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78-575: It narrates the adventures of the monkey-king, Maharadia Lawana , to whom the Gods have granted immortality. Francisco first heard the poem being sung by Maranao bards around Lake Lanao in 1968. He then sought the help of Maranao scholar Nagasura Madale, resulting in a rhyming English translation of the epic. Francisco believed that the Ramayana narrative arrived in the Philippines some time between

156-472: A diadem (crown). Two of his hands should be in refuge granting and gift giving mudra , while he should be shown with kundika (water pot), akshamala (rosary), a small shruka and a large shruka (two ladles used in yajna ceremonies). The text details the different proportions of the murti , describes the ornaments, and suggests that the idol wear chira (bark strip) as a lower garment, and either be alone or be accompanied with goddess Sarasvati . Brahma

234-462: A few of his maternal uncles, were generals in the Lanka army. Kaikesi 's father, Sumali and uncle, Malyavan were instrumental in making Ravana the king of Lanka by advising him to receive boons from Brahma, defeat Kubera, and establish rakshasa rule in the three worlds . Ravana's granduncle was Malyavan , who opposed the war with Rama and Lakshmana. He also had another granduncle named Mali who

312-403: A lotus rooted in the navel of Vishnu, along with Shiva, who emerged inside a fire rooted in the forehead of the god Vishnu. This Purana states that both Brahma and Shiva are drowsy, err, are temporarily incompetent as they put together the universe. They then become aware of their confusion and drowsiness, meditates as two ascetics, then realizes Vishnu in their bodies, see the beginning and end of

390-601: A modern setting. Author Amish Tripathi 's 2019 novel Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta chronicles the life of Ravana until the time he kidnaps Sita . It is the third book in Tripathi's Ram Chandra Series. Brahma Brahma ( Sanskrit : ब्रह्मा , IAST : Brahmā ) is a Hindu god , referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti , the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva . He

468-471: A saraswat Brahmin as per his lineage. There has also been reference to "Ravani", the lineage of Upadhyaya Yasastrata II, who was of the Gautama gotra and Acharya Vasudatta's son, and described as "born of Ravani". The Gondi people of central India claim to be descendants of Ravana, and have temples for him, his wife Mandodari, and their son Meghnad. They also state that Ravana was an ancient Gond king,

546-632: A shrine belonging to the fifth century, in the small and remote village of Carambolim , Sattari Taluka in the northeast region of the state is found. A famous icon of Brahma exists at Mangalwedha , 52 km from the Solapur district of Maharashtra and in Sopara near Mumbai . Temples exist in Khokhan , Annamputhur and Hosur . A shrine of Brahma can be found in Cambodia's Angkor Wat . One of

624-623: A thousand years, the imprisoned Ravana sang Shiva Tandava Stotra , a hymn in praise of Shiva, who finally blessed him and granted him an invincible sword and a powerful linga (Shiva's iconic symbol, Atmalinga) to worship. But this incident has little to no evidence in Valmiki Ramayana. Ravana's parents were the sage Vishrava (son of Pulastya ) and Kaikesi (daughter of Sumali and Ketumati ). Ravana had seventeen maternal uncles and three maternal aunts. Dhumraksha , Prahastha , Akampana , Vajramushti , Suparshwa and Virupaksha ,

702-467: Is brahma ( ब्रह्म ); and the masculine noun brahmán , whose nominative singular form is brahmā ( ब्रह्मा ). The former, the neuter form, has a generalized and abstract meaning while the latter, the masculine form, is used as the proper name of the deity Brahma. However, Brahman was sometimes used as a synonym for Brahma's name during the time the Mahabharata was written. One of

780-724: Is 311.04 trillion solar years, and humanity is in the 28th Kali Yuga of the 51st year of the current Brahma's life. Very few temples in India are primarily dedicated to Brahma and his worship. The most prominent Hindu temple for Brahma is the Brahma Temple, Pushkar . Others include: Brahma is also worshipped in temple complexes dedicated to the Trimurti . Some of these are: Thanumalayan Temple , Sri Purushothaman Temple , Ponmeri Shiva Temple , Thripaya Trimurti Temple , Mithrananthapuram Trimurti Temple , Kodumudi Magudeswarar Temple , Brahmapureeswarar Temple In Tamil Nadu, there

