FORREST MCGILL

Picturing Ravana

O
n most points about Ravana there is no the king of Lanka, and resolves to gain the power to
possible doubt whatever. He has ten heads, surpass him.
or fewer, or one. He is red, or green. He To do so he begins the sort of extreme austerities
fathers Sita, or he doesn't. He is a symbol that in Indian tradition gain the attention of the gods
of cataclysmic cosmic evil, a stock music-hall villain, a and encourage them to give rewards. He fasts for a
tragic antihero, or a damnation-defying embodiment thousand years, and then cuts off one of his heads and
of self-will and unrestrained aggressiveness and lust gives it as an offering; these fasts and offerings he re-
to whom we react with a mixture of attraction, envy, peats until he has only one head left. Now the great god
dread, and nervous laughter reserved for the likes of Brahma favors him and suggests he ask for a boon. Ra-
Don Giovanni. 1 How could a picture created, recre- vana requests immortality, but when Brahma is unwill-
ated, or retouched for over two millennia by count- ing or unable to comply, he then asks to be invulnerable
less artists, performers, and poets in a dozen countries to being killed by a god or any of the other classes of
be expected to be more distinct or less layered and beings he lists. He intentionally does not mention hu-
inconsistent? mans or animals, because he believes that such crea-
The back story of Ravana's life before the main tures are not a mortal threat. Brahma grants the boon,
events of the Rama epic is told at length in the final restores his sacrificed heads, and adds that Ravana will
book of the Valmiki Ramayana, the Uttarakanda. With have the ability to assume any form he wishes.3
one exception, though, the episodes of the back story Ravana now claims his right to the throne of Lanka,
are not often depicted by artists and so will not be dis- and his half-brother assents. Ravana marries Mando-
cussed in detail here.2 dari, who becomes his chief queen. While the prosper-
Suffice it to say that Ravana is born a ten-headed, ity of his kingdom suggests that Ravana rules effec-
twenty-armed child of mixed ancestry, who counts tively, he exercises his demonic nature in violent and
among his forebears brahmans, celestial musicians, disruptive acts elsewhere, killing sages, laying waste
and members of the race of demons known as raksha- the landscape, and making the gods themselves ap-
sas. At a certain point while grow- prehensive. Rejecting appeals to reform, he pursues
FACING ing up, egged on by his mother, he universal conquest and domination. The stability and
Detail of cat. no. 108 becomes envious of his half-brother, righteous order of the world are endangered.

199
FIG. 59. Relief ofRavana shaking Mount Kailasa in Cave 29, Ellora (detail of cat. no. 115).

Now comes the episode that is frequently repre- suggestion that they are relieved to be rid of him. In
sented in the arts. Ravana, having completed an attack, Book 7, the Uttarakanda, however, the extremity of Ra-
flies homeward toward Lanka in the aerial palace he vana's sexual violence against women is pronounced.
has wrested from its owner. Passing over a mountain, He assaults a pious young female ascetic named Ve-
the palace comes to a halt. On the slopes below, the de- davati, seizing her by the hair. Though the text does
ity Shiva and his wife are engaged in love play, and no not say explicitly that he rapes her, there seems little
overflight is permitted. Ravana, enraged as usual, de- doubt.5 A rare painting of the scene from the Mewar
scends, grasps the mountain, and struggles to uproot it, Ramayana is graphic to a degree unprecedented in the
disturbing its inhabitants (fig. 59). Shiva, whose might manuscript, showing Ravana penetrating the young
is infinitely beyond the demon king's, moves his foot woman with his penis (fig. 60).
and pins him beneath the mountain's weight. Advised Vedavati, enraged at Ravana's actions, throws her-
to appeal for Shiva's mercy, Ravana worships the great self into the fire. Drawing on the power she has gained
god for a thousand years. Shiva, pleased, releases him. through asceticism and sacrifice, she promises to be re-
Ravana's warlike violence toward gods and men is born as a noble-minded woman who will bring about
matched by more intimate violence toward women. He Ravana's destruction. In her reincarnated form as Sita,
abducts those who catch his eye and adds them to his she will make good the promise.
harem. How far his transgression goes is a contentious In the Uttarakanda, we learn more of Ravana's
matter. In Book 5 of the Valmiki Ramayana we are told violent and hateful deeds in the past, and of the con-
that Ravana does not force himself on the women he sequences they will have (or will have had, since the
kidnaps, and that during the time Sita is his captive Uttarakanda comes after the main action of the epic
he threatens to impose himself on her sexually, but re- and is told in retrospect). Ravana, again inflamed with
frains.4 In Book 6, when he is killed, his wives mourn lust, rapes another young woman, the wife of his half-
him as though they feel truly bereft, and there is no nephew. Her husband issues the baleful curse that if

