There are many interesting facts about Ravana that many people are unaware of. In the epic Ramayana, Ravana is depicted as the king of demons who abducted Lord Rama’s wife to avenge his sister’s insult. He is believed to be one of the greatest demon kings so far. Aside from being a great warrior, he was a genius.
Interesting Facts about Ravana:
1. Ravana was the great-grandson of Lord Brahma.
2. He was the son of sage Vishrava and demon princess Kaikesi. Thus, he was a half-brahmin and a half-demon.
3. The birthplace of Ravana is believed to be Bisrakh village in Uttar Pradesh, India.
4. Ravana had six brothers and two sisters.
5. He had 2 legal wives and 7 sons. He had innumerable affairs with other women and had many children from those relations.
6. The Dave Brahmins of Mudgal Gotra claim to be his descendants.
7. Lord Brahma had given him a boon that he would only die at the hands of a human.
8. The death of Ravana was only possible if he was hit in the naval area.
9. Ravana performed a Yagya for Lord Rama to build the bridge to Lanka.
10. Ravana had attacked the god Shani because he did not obey his commands. After the fight with him, the god Shani became lame.
11. Ravana was one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva of all time.
12. At the time of his death, Ravana gave some valuable knowledge to Lakshmana.
13. Lord Rama did penance for killing Ravana, as he was a Brahmin.
14. Ravana was a great Veena player.
15. He also had a profound knowledge of astrology.
16. The name Ravana was given to him by Lord Shiva.
17. The word Ravana means “the one who has a terrifying roar”.
18. Ravana was a learned scholar. He wrote Shiv Tandav Stotram.
19. Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna were the gatekeepers of Lord Vishnu, Jai and Vijay, in their past lives. He was also believed to be King Bhanu Pratap in his last birth.
20. It is believed that Ravana had 10 heads, but some believe that it was just an illusion caused by a necklace given to him by his mother.
21. There are some temples of Ravana in India and Sri Lanka where he is worshipped.
22. Vali and Sahastrarjun defeated him before the war with Lord Rama.
23. The treasurer of the gods, Kubera, was the stepbrother of Ravana.
24. Ravana had an airplane named Pushpak Vimana, which he had snatched from Kubera.
25. Ravana had raped a celestial nymph named Rambha, who was the wife of Nalkubera. Nalkubera cursed him that he would die if he tried to rape any woman. Therefore, he could not touch the goddess Sita in Lanka.
26. According to one belief, the goddess Sita was the daughter of Ravana.
27. Goddess Sita was an ascetic named Vedvati in her last birth, and Ravana had tried to rape her. But before he could do so, she immolated herself and cursed Ravana that she would be responsible for his destruction and the demon race.
28. He was the only person to receive Atmalinga from Lord Shiva.
If you know more interesting facts about Ravana, please share them in the comment section.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana
Sharing few points known:
9. Ravana performed a Yagya for Lord Rama to start the war with Lankeshwar.
13. Lord Rama performed Ashwamedha-yaga after reching Ayodhya for killing Ravana as he was a Brahmin. He was also known as Ravana-brahma, for his was a descendant of Lord Brahma.
15. He also had a profound knowledge of astrology, ayurveda, vimana-shastra etc.
20. Dashanana & dashagreeva were also his names.
25. He tried to molest many women of his times for which he was cursed by few including Lord Brahma, for molesting apsara Punjikasthala.
This is only mythological and I will not offer any comments on its veracity or otherwise. The history of Ravana is given in Uttar kanda of Ramayana but the scholars are of the opinion that it was added much later and is thus not reliable. In fact Ravana was neither Brahmin nor a grandson of Lord Brahma. He was simply a dark haird non-aryan ,belonging to the people who migrated from Africa to Australian shores in the remote past. Some of these tribes settled in Lanka and other islands in the Indian ocean on their outward journey.This needs to be researched by scholars. My opinion is based on the various theories on the migration of races. This is my view.