Ravana was the king of demons. He was the son of sage Vishrava and demoness Kaikesi. Ravana had ten heads. He was a staunch follower of Lord Shiva, a great scholar, a capable ruler and an efficient performer of the Veena. Under Vishrava’s guidance, Ravana mastered the Vedas, the holy books, and also the arts and ways of warriors. But he wished to overpower the gods. He had been granted many boons by Lord Shiva. Lord Brahma had also granted him a boon by which he could not be killed by any god or demon. However, Ravana did not ask for protection from men or animals because he thought that he was a great demon and a mere human or animal would never be successful in killing him. Ravana was blessed with many supernatural powers such as flying and becoming invisible, but this also made him very proud. He misused his powers and the gods felt it was necessary to destroy him. It was just because of this fact that Lord Vishnu incarnated himself as a human being named Rama, the prince of Ayodhya. Later on, during his exile, Rama became the reason for Ravana’s death.
THE DEMON KING RAVANA