200 I THE RAMA EPIC

Ravana forces himself on any other unwilling woman, Vishnu eventually agrees to descend to earth in_the
his head will split and he will die. This curse, we are form of a great hero, Rama, to overcome Ravana and
given to understand, is why Ravana did not rape Sita restore righteous order.
when he held her captive.6 This outline of Ravana's life and career before the
Ravana continues his campaigns of territorial con- main action of the epic is based on the Ramayana of
quest, killing numberless opponents and challeng- Valmiki because its incidents are not often recounted
ing the gods (fig. 61). It is in this context that the deity in detail, or at all, elsewhere. It is worth underlining,

FIG. 60 (top). Ravana rapes Vedavati. From the Mewar Ramayana, 1649-1653.
The British Library Add. MS 15297(2), f.3or (painting).

FIG. 61 (above). Ravana and his forces battle the gods. From the Mewar Ramayana, 1649-1653.
The British Library Add. MS 15297(2), f.6or (painting).

RAVANA I 201
though-as discussions elsewhere in this catalogue ascetic to deceive Sita into letting down her guard be-
suggest-how varied are the interpretations of Rava- fore he abducts her (fig. 62). In a discussion of the na-
na's personality and character in different places and ture of rakshasas, the scholar Sheldon Pollock notes
periods. of time. Everywhere, though, one point is em- that "there is something profoundly threatening about
phasized: Ravana has titanic powers of intellect, of cha- the absence of a stable, perdurable personality; one's
risma, of physical strength, of magic, and, above all, of interlocutor may never be what one believes him to
will. He must have, to be an antagonist worthy of the be."9 Poets and other artists have generally allowed us
sustained efforts to crush him on the part of the gods to predict how Rama or Sita will act or react in a situa-
and Rama. tion. From Ravana we can usually expect fury and lust,
According to Valmiki, Hanuman himself, in one but not always; besides, who is that ascetic who just
encounter with Ravana, says of him, wandered up?
Oppositional interpretations of the Rama epic have
Oh what beauty! What steadfastness! What seen, and continue to see, Ravana as an admirable
strength! What splendor! Truly, the king of figure, or at least as the object of slander and mis-
rak~asas is endowed with every virtue! If this representation. One such interpretation is that of the
mighty rak~asa lord were not so unrighteous, twentieth-century social reformer E. V. Ramasami. He
he could be the guardian of the world of the championed the rights and cultures of southern Indian
gods, Indra included.7 speakers of Dravidian languages, such as Tamil, and
of lower-caste people against what he saw as oppres-
Of course if he were not so unrighteous is a big qualifi- sion by high-caste northern Indian speakers of Indo-
cation, as Ravana's victims would, and sometimes do, European languages such as Hindi. In his view, Ravana
protest. was a great Dravidian king resisting the hegemonic en-
The contradictions and ambiguities of Ravana's croachments of northern Indian forces represented by
character, even in just the Valmiki Ramayana, may Rama and his allies. 10
result in part from changing attitudes during the cen- Ramasami considers the portentous interaction of
turies of its compilation. (The first and last books are Ravana's sister with Rama and his immediate family
thought to be somewhat later than the central ones.) 8 and its aftermath. These episodes are well worth pon-
But artistic and psychological factors also seem to have dering. How they are interpreted and what their signif-
a role in his complexity. Rakshasas have the power of icance is taken to be depend very much on whose point
shape-shifting and, as mentioned earlier, Brahma has of view-whether narrator's, character's, or reader's-
reaffirmed this power in Ravana. they are seen from. In Valmiki's narration of the story,
The most famous instance of Ravana's shape- Ravana's sister Shurpanakha-like him a member of
shifting is when he takes on the appearance of an the rakshasa race-sees Rama, is consumed with desire

FIG. 62. Ravana

assumes the form of an
ascetic and then reverts
(detail of cat. no. 61).

202 I THE RAMA EPIC

FIG. 63 (left). Lakshmana
cuts off the nose of
Shurpanakha (detail
of cat. no. 22).
FIG. 64 (below). Ravana's
sister reports to him of
her maltreatment by
Rama and Lakshmana,
and of Sita's beauty
(detail of cat. no. 118).