858-467: Is Andakasa Temple dedicated to Brahma. In the past, although not as popular as Vishnu and Shiva, the name Brahma appeared on several occasions. In the legend that developed in East Java about Ken Arok, for example, Brahma is believed to be the biological father of Ken Arok . It is said that Brahma was fascinated by the beauty of Ken Arok's mother, Ken Endok and made her a lover. From this relationship

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936-423: Is a day of Brahmā, and one day of Brahmā consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas , or ages: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahmā, and the same number comprise one night. Brahmā lives one hundred of such "years" and then dies. These "hundred years" total 311 trillion 40 billion (311,040,000,000,000) earth years. Brahma's lifespan

1014-560: Is also a shrine for Brahma in Kandiyoor Mahadeva Temple in a rare posture along with his consort Goddess Sarasvati . There is a temple dedicated to Brahma in the temple town of Srikalahasti near Tirupati , Andhra Pradesh . There is a Chaturmukha Brahma temple in Chebrolu , Andhra Pradesh, and a seven feet height of Chatrumukha (Four Faces) Brahma temple at Bangalore , Karnataka . In the coastal state of Goa ,

1092-451: Is always changing ( empirical ), and that all observed reality of the latter is in an endlessly repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created. The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with Brahman or Purusha or Prakrti among the terms used for the primary creator, In contrast

1170-521: Is associated largely with the Vedic culture of yajna and knowledge. In some Vedic yajna , Brahma is summoned in the ritual to reside and supervise the ritual in the form of Prajapati . Brahma's wife is the goddess Sarasvati. She is the embodiment of his power, the instrument of creation and the energy that drives his actions. Brahma, despite being believed to be the creator, is considered mortal according to scriptures. The Age of Brahma, according to Hindu cosmology , spans vast epochs of time. A kalpa

1248-652: Is associated with creation, knowledge, and the Vedas . Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends . In some Puranas , he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha . Brahma is the Vedic god Prajapati . During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed; however, by the 7th century CE, he had lost his significance. He was also overshadowed by other major deities like Vishnu , Shiva , Tridevi and demoted to

1326-505: Is depicted with green skin. In the Karandavyuha Sutra , Yama asks if the visitor in hell (Avalokitesvara), whom he hasn't seen yet, is a god or a demon, and whether he is Vishnu, Mahesvara , or the rakshasa Ravana. Jain accounts vary from the traditional Hindu accounts of the Ramayana. The incidents are placed at the time of the 20th Tirthankara , Munisuvrata . In Jainism, both Rama and Ravana were devout Jains. Ravana

1404-606: Is described as a devout follower of Shiva, a great scholar, a capable ruler, and a maestro of the Veena . Ravana is also depicted as the author of the Ravana Samhita , a book on Hindu astrology , and the Arka Prakasham , a book on Siddha medicine and treatment. Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge of Siddha and political science . In some later versions, he is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which

1482-584: Is often depicted with a white beard, implying his sage-like experience. He sits on lotus, dressed in white (or red and pink), with his vehicle ( vahana ) – hamsa , a swan – nearby. Chapter 51 of the Manasara , an ancient design manual in Sanskrit for making murtis and temples, states that a Brahma statue should be gold in color. The text recommends that the statue have four faces and four arms, have jata-mukuta-mandita (matted hair of an ascetic), and wear

1560-507: Is one of the many masculine gods in Hindu tradition. The spiritual concept of brahman is quite old and some scholars suggest that the god Brahma may have emerged as a god and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle of brahman . The existence of a distinct god named Brahma is evidenced in late Vedic texts. Grammatically, the nominal stem Brahma- has two distinct forms: the neuter noun bráhman , whose nominative singular form

1638-642: Is regarded as one of the Twenty Devas ( 二十諸天 Èrshí Zhūtiān ) or the Twenty-Four Devas ( 二十四諸天 Èrshísì zhūtiān ), a group of protective dharmapalas . Hindus in Indonesia still have a high regard for Brahma ( Indonesian and Javanese : Batara Brahma and Sanghyang Brahma ). In Prambanan there is a special temple made for Brahma, side by side with Vishnu and Shiva, and in Bali there

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1716-414: Is regarded to have once caught sight of the apsara Rambha and was filled with lust. Even as the apsara resisted his advances by asserting that she was his daughter-in-law, he raped her. When she reported this to her husband, Nalakuvara , he cursed Ravana to be unable to cause violence to any woman who did not consent to being with him, his head splitting into a number of pieces if he did so. This incident

