Ravana the Demon King: Brainstorm and Styles

The topic I am deciding to write about is Ravana. A major element in the Ramayana that is omitted is the story from Ravana’s perspective. When I was reading through this book I noticed so many parallels to one of my favorite book series called Harry Potter. In Harry Potter there is an evil wizard named Voldemort who is power hungry just like Ravana.  Both villains grow up with strange childhoods, eventually become evil, and are overthrown. I could do a story on Ravana’s childhood, how he got each boone, and how his personality flaws led to his eventual death by the hand of Rama.

For this idea I have done some research. I am mainly going to be drawing ideas from the public domain edition of the Ramayana and a comic called Kubera the Lord of Wealth. The Ramayana provides me with ideas on Ravana’s personality, his conflict with Rama, and some of the boones and curses he has on him. The comic Kubera the Lord of Wealth gives me more background knowledge on Ravana’s childhood, and how he became so evil in the first place. One interesting fact is that Ravana’s first name was Dashagriva.

I have brainstormed a couple ideas for possible stories for my project. One of my stories is going to be about Dashagriva’s childhood. I am going to outline how he came into existence. I am going to include details from Kubera the Lord of Wealth that stated that one of the children of Dashagriva’s parents was predicted to be extremely evil. I can also create some sort of childhood story that challenges Dashagriva’s power and contributes to parts of his personality such as aggressiveness, cockiness, and thirst for power.

I can then have a story on how Dashagriva gets his invincibility to many beings except humans. He does not even consider humans a threat because he believes he is so powerful. This story will center on Dashagriva’s thirst for power and his transition to a more evil state of mind. He will summon a prophet to his house and ask how he can obtain more power. The prophet says he will become king of Lanka but also tells him that he will be killed by the hands of a human. Dashagriva then goes on a rampage and kills a bunch of humans. During this rage he will try to rape a woman and this is when a Brahma gives him the curse that he cannot rape a woman. He will then fight a war and become king of Lanka. To signify his evil state he changes his name to Ravana.

My last story will be on how Ravana is overthrown by Rama. There will be an epic battle but Rama will prevail in the end. This part will be similar to the battle in the Ramayana but I will try to make the story include more details on Ravana.

I am going to be telling my story from a third person point of view. I will include some meaningful quotes from some characters in my story if I need to. Each of my stories will be connected. I have a lot of the details laid out for my project already. I think this will be a fun project to complete.

Here is a picture of the evil Ravana:

Source

Bibliography:

Title: Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition 

Authors: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Year: 2014

Title: Kubera The Lord of Wealth

Authors: Nimmy Chacko

Year: 2012

Storytelling Week 3: Vibhishana The Spy:

Vibhishana sat in Ravana’s court of advisors. They were all debating on whether to surrender Sita to Rama and his might army or to fight back. The decision was almost unanimous. Every advisor urged Ravana to wage war with Rama except his beloved brother Vibhishana. Ravana questioned Vibhishana loyalty and angrily sentenced him to exile. He then turned to the rest of his advisors and said if there were anymore like his brother they should leave now. Everyone shuddered from fear of the rakshasha king and stayed quiet.

After the meeting, Ravana met privately with his brother before he was to leave. He explained to Vibhishana that his concerns about the war were justified and that Rama’s army is one to be respected. He then explained that only a loyal and smart advisor such as Vibhishana could complete this next task. He explained the details and then presented Vibhishana with a Brahma weapon. “Use this when the time is right”, Ravana said as he left.

Vibhishana travelled to Rama and explained to him how he had been banished. He then told Rama that he would fight alongside him and his army. Rama saw this as a way to gain valuable knowledge about his enemy so he accepted.

Time passed and it was finally the day of the attack. Rama’s army waged a fierce battle with Ravana’s army. Both armies were beginning to deplete rapidly. The war was even until nightfall. The darkness fed the rakshashas dwindling forces. Each rakshasha was three times as strong in the night. With this new advantage they started to turn the tides of the war. They drove Rama’s forces back into the corner. Vibhishana wondered if he would even need to complete the favor Ravana had asked of him.