(according to the narrative) or love (as she herself says),

and proposes marriage, promising to devour Sita to
get her out of the way. Rama deflects her toward his
brother Lakshmana, who makes fun of her. Spurned,
Shurpanakha again threatens Sita. Rama directs
Lakshmana to cut off her nose and ears in punishment
(fig. 63).11
Shurpanakha describes her ill-treatment to another
of her brothers, and, when he and his forces attack
Rama, Rama kills them all, fourteen thousand strong.
Now Shurpanakha reports these events to Ravana and
rebukes him for his inattention to protecting his people
(fig. 64). As a further spur to action, she also tells Ra-
vana of Sita's incomparable beauty. Thus is set in mo-
tion the central action of the epic, Ravana's seizure of
Sita and the long efforts of Rama and his allies to get
her back.
From a certain conventional perspective of the
story, blame ultimately falls on Shurpanakha. She
did not control her sexual urges as she should and evening, and we have not yet glimpsed Ravana. After
then committed the outrage of threatening Sita. The an intermission the curtain rises: Shurpanakha "found
fact that she is a hideous demoness, self-deluded and Raval).a in his splendid palace, radiant in his power,
uncomprehending of the effect her threats to devour his advisors sitting beside him . ... He was seated on a
Sita will have, gives a shade of uncomfortable ridicu- golden throne radiant as the sun, and he looked like a
lousness to the situation and distances it from us. fire on a golden altar blazing with rich oblations. A hero
Rama "was young, attractive, and well mannered, invincible in combat with gods, gandharvas, spirits, or
she ill mannered, repellent, an old hag," Valmiki re- great seers, he looked like Death with jaws agape ...."
minds us.12 (Valmiki's description of Ravana goes on for fifteen
But in Ramasami's view, Shurpanakha's mutilation more verses). 13
at the hands of Rama and Lakshmana justifies-indeed Revealed to us in such majesty, what does this
necessitates-retaliation by Ravana. "broad-chested mighty king" do or say? Nothing. His
It is worth thinking more about the situation from sister launches into her scena:
Ravana's point of view. First, though, envision the epi-
sode of Shurpanakha's report to Ravana as if it were Drunk as you are on sensual pleasures,
a scene in a performance. It has already been a long So licentious and unbridled,

RAVANA j 203
You overlook the one thing you must not, mon Maricha, is required to turn himself into a jeweled
The presence of terrible danger.... deer and lure Rama away from Sita's side long enough
But, consumed with lust, negligent, for Ravana to kidnap her (see cat. nos. 63 and 119).
And no longer your own master, Raval).a, The kidnapping is another of those famous scenes
You are unaware of the danger present in your that audiences wait for. In the visual arts the succes-
own realm. sive moments are represented sometimes together and
In times of trouble sometimes separately. First, Ravana, in the guise of a
No one runs to aid a king seer, tricks Sita into allowing him to approach her; sec-
Who has been cruel and ungenerous, ond, he flies off with her in his aerial chariot (fig. 65);
Negligent, haughty, and treacherous. third, he battles the heroic vulture Jatayus, who t ries to
rescue Sita, and deals the bird a mortal blow.
The deluded, ridiculous Shurpanakha has become a In his encounter with Jatayus, Ravana is again sub-
Fury of truth-telling, and Ravana must endure it. He jected to an extended condemnation, but this time
"paid heed as she recited his failings in this fashion, and from a wholly admirable creature whom we imme-
for some time afterward the lord of nightstalkers, with diately respect. Jatayus is a sixty-thousand-year-old
all his wealth and pride and power, sat lost in thought:' 14 friend of Rama's father. He proudly announces himself
The news Shurpanakha has brought him is dire in- to Ravana, saying, "I am Jatayus, the powerful king of
deed. She, his royal sister, has been humiliated and cru- vultures, who keeps to the ancient ways of righteous-
elly disfigured. His royal brother, retaliating, has been ness and puts his trust in truth." As Ravana tries to
massacred, along with another brother and fourteen flee with Sita, Jatayus accosts him, enumerating his
thousand soldiers. All this has been the responsibility faults at length and warning him (correctly, of course)
of one man. Wouldn't anyone seek revenge? that "carrying her off will lead to the slaughter of the
Rama must be punished. He has a supremely beau- rak~asas.... You are caught in the noose of Doom." Ja-
tiful and virtuous wife, to whom he is devoted. If she tayus is just one of many enemies and friends who cau-
is taken from him, he will both suffer her loss and be tion Ravana and attempt to dissuade him from stealing
shamed, his masculinity impugned. Ravana will gain Sita and later refusing to return her, even though his
vengeance-and the most desirable woman in the obstinacy will bring death and destruction on him and
world as his prize. thousands of his followers. As usual, Ravana rejects the
Ravana (presumably reasoning that, since Rama advice and, "blind with rage," strikes back.15
has just single-handedly killed fourteen thousand de- In the aerial dogfight that follows, Jatayus succeeds
mon soldiers, a direct attack is not the best course) sets in destroying Ravana's flying chariot and the brutish
in play a stratagem. One ofRavana's henchmen, the de- donkeys that pull it, but eventually he tires and is