1794-546: Is stated to explain why Ravana could not force the abducted Sita to submit to his desire. Ravana is worshipped as one of Shiva's most revered followers, and he is even worshipped in some Shiva temples. Ravana is worshipped by the Kanyakubja Brahmins of the Vidisha region, who see him as a savior and a sign of prosperity, claiming Ravana was also a Kanyakubja Brahmin. Thousands of Kanyakubja Brahmins of

1872-589: Is the Atman (Soul, Self) within and without – yea, within and without! While the Maitrayaniya Upanishad maps Brahma with one of the elements of the guṇas theory of Hinduism, the text does not depict him as one of the trifunctional elements of the Hindu Trimurti idea found in later Puranic literature. During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent god and his sect existed during

1950-399: Is this Shiva. That part of him which belongs to rajas , that O students of sacred knowledge, is this Brahma . That part of him which belongs to sattva , that O students of sacred knowledge, is this Vishnu. Verily, that One became threefold, became eightfold, elevenfold, twelvefold, into infinite fold. This Being (neuter) entered all beings, he became the overlord of all beings. That

2028-429: Is used as an expression to mean people who are truly aware of the materialism of their environment. Ravana has many other popular names such as Dasis Ravana, Dasis Sakvithi Maha Ravana, Dashaanan, Ravula, Lankapati, Lankeshwar, Lankeshwaran, Ravanasura and Ravanaeshwaran. Ravana is depicted and described as having ten heads, although he is sometimes shown with only nine heads since he cut one off to convince Shiva. He

2106-457: Is within each living being. It equates the atman (Soul, Self) within to be Brahma and various alternate manifestations of Brahman, as follows, "Thou art Brahma, thou art Vishnu, thou art Shiva, thou art Agni , Varuna , Vayu , Indra , thou art All." In verse (5,2), Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva are mapped into the theory of Guṇas , that is qualities, psyche and innate tendencies the text describes can be found in all living beings. This chapter of

2184-492: The Maitrayaniya Upanishad asserts that the universe emerged from darkness ( tamas ), first as passion characterized by innate quality ( rajas ), which then refined and differentiated into purity and goodness ( sattva ). Of these three qualities, rajas are then mapped to Brahma , as follows: Now then, that part of him which belongs to tamas , that, O students of sacred knowledge ( Brahmacharins ),

2262-493: The Shiva Purana , where Brahma and Vishnu argued about who was the greatest among them. While they debated, they saw a huge column of fire piercing through the sky which was Shiva as Lingodbhava . They decided to locate the beginning and end of this column of fire which is Shiva. Vishnu assumed the form of a boar as Varaha and journeyed towards the earth and Brahma assumed the form of a swan as Hamsa and journeyed towards

2340-597: The ravanahatha , an ancient bowed string instrument , was created by Ravana and is still used as a Rajasthani folk instrument. In the Rin-spuns-pa Tibetan Ramayana, it is prophesied that Ravana will return as the Buddha incarnation of Vishnu in Kali Yuga. The Arunachal Pradesh Tai Khamti Ramayana (Phra Chow Lamang) shows Rama as a Bodhisattva who was reborn so Ravana could torture him. In

2418-848: The Bhagavata Purana , Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna are said to be reincarnations of Jaya and Vijaya , gatekeepers at Vaikuntha (the abode of Vishnu ), and were cursed to be born on Earth for their insolence. These gatekeepers refused entry to the Sanatha Kumara monks who, because of their powers and austerity, appeared as young children. For their insolence, the monks cursed them to be expelled from Vaikuntha and to be born on Earth. Vishnu agreed that they should be punished and gave them two options. First, that they could be born seven times as normal mortals and devotees of Vishnu, or be born three times as strong and powerful beings, but as enemies of Vishnu. Eager to be back with

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2496-481: The Cholas said that Brahma and Shiva as their direct biological ancestors and Vishnu as their creator and the creator of this entire universe . Cilappatikaram also has several mentions of Brahma as the creator god. Brahma is traditionally depicted with four faces and four arms. Each face of his points to a cardinal direction. His hands hold no weapons, rather symbols of knowledge and creation. In one hand, he holds

