Epics of India Storybook

Buck’s version of the Ramayana contains the back story of Ravana and the rakshasas. (Buck has Viswamitra tell this story to Dasaratha when explaining why he wants Rama to come with him into the forest.) This back story provided me a new perspective from which to understand the later events of the story.

I am a “big picture” person. I prefer knowing up front that Ravana had two brothers and one sister, which ones were older and younger, what things they desired, etc., before I meet them in the story. Learning the history of the rakshasas—how they lost and re-took Lanka, how Ravana got his invincibility, why the gods needed to destroy Ravana—helps me understand better the significance of events and how the characters relate to each other. The scene between Surpanakha and Rama would have been much more powerful to me had I realized exactly who this Surpanakha lady was; I did not realize that the golden deer was the same demon Rama had shot during Viswamitra’s sacrifice and I had no idea why he feared Rama.

The story of the rakshasas losing Lanka in battle with the gods struck me as significant. Ravana grew up surrounded by the anger and bitterness of the surviving rakshasas towards the gods. Seeing Vaisravana (the brilliant Treasure Lord) living on Lanka (his family’s island) filled Ravana with such immense jealousy that he spent the next ten thousand years contemplating his own existence (29). (As soon as he received his invincibility, Sumali approached him to take back Lanka: the rakshasas finally had the power to do something with their anger and bitterness (30).) Knowing this story from Ravana’s background helped me understand the influences that shaped his character and what drives him.

The manner in which Ravana received his invincibility shocked me! I don’t remember Narayan speaking about this event: he treated Ravana’s invincibility as nothing more than a historical fact (with relevance for the present, of course). I simply could not believe the story. Brahma recognized that Ravana’s will was “too strong to be neglected” (29), and we see this strong will in numerous other scenes. Knowing Ravana’s past experiences manipulating others (even the gods!) heightens the significance of his taking Sita for me—Ravana always gets what he wants!