FIG. 65. Ravana

tricks Sita and then
flies off with her
(detail of cat. no. 62).

204 I THE RAMA EPIC

FIGS. 66-68 (clockwise from left) . The combat between
Ravana and the vulture Jatayus in fifth-century India,
nineteenth-century Myanmar, and twenty-first-century
America (details of cat. nos. 64, 63, and 122).

bested (figs. 66-68). Ravana cuts off his wings and feet, clutching the helpless Sita, his hand across her breast,
and Jatayus falls, slowly dying. he hacks at the already dismembered Jatayus (fig. 69).
Everything about the scene evokes our anger to- Next to his smashed chariot his dead donkeys sprawl;
ward Ravana and sympathy for the wise and stout- the artist has positioned one to expose and emphasize
hearted ancient vulture. When he fell, "Sita, daughter its genitals. Donkeys were associated not only with stub-
of Janaka, took him in her arms and wept." Later, when bornness but also with uncontrolled sexual desires. 17
Rama and Lakshmana return to find Sita gone and the Here are summed up the charges against Ravana: brutal
old family friend about to breathe his last, Rama ca- violence, rapine, and rampant lust.
resses him, "showing all the affection of a son for his What we think Ravana "really" feels for Sita in any
father," 16 and carries out a respectful cremation (see artistic or literary context is, of course, a matter of our
cat. no. 28). personal reactions. While he has her in captivity in a
An eighteenth-century painting from the north grove near his palace, he repeatedly pleads with her
of India shows the handsome Ravana at his worst: and threatens her. How do we assess what he says? Is all

RAVANA I 205
FIG. 69. The abduction of Sita (detail of cat. no. 66).

the pleading simply the sweet talk of the seducer? Are skilled charioteer reins in his speeding horse on
the threats entirely serious or partly playful? the road. Truly, desire is one of man's perversities;
In the Valmiki Ramayana we hear, for it gives rise to compassion and affection in
whomever it is aroused. That is the only reason
I long for you, wide-eyed lady. Dear lady, you are I do not kill you, my pretty one .... Once the two
endowed with every bodily perfection. Stealer of all months have passed , if you still do not want me for
men's hearts, please look upon me with favor . ... your husband, then they will slaughter you in the
I will never touch you unless you desire it, though kitchen for my breakfast.20
Kama, the god of love, may rage through my body
to his heart's content. You must trust me, dear lady. Now, I am picking and choosing verses, of course,
... Give me your true love. but what they present is pretty typical of many tellings
of the story. I confess I am at a loss to reach a firm sense
You must be my wife .... You will be the chief of what is going on. Would an ordinary seducer kneel
queen ... . All of the choice things I have taken by and beg to be accepted as a slave? And what about "de-
force from all the worlds will be yours, timid lady, sire is one of man's perversities; for it gives rise to com-
as will my kingdom and myself.18 passion and affection in whomever it is aroused"? That
sounds serious and important, not like a commonplace
Or in Kamban's Tamil-language Ramayana, pickup line. We seem to be once more in Mozart ter-
ritory, where lying and truth-telling, seriousness and
"Accept me, the ruler of the three worlds, as your parody, are going on simultaneously, even in the same
slave," he pleaded, falling at her feet, unmindful utterance, and are too interwoven-too integral-to be
of the scandal and shame of such unmanly unraveled.21
abasement. 19 Artworks, too, may be ambiguous. A nineteenth-
century Thai relief shows Ravana coming to plead with
But (Valmiki again), Sita (fig. 70). Verses of the classical Thai Rama epic say,
"His love had bound him and kept a hold on his heart.
Whenever a man treats a woman gently, he ends up He felt a desire to sleep with her. The heat of his desire
being humiliated. The more I speak sweetly to you, was like the Cataclysmic Fire." And then "He smiled
the more I am rejected. Nonetheless, the desire for while he said, 'You are the center of my life. I feel great
you that has arisen in me reins in my anger, as a affection for you, beautiful lady.' "22 How do we read

