Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Ravana
Ravana has received a boon protecting him from gods and several classes of supernatural beings. Because he did not request immunity from human attack, the gods seek an incarnation of Vishnu among Dasharatha’s sons to overcome him. He approaches Sita in the guise of a wandering yogi, then abandons that disguise when she refuses him. His revealed form has ten faces and twenty arms, and he carries her away in his golden car.
Also known as Rāvaṇa · Ravan
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalRavana has received a boon protecting him from gods and several classes of supernatural beings. Because he did not request immunity from human attack, the gods seek an incarnation of Vishnu among Dasharatha’s sons to overcome him.
Further detail
TraditionalHe approaches Sita in the guise of a wandering yogi, then abandons that disguise when she refuses him. His revealed form has ten faces and twenty arms, and he carries her away in his golden car.
Context & interpretation
Ravana is presented through this collection’s Ramayana narrative. The boon, many-bodied form and abduction are traditional episodes. The entry does not replace the different regional, devotional and literary perspectives through which his character has also been understood.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
by man only he may and shall be slainOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 48
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0048
- Original scan leaf
- 48
- Recorded leaf number
- 48
- Current Reader position
- 39
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
ten-faced and twenty-armedOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 84
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0084
- Original scan leaf
- 84
- Recorded leaf number
- 84
- Current Reader position
- 75
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Garuda
Vishnu’s great bird mount and the feared opponent of serpents.
Shared source pageRama
The prince of Ayodhya whose exile and return form the centre of the Ramayana.
Shared source pageSita
Janaka’s daughter, whose captivity in Lanka becomes the centre of Rama’s search.
Shared source pageVishnu
The divine figure whose descent into human life makes the defeat of Ravana possible.