Lakshmana

Lakshmana, the prince of Ayodhya was the half brother and closest friend and companion of Rama, the great hero of the famous Hindu epic, Ramayana. In some Hindu traditions, Lakshmana is considered to be an Avatara, a part as well as secondary form of Rama`s main appearance. According to some other Hindu beliefs Lakshmana is worshipped as an Avatar of Shesha. Lakshmana was the son of King Dasharatha and Queen Sumitra.

Lakshmana was the twin brother of Shatrughna. He was born in Ayodhya. Rama was the eldest son of Daharatha, Bharata was the second, Lakshmana was the third and Shatrughna was the youngest of all four brothers. Though Lakshmana was twin to Shatrughna, he was specially attached to Rama. The duo of Rama and Lakshmana are inseparable. When Rama was married to Sita, the daughter of King Janaka of Mithila, Lakshmana married Sita`s younger sister Urmila.

In the Puranic scriptures Lakshmana is ascribed as the incarnation of Ananta Sesha, the thousand-headed Naga. Lord Vishnu rests upon the Ananta Sesha in the primordial ocean of milk (Kshirasagara). Seshanaga was the Lord of Serpents, who was incarnated in the earth in the form of Lakshmana in `Treta` yuga. In `Dwapara` Yuga, Seshanaga incarnated as Balarama. Seshanaga is considered as eternal incarnation to give company to Lord Vishnu in all his Avatara.

Lakshmana was `the perfect man` or `Mariyada Purushottam` personified by Rama. He was the symbol of loyalty, love and commitment to his elder brother who shared all the moments of his joy and sorrow equally with him. Lakshmana was an unbeatable warrior committed to virtue and the service to his elder brother. He never thought twice while joining his brother Rama in exile though he was not asked by anybody to do so, nor he coveted the throne of Ayodhya.

In the earlier part of exile when Bharata enters the forest with a large entourage to persuade Rama to return to Ayodhya, Lakshmana made mistakes by jumping to the conclusion that Bharata had some malicious intention. However Rama knew Bharata`s original desire and he pacified Lakshmana by saying that Baharata never would harm them.

Lakshmana served Rama and Sita during their exile with great reverence and devotion. Lakshmana made home for Rama and Sita, guarded them at night, used to bring food for them and accompanied them in long tiring journeys and the lonely life of forest. All he did without complaining or cares for himself.

The king of demons, Ravana planned to kidnap Sita. He sent a magical golden deer for her, which was none but magician demon Maricha, who had the motto to distract Rama and Lakshmana away from the hut so that Ravana could kidnap Sita without any hindrances. Rama went after the golden deer but sensed bad omens, danger and evil. So he asked Lakshmana to guard Sita at their home.

When Rama killed the deer, the mysterious demon Maricha cries out imitating Rama`s voice and called Sita and Lakshmana for help. Although Lakshmana knew that Rama was unvanquishable and beyond any danger but he had to go as Sita was in panic and urged Lakshmana to go to help Rama immediately. Lakshmana was unable to overcome the order of frightened Sita and had to go to search Rama. Lakshmana however used his mystical power to draw the Lakshmana Rekha or Lakshman`s limit, a perimeter line across the hut and asked Sita not to cross it. Any unwanted invader who crossed it would be killed instantly and thus the Lakshmana Rekha would serve for Sita`s safety.

When Lakshmana was gone, Ravana came in the guise of a mendicant Brahmin and asked for alms. Sita crossed the Lakshmana Rekha out of compassion to give alms to the mendicant. Thus, Ravana was able to seize Sita safely.

Rama and Lakshmana came back to the empty hut. They went out in search of Sita. Rama and Lakshmana found Sita`s jewellery as she threw it from the aerial chariot of Ravana, the Pushpakaratha. Rama asked lakshmana for verification whether he could recognize Sita`s jewellery but Lakshmana could only recognize her feet-adornment, as he never looked at the face of Sita. However finally Rama and Lakshmana was able to know who he had stolen Sita. They made friendship with Sugriva and Hanuman and set towards Lanka. Sugriva`s monkey army assisted Rama.

Rama and Lakshmana had a great fight with Ravana and his demon battalion. Lakshmana was a powerful warrior and he slew thousands of Rakshas including Atikaya and Prahasta, ravana`s chief commanders and also his son Indrajit. Lakshmana aided Rama in killing the great giant Kumbhakarna.

During the great battle to rescue Sita, a mystical weapon fired by Ravana`s son Indrajit fatally injured Lakshmana. Lakshmana felt unconscious. The vanara (monkey) physician explained that only special herb called Sanjivani could save Lakshmana`s life. Hanuman set his journey to Dronagiri Mountain, where Sanjivani was found. But after reaching there he was unable to identify the herb and brought the entire mountain instead to the battlefield. The magical herb was finally retrieved and Lakshmana was revived.