2574-1099: The Government House of Thailand houses a statue of Phra Phrom (Thai representation of Brahma). An early 18th-century CE painting at Wat Yai Suwannaram in Phetchaburi city of Thailand depicts Brahma. The name of the country Burma is derived from Brahma. In medieval texts, it is referred to as Brahma-desa . Brahma in Buddhism is known in Chinese as Simianshen ( 四面神 , "Four-Faced God"), Simianfo ( 四面佛 , "Four-Faced Buddha") or Fantian ( 梵天 ), Tshangs pa ( ཚངས་པ ) in Tibetan, Phạm Thiên ( 梵天 ) in Vietnamese, Bonten ( 梵天 ) in Japanese, and Beomcheon ( 범천,梵天 ) in Korean. In Chinese Buddhism , he

2652-541: The Ramayana , Ravana is described as the eldest son of sage Vishrava and Kaikasi . He abducted Rama 's wife, Sita , and took her to his kingdom of Lanka , where he held her in the Ashoka Vatika . Rama, with the support of vanara King Sugriva and his army of vanaras, launched a rescue operation for Sita against Ravana in Lanka. Ravana was subsequently slain, and Rama rescued his beloved wife Sita. Ravana

2730-524: The Thai Buddhist community. The origins of the term brahmā are uncertain, partly because several related words are found in the Vedic literature, such as Brahman for the 'Ultimate Reality' and Brāhmaṇa for 'priest'. A distinction between the spiritual concept of brahman and the god Brahmā is that the former is a genderless abstract metaphysical concept in Hinduism, while the latter

2808-518: The Tridevi created Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and these texts then state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf. Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself. Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god or higher goddess. Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that

2886-488: The Vedas as books of Hinduism and used it to perform Yajnas . Several Tamil Hindu kings and queens have performed Vedic sacrifices and worshipped various gods and goddesses of Hinduism . Several Sangam texts mention that Brahma as a creator god born from the navel of Vishnu along with Shiva as a destroyer god born from his forehead while he was the preserver god. As he is a direct biological ancestor of all royal families,

2964-427: The saguna (representation with face and attributes) Brahma is Vishnu, Shiva, or Tridevi, respectively. In the post-Vedic Puranic literature, Brahma creates but neither preserves nor destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the metaphysical Brahman along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other deities, matter and other beings. In theistic schools of Hinduism where

3042-609: The 17th to 19th centuries, via interactions with Javanese and Malaysian cultures which traded extensively with India. By the time it was documented in the 1960s, the character names, place names, and the precise episodes and events in Maharadia Lawana's narrative already had some notable differences from those of the Ramayana. Francisco believed that this was a sign of "indigenization", and suggested that some changes had already been introduced in Malaysia and Java even before

3120-511: The 2nd century CE to 6th century CE. Early texts like the Brahmanda Purana describe that there was nothing but an eternal ocean. From this, a golden egg called Hiranyagarbha , emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came into existence (gaining the name Svayambhu ). Then, he created the universe, the earth, and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation. However, by

3198-602: The 7th century CE, Brahma lost his importance. Historians believe that some of the major reasons for Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and Vaishnavism , their replacement of him with Tridevi in the Smarta tradition , and the frequent attacks by Buddhists , Jains , Hindus who worship Indra and all the other Hindu gods . Various Puranic legends mention various reasons for his decline in worship now. There are primarily two prominent versions of why Brahma lost his ground in worship popularly. The first version refers to

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3276-639: The Laotian Buddhist text Phra Lak Phra Lam , Rama is a Bodhisattva and the embodiment of virtues, while Ravana is a Brahmin (" mahabrahma ") son of Virulaha who is highly materialistic. In the Cambodian Buddhist text Preah Ream , Buddha is an incarnation of Rama and Ravana is a rakshasa. In the Thai Buddhist text Ramakien , Ravana is a rakshasa known as "Thotsakan" (ทศกัณฐ์, from Sanskrit दशकण्ठ, Daśakaṇṭha, "ten necks"), and

3354-577: The Lord, they chose the latter option. The curse of the first birth was fulfilled by Hiranyakashipu and his brother Hiranyaksha in Satya Yuga , when they were both vanquished by earlier avatars of Vishnu (Hiranyaksha by Varaha , and Hiranyakashipu by Narasimha ). Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna were born to fulfill the curse in their second birth as enemies of Vishnu in Treta Yuga . The curse of

3432-649: The Puranic and Tantric literature. However, these texts state that his wife Sarasvati has Sattva (quality of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, holistic, constructive, creative, positive, peaceful, virtuous), thus complementing Brahma's Rajas (quality of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, action qua action, individualizing, driven, dynamic) with her Sattva qualities . The Sangam literature mentions all Hindu gods and goddesses and Vedic practices in Tamilakam . Tamilians considered