Morning arrived and Rama’s army was struggling. Then they heard the flap of might wings and heard a loud call. It was Garuda to the rescue. He came and started healing Rama’s fallen army. Vibhishana realized that this was the time to act. He knew if Garuda finished his job, Ravana’s army would be destroyed. Vibhishana posed as a dying soldier. As Garuda approached him, he quickly pulled out the Brahma dagger that Ravana had presented him earlier and stabbed Garuda in the throat. The mighty bird squealed in agony as he burst into flames. Before anyone realized what had just occurred, Vibhishana dashed into hiding.

After this terrible blow to Rama’s army, the rakshasha army quickly took over. Rama realized that he was going to lose the battle so he instructed his army to retreat. Rama screamed to Ravana that he would get his revenge soon.

Ravana then found his brother and named him a war hero. He then promoted his brother Vibhishana to chief advisor and leader of his army. Ravana knew the war was not over but he was happy that he won this battle and devastated Rama’s forces.

In the image Vibhishana leaves Lanka to fight for Rama.

Source

Author’s Note: I added a twist to the banishment of Vibhishana. Instead of him being banished he is actually a spy for Ravana and helps to turn the tide in this battle to Ravana’s favor. I still left the war on a cliffhanger at the end because I still wanted the possibility of Rama winning to exist.

Bibliography:

Title: Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition 

Sources used: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Year: 2014

Reading Diary B Week 3

Indrajit:

In this episode of the Ramayana, the battle between Rama and Ravana continues. I like the different details that were put into this battle. It leads to more suspense that the enemy could have actually won the battle if Garuda did not come to the aid of Rama’s army. If Indrajit is this strong then imagine how strong his father must be. It is cool how the Rakshashas gain power in the nighttime. This is similar to many other supernatural creatures such as werewolves and vampires. It adds to the dark character of Ravana’s army. This story could have went many different ways. What if Garuda never showed up, or Vibhishana was actually a spy for Ravana’s army? There is a possibility for an alternate ending here.

Kumbhakarna:

In this episode one of the strongest demons is awakened. This story could contribute to my project because it outlines a situation where a brahma placed a curse on a demon so that he would not be able to terrorize the universe. I think after reading the Ramayan I have enough material to write for my storybook/portfolio.

The Battle of Rama and Ravana:

In this episode Rama and Ravana fight. I like the character design of Ravana. He has so many heads and each time one is cut off another grows back to replace it. It is crazy how dependent each character is on the Brahma and the Gods. Without the blessing, curses, boones, and special weapons the characters would not be able to fight as well as they did.

The image below is of the battle that is happening in Lanka.

Source

Reading Diary A Week 3

Hanuman’s Leap:

In my storytelling project I talked about how the Rakshashis received boones that gave them special powers or handicaps.  It is interesting to see how other creatures also receive these special boones. Hanuman has amazing powers and is like the Superman of this epic. I enjoyed reading about him because I have heard his name prior to this class.

The Burning of Lanka:

I like how Hanuman tricks Ravana into capturing him and then burns the city. It is a miscalculation that I think will affect Ravana later when he has his big battle with Rama. It is cool how Sita simply prays for Hanuman and he receives a cooled tail to protect him from the fire. It reminds me of a series called Percy Jackson and The Olympians. Here demigods would pray to their fathers and mothers who were Greek Gods and receive gifts similar to this one.

Vibhishana:

In this part of the reading Ravana is talking to his court of advisors to decide what to do. The two decisions are to wage war against Rama and his troops or return Sita as a peace offering. One of Ravana’s relatives, Vibhishana, speaks against the majority of the court of advisors. Ravana does not like this and bans him from the kingdom. He then tells him to go fight for Rama. I thought it was odd and a really rash decision to banish him for having an opposing view. I wonder if he will have a pivotal role in the battle. This part of the story gives some ideas for alternate endings or twists to the story. 

Here is a picture of Vibhishana leaving the court.

Source