Later in the battle Lakshmana fought and killed Indrajit. Lakshmana used an unorthodox means to kill Indrajit, which was considered as a turning point of the battle. Indrajit was considered unbeatable as the king of gods, Indra supported him.

Lakshmana disobeyed Rama only once during the lifetime. Rudra, the god of time came to meet Rama. Before they started their conversation, Rudra asked for uninterrupted privacy. Rama realized that it was a difficult task to prevent anybody from entering the room and so he asked Lakshmaan to guard the door of the room. In the meantime when Lakshmana was standing as a guard the angry sage Durvasa came and wanted to meet Rama. Lakshmana politely asked him to wait for a while until the conversation was complete. Durvasa felt humiliated and was about to curse that would destroy Rama, Lakshmana and the city of Ayodhya at once. Lakshmana thought it would be better to enter the room than to have the sage`s curse. Thus only once he disobeyed Rama`s order for the sake of other`s well-being.

Lakshmana is revered for his absolute devotion and surrender to Rama. As a yonger brother he always served his elder brother Rama with a great sacrifice in all adverse condition. The life of Lakshmana is an example of self-sacrifice, duties of man to his elders and superiors and teaches the value of selflessness.

Bali

Bali is a demon king, who is grandson of Prahalad and a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Bali also known as Mahabali was about to cause mayhem on the earth. Bali was a greedy king but on the other hand he was a great philanthropist. He captured all the beautiful women for his pleasure and thus caused panic in the earth.

Lord Vishnu came to rescue the world from Bali`s torture. He appeared as his `avatar` or consort of Vamana or a dwarf Brahmin boy. The boy asked for land from King Bali. Bali asked that how much land he needs. The Boy answered that only three steps of land would be enough for him. Bali smiled and granted his prayer. The Vamana covered the whole earth with his first step, put his second step into the sky and wanted to know from Bali Raja where he should keep his third step. Bali realized who this boy was and offered his head so that Vamana could put his third step there. Thus Vishnu saved the world.

Bali renounced his kingdom to keep his word and went to the underground or `Patala`. Hindus believe that Bali is immortal.

Ravana

Ravana, the king of Lanka was the principal adversary of Rama in the great epic Ramayana. Ravana was also the king of Rakshasas or demons. He was depicted with ten heads and thus earned the names like Dashamukha (ten faced), Dashagriva (ten necked) and Dashakantha (ten throats). Ravana also had ten hands, which signified greed and never-ending last.

Ravana was the son of Brahaman sage Vishrava and Kaikesi, the Daitya princess. Kaikesi`s father Sumali, the king of Daityas wanted that Kaikesi should marry a man who is the most powerful in the mortal world so that she can produce an exceptional heir. Sumali rejected all the kings, as they were less powerful than him.Kaikesi then selected sage Vishrava. As Kaikesi approached Vishrava in an auspicious moment without paying attention to his warning, their children tend towards evil. Thus Ravana was partly Daitya and partly Brahmin.

Ravana was eldest among the Vishrava`s children. Vishrava presented him a crystal necklace at his birth. The myth of his ten heads probably came from reflection in this necklace. Some say that Ravana had the mental strength of ten people and so he was said to have ten heads. Ravana had two brothers Vibhishana and Kumbhakarna and one sister called Meenakshi, who was more famous as Shurpanakha (one with sharp fingernails). Ravana was also related to the Daityas Maricha and Subahu through his mother.

Though Ravana had an aggressive and arrogant nature, he was an exemplary scholar. Ravana mastered Vedas and other holy scripts under the care of his father Vishrava. He also learnt the art and techniques of Kshatriya life. Sumali, his maternal grandfather put a watch on him so that Ravana retained the ethics of Daityas.

After Ravana had completed his initial trainings he performed a severe austerity for several years to propitiate Brahma. Lord Brahma was pleased and offered Ravana a boon. Ravana first asked for immortality but Brahma refused and asked him to pray another boon. Ravana then asked for invulnerability and supremacy from gods, heavenly spirits, demons, other serpents and wild beasts. Ravana was disdainful about mortal men and so he did not ask for any protection from human being. Brahma granted him the boons and added more power on him by bestowing him the knowledge of divine weapons and necromancy. As Ravana could win the boons, he then took charge of the great army of his grandfather Sumali and set his kingdom in Lanka.

Lanka was a very nice city created by celestial architect for Ravana`s stepbrother Kubera. Kubera, the god of wealth was another son of Vishrava and had generously shared all his wealth with Kaikesi`s children who were his half brothers. But Ravana demanded whole Lanka from him. Vishrava advised Kubera to give Lanka to Ravana as he became unbeatable. When Ravana took over Lanka, he was not at all a philanthropist ruler. But gradually Lanka flourished under Ravana`s rule. It is believed that poorest of houses in Lanka had gold vessels to eat and drink off and hunger was unknown to the dwellers of Lanka.