206 I THE RAMA EPI C

the artwork itself? The facial expressions of demons are Hanuman's spying on the slumbering Ravana is de-
not very familiar. To my eye it is at least conceivable scribed at length in the Ramayana of Valmiki. Rava-
that Ravana's expression here comes from love as much na's wives cluster around him-"the great rak$asa lord
as lust. And that cataclysmic fire? In this relief it is not was fond of his wives"-though he does not embrace
some inferno but a candle flame flickering toward Ra- a particular one; he has "ceased his dalliance for the
vana. Maybe Ravana is merely feeding Sita a line. I can- night." The descriptions of what Hanuman sees have
not help thinking, though, that we are meant to have an extraordinary sensuousness. Of Ravana we are told
more complicated reactions here, and to feel a degree that "with his red eyes, great arms, garments shot with
of empathy for Ravana. gold, and his precious dazzling earrings, he resembled
Another relief in the same series raises more ques- a great storm cloud. His body smeared with fragrant
tions about how we are to understand Ravana's person- red sandalpaste, he truly resembled a cloud laced with
ality. The demon king has a domestic life, of course, streaks oflightning and reddened in the sky at twilight.
though it is not often depicted. Works in this publica- He was handsome. .. . His shoulders were muscular,
tion picture him sitting with two senior wives and again symmetrical, well-knit, and powerful .. . ," and so on.
quietly playing a board game with one of them (see cat. The account of the women is equally lush: "Yet another
nos. 107 and 117). What the relief shows is altogether young woman, overcome by the power of sleep, lay
more intimate. Hanuman, having reached Lanka, is sleeping, her breasts-like golden pitchers-cupped in
searching high and low for Sita. He investigates one her hands. Exhausted by passionate lovemaking, one
part of Ravana's palace and then another, eventually woman-her eyes like lotus petals, her hips beautiful,
reaching the king's bedchamber. He looks in and sees a and her face like the full moon- slept embracing yet
woman sleeping with Ravana, and momentarily jumps another." 23
to the conclusion that this must be Sita being unfaith- Representations of this scene in the visual arts are
ful to her husband. Hanuman quickly grasps that he is rare, making the Thai relief particularly interesting. Ra-
mistaken, and that it is Mandodari, Ravana's chief wife, vana and Mandodari doze cuddled together; he gently
who sleeps with him. clasps her bare nipple (fig. 71).2 4 There is no suggestion

FIG . 70 (above left). Ravana pleading with Sita (detail of cat. no. 68).
FIG. 71(above right). Hanuman finds Ravana asleep with his wife. Detail of a rubbing of a
nineteenth-century relief at Wat Phra Chettuphon, Bangkok. Asian Art Museum F2008.49.

RAVANA I 207
of any coercion here, or anything but tender affection.
Mandodari, we know from elsewhere in the epic, is no
fool and no shrinking violet. There are limits to what
she would stand for. But here she seems enveloped in
the warmth of marital contentedness.
We do not hear or see much more of Ravana's per-
sonal life. As his end approaches, though, he is in-
creasingly shaken by doubts and wrenched by the loss
of many of those closest to him.25 Two of his brothers
were killed, it will be remembered, when they attacked
Rama to avenge Shurpanakha. Another brother, the
upstanding Vibhishana, defects to Rama's side after too
much abuse from Ravana himself (see cat. no. 37). Vi-
bhishana repeatedly tries to help his brother see reason,
act responsibly in various situations, and return Sita
before it is too late. Ravana not only rejects his advice
over and over but does so in insulting, hurtful ways. "If
a man is a leader, competent, learned, righteous in his
conduct, and valiant, rak~asa, then his kinsmen will
malign him and bring him down," spits Ravana, doing
exactly what he accuses his brother of.26
The later losses take a grave toll, both directly and
indirectly. Another brother, the vast (and usually sleep-
ing) giant Kumbhakarna, also tries to talk sense into
Ravana, but, like all the others who can see what is
FIG. 72. Ravana's brother Kumbhakarna battles
coming, he fails. Dutifully, though, he goes into battle
Rama's monkey allies (detail of cat. no. 94).
when ordered and, after a gargantuan struggle with
monkey soldiers, is killed by Rama (fig. 72). Ravana
blacks out when he hears the news. Coming to, he advice of great Vibhi~ai:ia .... The words of Vibhi~ai:ia
grieves, "I have no further use for kingship, and what have put me to shame."27
good is Sita to me now? Without Kumbhakarna, I can Worse is to come. Having already lost six sons in
take no pleasure in life." Then, his loss compounded the battle against Rama, now Ravana must endure
with bitter self-knowledge, he cries, "This has befallen the death of his last and greatest son, Indrajit. Ravana
me because, in my folly, I failed to heed the beneficial is devastated. Many tellings of the story describe his