3510-479: The Tridevi are called the "mothers of the universe", and they are credited with creating Brahma, all the complete other gods including Vishnu, Shiva, the three worlds, the entire universe. They are the ones, states Skanda Purana, who combined the three Gunas - Sattva, Rajas, Tamas - into matter ( Prakrti ) to create the empirically observed world. The Vedic discussion of Brahma as a Rajas -quality god expands in

3588-488: The Vedic and post-Vedic texts name different gods and goddesses as secondary creators (often Brahma in post-Vedic texts), and in some cases a different god or goddess is the secondary creator at the start of each cosmic cycle ( kalpa , that is an aeon). Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas , and among the most studied and described. Vishnu-focused Puranas describe that Brahma

3666-514: The deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal god like all deities and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, and then a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts and all of them are recreated. In the Bhagavata Purana , Brahma is portrayed several times as the one who rises from the " Ocean of Causes ". Brahma, states this Purana, emerges at the moment when time and universe are born, inside

3744-550: The earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the fifth Prapathaka (lesson) of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad , probably composed around the late 1st millennium BCE. Brahma is first discussed in verse 5,1, also called the Kutsayana Hymn , and then expounded in verse 5,2. In the pantheistic Kutsayana Hymn , the Upanishad asserts that one's Soul is Brahman, and this Ultimate Reality, Cosmic Universal or God

3822-455: The good and the evil, the material and the spiritual, a beginning and an end. The Puranas describe Brahma as the god creating time. They correlate human time to Brahma's time, such as a mahākalpa being a large cosmic period, correlating to one day and one night in Brahma's existence. The stories about Brahma in various Puranas are diverse and inconsistent. In Skanda Purana , for example,

3900-471: The ketaki flower as an ornament on his head then and fused that head into him then. The second version refers to the Vishnu Purana , where Vishnu created Brahma and Shiva from his navel and forehead respectively, thus making Brahma along with Shiva both as inferior to Vishnu, who created them both as the supreme god above them in all aspects of power in this universe and after that, when the creation of

3978-471: The most popular images of Shiva is called "Ravananugraha", which was popular in the Gupta era . It depicts Ravana beneath Mount Kailash playing a veena made out of his head and hands, and strings made out of his tendons, while Shiva and Parvati sit on top of the mountain. According to scriptures, Ravana once tried to lift Mount Kailash, but Shiva pushed the mountain into place and trapped Ravana beneath it. For

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4056-590: 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. Kaikasi searched among the sages and finally chose Vishrava, the father of Kubera. Ravana and his siblings were born to the couple and they completed their education from their father, with Ravana being a great scholar of the Vedas. Ravana and his two brothers, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana , performed penance on Mount Gokarna for 10,000 years and won boons from Brahma. Ravana

4134-424: The opposite of Vaiśravaṇa which means to "hear distinctly" (passive). Both Ravana and Vaiśravaṇa, who is commonly known as Kubera , are considered to be patronymics derived from "sons of Vishrava ". Ravana was a title later taken on by Dashānana, and it means "the one with ten (dasha) faces (anana)". Further, roravana is Sanskrit for "loud roaring." In Abhinava Gupta's Krama Shaiva scripture, yāsām rāvanam

4212-683: The other two members of the Trimurti. Brahma is revered in the ancient texts, yet rarely worshipped as a primary deity in India, owing to the absence of any significant sect dedicated to his reverence. Few temples dedicated to him exist in India, the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan. Some Brahma temples are found outside India, such as at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok , which in turn has found immense popularity within

4290-689: The priest of the Asuras, as his minister, and in other accounts, Brihaspati , the priest of the Devas. One account narrates how Ravana ordered Brihaspati to recite the Chandi stava (mantras of Chandi), more specifically the Devi Mahatmya, in order to stave off defeat. According to the Krttivasa text, Ravana arranged for a peaceful yajna , and invited Brihaspati to start the recitation of Chandi. In

4368-404: The primary antagonist in films and television series based on the Ramayana . Movies like Bhakta Ravana (1938) and its Telugu ( 1940 and 1958 ) and Kannada ( 1958 ) adaptations as well as television series Raavan (2006-2008) are focused on the tale on Ravana. The Tamil film Raavanan (2010) and its Hindi counterpart Raavan (2010) narrate the epic from Ravana's perspective in

