builder and creator of illusions.
”In India, the origin of Violin is traced into the Ravanastrom.This instrument is said to
have belonged to a sovereign of India 5000 BC. Again, it also replicates the ancient
instrument called Ravan Hatta which is found even today in Rajasthan. Mythology
credits this creation to the Rakshasa king Ravana from Ramayana. The Ravan Hatta
was played on one string which was 22 inches long encompassing the 3 Octaves.
Whereas the Violin encompasses the 3 octaves on 4 strings with a finger board which
is 5 1/4th inches long. This 5 1/4th when multiplied by 4 is 22 inches which was the
size of the Ravan Hatta. Both are played with a bow.” (Source)
Ravana’s Ancestry : ….”Lanka was now given to Vaisravana, Kubera to live in and
rule and he lived there with the Yakshas. Kubera himself is often described as a
Yaksha, but his father Visrava was a brahman and his maternal
grandfather Bharadwaja was a Brahman Rishi. Kubera had not a drop of Yaksha
blood, he was merely the ruler of the Yakshas.
The Rakshasa Sumali, was smarting from the defeat at Vishnu’s hands and
wondered what he could do to improve the future of his race. At that time he saw
Vaisravana, the son of Visrava, whom we now know as Kubera, the lord of North and
the lord of wealth. Kubera was flying in the Pushpaka Vimana and had come to visit
his father. Sumali thought that if his beautiful daughter married Visrava, then he
would also have such wonderful grandsons. So he asked his daughter Kaikasi to
approach Visrava. It is said that Kaikasi was as beautiful as Lakshmi and devoted to
her father.
Visrava blessed Kaikasi with 3 sons, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana and 1
daughter, Soorpanakha. Visrava was a brahman and the son of Pulastya and the
grandson of Brahma. So Ravana and the other were half brahman, 1/32 rakshasa,
3/32 deva, 3/8 gandharva. (See Ancestry) So they were more brahmana than they
were rakshasa genetically, anyway. It is said that Ravana was made ambitious by his
mother, that Kumbhakarna was cannibalistic and that Vibhishana was pious. But all
of them did learn the Vedic rituals and did perform yajnas and other such practices
when they ruled Lanka later.
Page 14 of 20
Rakshasas
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Ravana and his brothers did tapas to please Brahma, their great grand father, at
Gokarna, which is on the west coast (near modern Mangalore). Brahma ruled other
than manavas and vanaras no one would kill Ravana.
With that boon, Ravana asked Kubera to leave Lanka and took his Pushpaka Vimana.
(Kubera resettled in Alakapuri, modern Nepal). Ravana defeated the Devas, including
Yama, who was held back by Brahma’s word.At a later time, his son Meghanatha
defeated Indra and became Indrajit.
Ravana’s father as a brahmana did yajnas and offered havis to the Devas. Ravana
fought with the Devas and won. His father married women who had been given to
him by their fathers. Ravana was disrespectful of the wishes of women and
attempted to force his attentions on them, even when they did not like him. Ravana
specifically earned the dislike of Valmiki and of thousands of generations of Indians
because he carried our gentle mother Sita Devi away by force and made her life
miserable. Even though Sri Rama forgave him at the time of Ravana’s death, the rest
of India still does not and his effigy is still burnt every year. In India, it is still common
to call someone Rakshasa or Rakshasi if they do something bad. At one time,
though, they could fly planes, sail boats and create music and beautiful
literature.
Sri Lankans, then and now respect him as a good ruler and king, who made one
mistake and even name children after him. There are some Sri Lankan groups who
believe that Ravana was a student of Kapila, an incarnation of Buddha, and that he
never carried Sita away. They maintain that Sita’s proven chastity also proves that
Ravana was innocent. They hold a low opinion of Vibhishana and see him as a traitor
who invited invaders. The ten heads are considered 10 crowns of Ravana. Children in
Lanka (Sinhala) are named after Ravana, but not after Vibhishana. Some Sri Lankans
hold Ravana lived 5000 years ago. Other sources say that there were 3 Ravanas in
Lanka, all at different times.”
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(The Andhras had 30 walled cities prior to Megasthanes’ visit to India and he
mentioned them).
Why?
