Ravana, Sri Lanka legend

Ravana is a well-known figure in the Hindu pantheon and one of the most disputed in his achievements. A cruel demon and a benevolent emperor, some even argue that Ravana was a Buddhist King, but there is little evidence to support this claim. Stories about him differ depending on where they are told.

In the Ramayana, Ravana was considered an evil tyrant with an iron fist and he even held the Gods under his thumbs. Tolkien's Sauron wished he was that cool. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, portrayed him in a different light. He was more of a benevolent king and a devoted follower of Shiva. However, the latter was because he accidentally pissed off the god of destruction and worshiped him for forgiveness, and also because he was scared of him! Anyways, under his rule, the city of Lanka prospered into becoming one of the most advanced civilizations in the world. All this came crashing down because Ravana once again angered the wrong person. In this case, it was Rama, a reincarnation of Vishnu (the supreme creator). He had a thing for rubbing in the wrong way with powerful beings...

However, even with all those different stories, some aspects of Ravana always stay the same. Firstly, he was powerful, like crazy powerful to the point where no one could challenge him when he was in power. Also, he was a demon, born from a human mother and a demonic father, although their identities vary because details like this aren't that important regarding mythology. The following fact is that he is a usurper. He took over the city of Lanka after removing its previous ruler when he marched on it with his army, with mixed outcomes.

To end this post, here are a couple of fun facts about his appearance. The guy had about ten heads and twenty arms. How Rama managed to kill that guy is a bit of a mystery. Scratch that. Being the avatar of the supreme deity does come with hefty bonuses. As for the ten heads, I hope each didn't have its own personality; otherwise, more problems would arise.