4446-576: The role of a secondary creator, who was created by the major deities. Brahma is commonly depicted as a red complexioned man with four heads and hands. His four heads represent the four Vedas and are pointed to the four cardinal directions. He is seated on a lotus and his vahana (mount) is a hamsa (swan). According to the scriptures, Brahma and Sarasvati created their children from their minds and thus, they are referred to as Manasaputras . In contemporary Hinduism, Brahma does not enjoy popular worship and has substantially less importance than

4524-402: The sacred texts of Vedas , in the other hand, he holds a mala , symbolizing the time to create the universe, in the another hand, he holds a shruka, — a ladle symbolizing the means to feed sacrificial fire, and in the even another hand, a kamandalu – a utensil with water symbolizing the means from where all creation emits. His four mouths are credited with creating the four Vedas. He

4602-445: The sky. Vishnu found about his defeat, revealing that he had been unable to locate the end, which was at the end of the universe and he got tired before he reached that so he was defeated in it there. However, Brahma had recruited the ketaki flower which fell from Shiva's head by his powers to end the debate here now, which was at the beginning of the universe with his beginning at there now and he got tired before he reached that so he

4680-540: The story was heard by the Maranao, and that upon reaching the Maranao homeland, the story was " further indigenized to suit Philippine cultural perspectives and orientations. " This Philippines -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ravana Traditional Ravana is a demon -king of the island of Lanka and the chief antagonist in the Hindu epic Ramayana . In

4758-482: The tenth dharmaguru of their tribe, and the eighteenth lingo (divine teacher). Annually on Dussehra , the Gondis from the village of Paraswadi carry an image of Ravana riding on an elephant in a procession. The following temples in India are for Ravana as a Shiva Bhakta. Effigies of Ravana are burned on Vijayadashami in many places throughout India to symbolize Rama's triumph over evil. According to mythology,

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4836-506: The third birth was fulfilled by Dantavakra and Shishupala in the Dvapara Yuga , when they both were slain by Krishna , the eighth avatar. Ravana had fought with the demons named Nivatakavacha along with his army for an entire year but was unable to kill them due to Brahma's boon. The war was stopped by Brahma and Ravana formed an alliance with them, he learnt several magical tricks or maya from those demons. Ravana had defeated

4914-503: The three largest temples in the 9th-century CE Prambanan temples complex in Yogyakarta, central Java (Indonesia) is dedicated to Brahma, the other two to Shiva (largest of three) and Vishnu respectively. The temple dedicated to Brahma is on the southern side of Shiva temple and Vishnu temple. A statue of Brahma is present at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok , Thailand and continues to be revered in modern times. The golden dome of

4992-470: The universe was always happening and he was the supreme god of this universe. The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony , many involving Brahma. These include Sarga (primary creation of the universe) and Visarga (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging ( metaphysical ) and other secondary that

5070-402: The universe was completed, Brahma lost all of his importance after his role as creator of the universe ended and was removed from worship by everyone in the world, while Shiva was always worshipped as the destroyer of the universe after his role of the destruction of the universe was always happening and Vishnu was always worshipped as he was the preserver of the universe and his preserving role in

5148-491: The universe, and then their creative powers are revived. Brahma and Shiva, states the Bhagavata Purana, thereafter combine Prakriti (nature, matter) and Purusha (spirit, soul) to create a dazzling variety of living creatures, and a tempest of causal nexus. The Bhagavata Purana thus attributes the creation of Maya to Brahma and Shiva, wherein they creates for the sake of creation, imbuing everything with both

5226-436: The vanara warriors namely Sugriva, Neela and even Rama's brother Lakshmana twice during his war with Rama. As per the original six books of Valmiki Ramayana, only lord Rama the incarnation of Vishnu defeated Ravana and killed him after several days of single duel. Once, upon hearing a discourse from Sage Sanatkumara , Ravana attempted to invade Vaikuntha . Only Ravana managed to enter Vaikuntha's capital, Shwetadwipa, where he

5304-801: The village Ravangram of Netaran, in the Vidisha District of Madhya Pradesh , perform daily puja in the Ravana temple and offer naivedyam or bhog (a ritual of sacrifice to the gods). King Shiv Shankar built a Ravana temple in Kanpur , Uttar Pradesh . The Ravana temple is open once a year, on the day of Dashera , to perform puja for the welfare of Ravana. Ravana is also worshipped by Hindus of Bisrakh , who claim their town to be his birthplace. The Sachora Brahmins of Gujarat claim to be descendants of Ravana, and sometimes have "Ravan" as their surnames. Saraswat Brahmins from Mathura claim Ravana as