Ravana is worshipped in some places in Madhya Pradesh. Ravana’s mother was
Kaikasi and her mother was Ketumati. Ketumati’s mother was a gandharva
lady called Narmada. “A small temple to Ravana in Vidisha district’s Ravangram
village will echoes with the prayer, “Ravana Baba Namah” at Dusera. The temple has
an ancient idol of Ravana in a reclining position believed to have been constructed
between the ninth and 14th century. The villagers believe it would be a bad omen to
have the 10-foot idol stand erect and say that whenever this was done, some
unexpected incident had occurred in the district. He has been worshipped as a
symbol of prosperity for over 600 years by Kanyakubja Brahmins, a Brahmin sub-sect
to which Ravana was believed to have belonged….Ravana is also worshiped in
Ravana Rundi in Mandsaur district and Shajapur district’s Bhadkhedi. In Mandsaur
town, members belonging to the Namdeo Vaishnav Samaj, a Hindu sect, who worship
the demon king on Dussehra, believe Ravana’s wife Mandodari belonged to the town
and they regard him as a son-in-law. A 35-foot high 10-headed Ravana statue was
installed in 2005 at Ravana Rundi in the Khanpur area of Mandsaur….A 25-foot high
lime and brick ancient idol of Ravana existed there till 1982. It developed cracks due
to lightning and was ultimately destroyed…. The idol is worshipped every year and
women in the area remain behind the veil on Dussehra since they regard Ravana as
their son-in-law, while men make offerings at his statue if their wishes came true…
Ravana and his son Meghnad are similarly worshipped at Bhadkhedi village in
Shajapur district of western Madhya Pradesh… In Rajasthan’s Hadauti village, while
Gond tribals of Chhattisgarh also have a tradition of worshipping ‘Lankapati (King of
Lanka)…” (Source)
Source : Himachal Pradesh Town: “Explaining the rationale for not celebrating
Dussehra in Baijnath, Prem Parshad Pandit, member secretary of the high-powered
committee of Himachal temples, told IANS that the residents of Baijnath believe that
participating in the celebrations means inviting the wrath of Lord Shiva. ..”People
believe that Baijnath is the place where Ravana meditated for years to appease Lord
Shiva. As a result, Lord Shiva does not want his devotees to burn Ravana’s effigy.”
“Ravan Samhita is an astrological text or scripture narrated by lord Shiva and written
by Ravana. Ravan Sanhita is the testimony to his great astrological knowledge and is
considered as the standard book of reference by astrologers even today.”
“Wikipedia: Ravana is said to have married Princess Mandodari at a place about 32
kilometers away from Jodhpur, which is now called Mandor. There is a mandap (altar
or pavilion) where Ravana is said to have married Mandodari, and which the local
people call Ravan Jee Ki Chanwari.. The Dave Brahmins of Mudgal
Gotra, Jodhpur/Mandor who were originally from Gujarat, claim to be the descendants
of Ravana. The say that since time immemorial they are performing
theshraddh (death anniversary) of Ravana on Dashehra Day every year. They offer
pind daan and take a bath after that ritual. They recently erected a Ravan temple
in Jodhpur, where daily puja is performed.”
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Rakshasas
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I have provided the link below to a short beautiful, musical, video (9 min) from the
movie Bhukailas.
Neelakandhara Video
As you enjoy this lovely video, you can make the following observations from this
video clip.
• This video starts with Parvathi Devi, seeking Vishnu’s help, to prevent
Ravana from acquiring the Atma-Lingam or the Soul-Symbol of Siva himself.
• In it, you see Ravana in his Brahmana form worshipping SadaShiva with a
view to acquiring the Atma-Lingam. (Ravana’s father was Visravas, the son of
Pulastya Prajapathi. So Ravana was Brahma’s grandson and 50% brahmana).
• The worship starts with Ravana singing a beautiful hymn (in Telugu –
subtitled in English – Some of the sub-titles are obviously not very apt).
• Ravana gradually moves from ‘Puja’ to ‘Japam’ (worship with thought, or by
repetition a single word orMantra) and then to ‘Tapas’ (intense
concentration). During his ‘Tapas’ he cannot be distracted at all by his
environment (anthills, bad weather) and attempts at “Tapobhangam”
by Indra are not successful.
• Indra was the Hero that Valmiki used as a standard for comparing Sri
Rama to, and whom Sita Devireferred to as a protector like her father-
in-law. Indra was the greatest of heroes of the Kruta Yuga(Vedic Age).
Page 17 of 20
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(Valmiki Ramayana and the Vedas) Even in the Dvapara Yuga Pandu,
asks Kunthi to meditate and purify herself for a year before invoking
Indra for a son (Arjuna) with a mantra. That was to be their best son (Nara).
(Mahabharata)
• The negative impression of Indra, in this videoclip as a position preserver and
not as a heroic protector is a Kaliyuga impression, since this is after all made
in the 20th century CE.
The wonderful meaning of the Hymn – the primary purpose of this video
clip. The Hymn itself is very beautiful.
(I know that I have done a better job of translation than the subtitler, but if
you know of any corrections I should make., please do share your
expertise. Also anyone with further knowledge on raga-tala composer-
author please do let me know).
“Jaya jaya mahaadEvaa SaMbhO sadaaSivaa
Victory to the Greatest Gods! Sambho! (means Sankara the creator of Sam – peace)!
SadaSiva (The Always good)!
Page 18 of 20
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Show your mercy and (….. *I need help translating some words here)
एएए एएएएए
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Ravana रावणः : Photo Credit : Satya Sarada Kandula : All Rights Reserved
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