Following his conquest of Lanka, Ravana went to appease Lord Shiva at his abode in Kailash. Unknowingly and whimsically Ravana attempted to uproot the mountain Kailash. Shiva was annoyed by Ravana`s adamant nature and pressed his little toe under the mountain and pinned him firmly. Ravana cried out in pain so loudly that whole world shook in earthquake. Shiva`s ganas informed Ravana about his misdeed and being repentant Ravana started praising Shiva by composing and singing songs. He continued to appease Shiva until Shiva was satisfied and made him free from the bondage. Shiva was so impressed by Ravana`s bravery and devotion that he gifted him a powerful sword known as Chandrahas (moon blade). Ravana became a life long devotee of Lord Shiva. Ravana was famous for his dance worship, which is called `Shiva Tandava Stotra`. Shiva was pleased by his dance and named him as Ravana, which means `one who roars terrifyingly`.

Ravana`s power was undoubtedly supreme and he continued through series of campaigns, conquering human, celestials and other demons. He conquered the netherworld completely and left his brother Ahiravana as a king. Ravana made alliance with Nivatakavachas and Kalakeyas, the two clans that could not be subdued and thus he dominated all the Asuras of the three worlds. He also won over several human kingdoms and performed suitable sacrifices and was crowned as emperor.

Once Kubera was annoyed with Ravana for his cruelty and greed and objurgated him. Ravana in turn proceeded to heavens fighting and defeating the gods and singled out his brother Kubera for a particular humiliation. Finally Ravana was able to gain command over the gods, celestials and the serpent races.

Ravana`s family was large and grand. He had many wives and seven sons namely Indrajit, Prahasta, Atikaya, Akshyakumara, Devantaka, Narantaka, Trishira. His paternal grandfather was Pulastya, son of Brahma. Malyavan was his maternal grandfather, Tataka his maternal grandmother and maricha was the maternal uncle of Ravana. Malyavan was against the war with Rama.

Ravana is also known for his virility, lust and aggressiveness for women. Ravana had several wives and he also maintained a big `Harem`, where he kept all the women captured from the conquest in the war. Many of the women accepted him for his masculine charisma, power and knowledge in all directions. Mandodari was his principal wife, who was the daughter of Mayasura and an apsara Hema. Mandodari was famous for her wisdom and grace as well as her beauty and chastity. Mandodari is often compared with Sita for her beauty.

Ravana used to force himself upon the women who prevented his advances. There are two stories regarding it. Vedavati was a beautiful lady who was performing penance with the intention of having Lord Vishnu as her husband. Her beauty enhanced Ravana. Vedavati resisted Ravana`s advance but Ravana did not stop. Vedavati foretold that she would return to the mortal world as the cause of death of Ravana. After that she sacrificed her life in a funeral pyre. She was then born as Ravana and Mandodari`s first child. Ravana was preached before his marriage that their first child would cause his death. So after his first child was born, he sent Subahu to kill the child. Subahu was unable to kill the beautiful baby girl and lied to Ravana that he has killed her. The baby was left and found by King Janaka, who raised her up. She was married to Rama, Vishnu`s incarnation and was the cause of Ravana`s defeat.

The second story is about Ravana`s encounter with apsara Rambha. He also tried to capture Rambha, who was engaged with Kubera`s son. She pleaded to Ravana that she was like his daughter but Ravana was not discouraged. Kubera`s son was so angered that he cursed him stating that if he forced himself upon any woman, his ten heads would fall off immediately. This curse helped to protect Sita`s chastity when she was in captivity of Ravana for about a year.

Ravana`s role in Ramayana was as an antagonist and villain but he had many humble qualities. He gathered knowledge about sacred scriptures, medicines and sorcery. Ravana was great devotee of Shiva who composed the Shiva Tandava Stotra. Legends also say that Ravana performed the puja for Kshatriya Rama before the war between Rama and himself as there was no other Brahmin in Lanka.

There were occasions when Ravana behaved humbly. Once Ravana got himself tied with the tail of mighty Vanara (monkey) king Vali. Vali flew in different directions while performing meditation being completely unaware of Ravana`s presence. When he went back to his palace, he could see Ravana and made him free. The other story is about Ravana`s encounter with Karthavirya Arjun or Sahastra Arjun (having thousand hands). Sahastra Arjuna was taking bath in the river Narmada with his wives, where Ravana also was bathing. Arjuna`s wives asked himself to stop the water of Narmada and he did so. Hence the flow of water stopped at the place where Ravana was bathing. This made him angry and he challenged Karthavirya Arjuna in a battle. Ravana lost the fight and Karthavirya Arjuna imprisoned him. Ravana was only released at his grandfather`s request.

In Bhagavata Purana, Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna were mentioned as the incarnations of Jaya and Vijaya, the two gatekeepers of Vaikuntha, abode of Vishnu.