uddhamsoto

Ravana was born to a great sage Vishrava (or Vesamuni), and his wife, the daitya princess Kaikesi. He was born in the Devagana, as his grandfather, the sage Pulastya, was one of the ten Prajapatis or mind-born sons of Brahma and one of the Saptarishi (Seven Great Sages Rishi) in the first Manvantara. Kaikesi’s father, Sumali (or Sumalaya), king of the Daityas, wished her to marry the most powerful being in the mortal world, so as to produce an exceptional heir. He rejected the kings of the world, as they were less powerful than him. Kaikesi searched among the sages and finally chose Vishrava, the father of Kubera. Ravana was a Daitya or Rakshasa and he belonged to the caste of Brahmins. Ravana later usurped Sri Lanka from his half brother Kubera and became the King of Lanka.

Ravana is described as a devout follower of the god Shiva in addition to his tribe’s religious beliefs, a great scholar, a capable ruler and a maestro of the Veena. He has his apologists and staunch devotees within the Hindu traditions, some of whom believe that his description as a ten-headed person (Daśamukha or Daśagrīva) is a reference to him possessing a very thorough knowledge over the 4 Vedas and 6 Upanishads, which made him as powerful as 10 scholars. However, there is mention in Atharvaveda of demonic Brahmans calledDasagva (ten-headed) and Navagva (nine-headed) and the metaphor of a supernatural number of bodyparts to symbolize powers is an ancient one in Indian mythic depictions. Yet another interpretation of the ten-headed Ravana describe him to be a complete man with nine of his heads representing nine emotions that a man may possess (viz.anger, pride, jealousy, happiness, sadness, fear, selfishness, passion, ambition) and one representing the intellect.

The Great Ravana also authored Ravana Sanhita, a powerful book on the Hindu astrology. Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge ofAyurveda and political science.(Kumara tantram of Ravana is one of Ayurvedic book of him) He is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which was stored under his navel, thanks to a celestial boon by Brahma. According to some theories, he was a historical emperor who reigned over Sri Lanka from 2554 BC to 2517 BC. The lake Rakshastaal, a salt water formation in Tibet, high up inHimalayas located right next to fresh-water lake Manasarovar is considered to be the place of severe penance tapasya by Ravana.

1. Adhyatma Ramayana or spiritual Ramayana is extracted from the Brahmananda Purana, traditionally ascribed to Vyasa. It is thought to be the inspiration for Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi. While the Valmiki Ramayana emphasizes Rama’s human nature, the Adhyatam Ramayana tells the story from the perspective of his divinity. It is organized into seven Kandas, parallel to Valmiki’s.
2. Vasistha Ramayana (more commonly known as Yoga Vasistha) is traditionally attributed to Valmiki. It is principally a dialogue between Vasistha and Rama in which Vasistha advances many of the principle tenets of Advaita Vedanta. It includes many anecdotes and illustrative stories, but does not recount Valmiki’s story of Rama in detail.
3. Laghu Yoga Vasishtha, by Abhinanda of Kashmir, is an abbreviated version of the Yoga Vasistha.
4. Ananda Ramayana is traditionally attributed to Valmiki. While it briefly recounts the traditional story of Rama, it is composed primarily of stories peripheral, though related, to Valmiki’s narrative. These include Ravana’s abduction of Kausalya and Rama’s installment of the Shiva Lingam at Rameswaram.
5. Agastya Ramayana is also traditionally attributed to Valmiki.
6. Adbhuta Ramayana, traditionally attributed to Valmiki, includes related stories of Rama. It’s emphasis is on the role of Sita, and includes an expanded story of the circumstances of her birth as well as an account of her defeat of Ravana’s older brother, also known as Ravana but with 1000 heads.
7. The Ramayana story is also recounted within other Sanskrit texts, including: the Mahabharata (in the Ramokhyana Parva of the Vana Parva); Bhagavata Purana contains a concise account of Rama’s story in its ninth skandha; brief versions also appear in the Vishnu Purana as well as in the Agni Purana.
8. An eleventh century Sanskrit play entitled Mahanataka by Hanumat relates the story of Rama in nine, ten, or fourteen acts, depending on recension.

1. Tamil Nadu – The Tamil Kambaramayanam, a popular version, written by poet Kamban in the 12th century.
2. Karnataka – The Kannada versions of the Ramayana – the Kumudendu Ramayana(a Jain version), written in 13th century and the Kumara-Valmiki Torave Ramayana, written in the 16th century. There is another version titled Ramachandra Charita Purana written by Nagachandra during the 13th century.
3. Assam – Saptakanda Ramayana, The Assamese Katha Ramayana or Kotha Ramayana in 14th century by Madhava Kandali.
4. Bengal – The Bengali Krittivasi Ramayan written by Krittibas Ojha in 15th century.
5. Orissa – The Oriya Dandi Ramayana or Jagamohan Ramayana was adapted by Balaram Das in the 16th century.
6. Maharashtra – The Marathi Bhavartha Ramayana written by Eknath in the 16th century. There is also reference of a Ramayana being translated into old Marathi during the 12th or 13th century.
7. Goa – Ramayanu written by Krishnadasa Shama in 15th century in Kardalipura, Goa in Konkani, manuscripts found in Portugal.[11][12]
8. Awadh – The Ramcharitmanas written by Goswami Tulsidas in the 16th century is the Ramayana version popular in North India.
9. Kerala – The Malayalam language Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilipattu written by Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century.
10. Gujarat – The Tulsi-Krta Ramayana is a Gujarati adaptation of Tulsidas’ Ramcharitamanas in 17th century, by the poet Premanand Swami
11. Urdu version called the Pothi Ramayana was written in 17th century.
12. Jammu and Kashmir – The Kashmiri Ramavatara Charita was written in 19th century.
13. Kannada – Two prose works by Nanadalike Lakshminarayana (‘Muddanna’) entitled Adbhuta Ramayana (1895) and Ramaswamedham (1898).[13]
14. Andhra Pradesh – The Sri Ranganatha Ramayanamu was adapted by Buddha Reddy and is the Telugu version of the Ramayana. The Molla Ramayanamu was adapted by poetess Molla.
15. Nepal – The Nepali language Bhanubhakta Ramayana written by Bhanubhakta Acharya in the 19th century. The Nepal Bhasa Siddhi Ramayana was written by Siddhidas Mahaju in the 20th century.
16. Buddhism – Dasarata Jataka. This version is notable for depicting Rama and Sita as siblings who marry. Such sibling marriages are a common symbolic imagery in early Buddhist literature to denote purity of a dynasty. As the Buddha is supposed to have come from the Ikshvaku clan (of Rama) this symbolised his dynastic merits.
17. Jain – Paumachariyam. This version is written as a polemic against brahmanical Sanskrit versions asserting that all characters in the Ramayana were mere mortals who engaged in conflict over moral issues. The only superhuman feat mentioned is Ravana’s ability to fly through the clouds (meghavahana). All characters are depicted as Jains and the Rama, Sita and Lakshmana visit Jain pilgrimage sites rather than ashrams (as in Valmiki ramayana) during their stay in the forest.
18. Champu Ramayana,
19. Ananda Rayamana
20.  Mantra Ramayana
21. Giridhara Ramayana,
22. Shree Ramayana mangeri,
23. Shree Ranganatha Ramayana,
24. Bhaskara Ramayana,
25.  Gobinda Ramayana written by Guru Gobind Singhji,in samvat 1655,
26. Radhey Shyam Ramayana.