5382-472: Was a Vidyadhara king who had magical powers, and Lakshmana, not Rama, was the one who ultimately killed Ravana. Pulavar Kuzhanthai 's Ravana Kaaviyam is a panegyric on Ravana that is made up of 3,100 poetic stanzas in which Ravana is the hero. The book was released in 1946, and was subsequently banned by India's Congress led government. The ban was later lifted in 1971. Sri Lanka named its first satellite Raavana 1 after Ravana. Ravana appears as

5460-450: Was blessed with a boon that would make him invincible to all the creations of Brahma, except for humans. He also received weapons, a chariot, as well as the ability to shapeshift from Brahma. According to the Ramayana , demigods approached Brahma since Ravana was causing harm on Earth. Lord Vishnu appeared and gave blessings that he will incarnate as a human (Rama) and kill Ravana since his invincibility boon did not include humans. One of

5538-482: Was born Ken Arok. The name Brahma is also used as the name of a mountain in the Tengger Mountains range, namely Mount Bromo . Mount Bromo is believed to be derived from the word Brahma and there was once a sect that believed that Brahmaloka – the universe where Brahma resided – was connected to Mount Bromo. In the Javanese version of wayang (shadow puppet play), Brahma has a very different role from his initial role. When Hindu society began to disappear from Java and

5616-545: Was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu and Shiva was born from a fire emerging from the forehead of the god Vishnu . In contrast, the Shiva -focused Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to be born from Shiva's right and left sides of his waist; and in other Puranas , Shiva and Vishnu were born from Brahma's right and left sides of his waist or Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons ( kalpas ). Yet others describe that

5694-519: Was born there. Ravana's paternal grandfather, the sage Pulastya , was one of the ten Prajapatis , or mind-born sons of Brahma , and one of the Saptarishi (seven great sages) in the first Manvantara (age of Manu ). His maternal grandfather was Sumali (or Sumalaya), the king of the Rakshasas and the son of Sukesha. Sumali had ten sons and four daughters. Sumali wished for Kaikasi to marry

5772-476: Was defeated in it there and this came to him and he took him as a false witness to support his lie that he had located the beginning. Shiva then took his true form and cut off one of Brahma's five heads for his dishonesty, proclaiming that he would no longer receive an active following to his worship and would get a low status of popularity. Pleased with Vishnu's honesty, he offered him a high status of popularity and an active following dedicated to his worship and took

5850-552: Was hopelessly outmatched by the inhabitants and was forced to retreat. He killed Anaranya, the king of Ayodhya , although he cursed Ravana to be slain by Rama. Ravana had wrestled his brother Kubera and vanquished him for the Pushpaka Vimana . He also fought Marutta (Chakravarti King of Ushiraviga), Gadhi ( Vishwamitra 's father), Dushyanta ( Bharata 's father), Suratha (King of Vidarbha ), Gaya (Chakravarti king of Dharmaranya), and Paurava (King of Anga ). Ravana

5928-417: Was killed by Vishnu . Ravana had 2 full brothers, 8 half brothers, 1 full sister and 3 half sisters. Ravana had three wives, Mandodari , the daughter of the celestial architect Maya , Dhanyamalini, and a third wife. His sons from his three wives were Meghanada , Atikaya , Akshayakumara , Narantaka , Devantaka , Trishira , and Prahasta . In some accounts, Ravana is said to have had Shukracharya ,

6006-632: Was stored inside his belly thanks to a celestial boon from Brahma . In the War with Lord Rama, Ravana was killed by a powerful Brahma's weapon shot by Rama which was gifted to Rama by Sage Agstya. Ravana was born to the Brahmin sage Vishrava and the Rakshasa princess Kaikasi in Treta Yuga . Villagers from Bisrakh in Uttar Pradesh claim that Bisrakh was named after Vishrava, and that Ravana

6084-773: Was well-versed in the six shastras and the four Vedas , including the Shiva Tandava Stotra . Ravana is also considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva . Images of Ravana are often seen associated with Shiva at temples. He also appears in the Buddhist Mahayana text Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra , in Buddhist Jatakas , as well as in Jain Ramayanas . In Vaishnava scriptures , he is depicted as one of Vishnu 's cursed doorkeepers. The word Rāvaṇa ( Sanskrit : रावण) means "Roaring" (active),

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