Character Catalog

A hymn of 16 Sanskrit stanzas in praise of Shiva's cosmic dance, of exceptional metrical and poetic complexity. Still recited today in Shaivite temples, it illustrates Ravana's identity as a scholar and musician.

An Ayurvedic medical treatise on medicinal plants and healing practices. Its attribution to Ravana underscores his reputation as a universal scholar within Indian learned traditions.

A collection of astrological and esoteric texts bearing his name, used in certain tantric practices. It reflects Ravana's association with occult knowledge and the divinatory arts.

According to tradition, Lanka was built by the divine architect Vishvakarma for Shiva, before being granted to Ravana. His capital is described as an architectural wonder of golden towers and celestial gardens.

Ravana is the dramatic engine of the epic: his act of abducting Sita sets the entire heroic and spiritual narrative in motion. Without him, there would be no war of Lanka, and no triumph of dharma.

Then Ravana, disguised as an ascetic, approached Sita and said: 'I am the king of the rakshasas, lord of Lanka of a thousand towers. Who are you, fair woman, who dares to dwell alone in this forest?'

Rama, standing on the battlefield, loosed the arrow of Brahma into Ravana's chest. It pierced the demon's ten heads and returned, purified, to the hero's quiver. Ravana fell like a tree struck down by lightning.

Jatatavigalajjala pravahapavitasthale, gale 'valambya lambitam bhujangamazamgamalikam — Upon the neck purified by the streams flowing from the mass of his matted hair, he wears a garland of serpents hanging down.

The scholars who looked upon Ravana's body on the battlefield wept and said: 'The world has lost today not only a warrior, but a master of the Vedas, an unrivaled musician, and a king who had raised Lanka to the height of glory.'

Brahma himself descends to honor the fallen Ravana and declares: 'You were the greatest of Shiva's devotees, the most learned of kings. Your death at the hands of Rama, avatar of Vishnu, has granted you supreme liberation.'

A golden island city of which Ravana was the absolute ruler, described in the Ramayana as a magnificent metropolis surrounded by impregnable fortresses. Identified by some scholars with the island of Sri Lanka, it remains the symbol of organized demonic power.

The enchanted garden of Lanka where Ravana held Sita captive, surrounded by ashoka trees (Saraca asoca). This place symbolizes Sita's time of ordeal and the confrontation between purity and the seduction of power.

The abode of Shiva that Ravana attempted to lift in a fit of pride — a defining moment in his ambivalent relationship with the god. Kailash is still venerated as the spiritual center of the world in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions.

A chain of rocks connecting southern India to northern Sri Lanka, associated with the bridge built by Rama's army to march on Lanka. Satellite images reveal a series of natural shoals matching the epic's description.

Capital of Rama's kingdom and the starting point of the epic. It is from Ayodhya that Rama is sent into exile, that the quest to rescue Sita begins, and where dharma ultimately triumphs after the fall of Ravana.