FIG. 73. Ravana grieves at the news of his son Indrajit's death (detail of cat. no. 131).

208 I THE RAMA EPIC

FIG. 74. Ravana, maddened with grief, resolves to kill Sita (detail of cat. no. 131).

collapsing, weeping, and frenzied pacing. In a painting the Mughal emperor, the British governor-general, the
from the Mewar Ramayana in this publication, though, king of Burma, or whoever leads our enemies or con-
Ravana's anguish is shown with moving restraint (fig. tradicts our values.30 If this is all he is, then when he
73). The king slumps forward, bracing himself on sev- dies we cheer, like the crowds at the annual Ramlila en-
eral arms. He cups two hands together in a gesture of actments in many North Indian cities. Multiday public
supplication. W ith another hand he wipes away tears. performances of versions of the Rama epic are staged,
Shortly his great sadness turns to rage. He storms with amateur actors portraying the well-known char-
out to find Sita and kill her on the spot, and is prevented acters. Performances culminate when Rama shoots a
only when a trusted advisor intervenes, arguing that to powerful arrow at a huge effigy of Ravana; the effigy
murder Sita would, in effect, be beneath Ravana's dig- explodes into flame and everyone exalts the triumph of
nity (fig. 74). good over evil (fig. 76).
Now Ravana, unable to gain the release of either
possessing Sita or killing her, seems driven forward as
much by momentum as by directed determination. The
ultimate battle must be fought; in contest after contest
Ravana struggles fiercely, jealous of his honor. Grim
omens darken the scene, "but, heedless of these terrible
portents that appeared before him, Raval).a, in his delu-
sion, marched forth, impelled by his own impending
doom, to seek his own destruction." 28
When Ravana is slain no one, probably least of all
he himself, is much surprised. In the Valmiki Rama-
yana the dispatching occupies barely five verses, and
one of those has to do with housekeeping: "Once the
arrow had accomplished its purpose in killing Raval).a,
it dutifully returned to its quiver, glistening with its
still-wet blood."29
Rama is hailed by his monkey army and the gods
t hemselves. Ravana's wives run onto the gory field and,
finding their dead husband, mourn and remonstrate
(fig. 75). Rama orders that his adversary be given a
proper funeral.
How we feel about the conquest of Ravana depends, FIG. 75. "One of them embraced him in her devotion
of course, on our point of view. For centuries Ravana and wept, ... while yet another clung to his neck"
has functioned as an all-purpose villain, standing for (Yuddhakanda 99:8; detail of cat. no. 135).

RAVANA j 209
The Thai Buddhist Ravana of yesterday or two cen-
turies ago is obviously not the same as the Hindu Ra-
vana of two millennia ago. The scholar A. K. Ramanu-
jan famously spoke of three hundred Ramayanas, so it
is not surprising if we find three hundred Ravanas. In
this sketch yet another has been created, like the ear-
lier ones assembled from what has been read, heard,
and seen in all sorts of picturings and tellings, and, no
doubt, colored by the outlook of the portrayer.
If this sketch is at all successful it will create in the
mind's eye an intriguingly complex character, both
magnetic and brutal. In his vainglorious ambition, Ra-
FIG. 76. An effigy ofRavana is destroyed in a Ramlila.
vana wreaks vast damage to the larger world, yet he has
long ruled his own kingdom creditably. He is seized by
In other traditions, however, the death of Ravana an obsession: he, whom no one has ever successfully
may be more complicated, or at least more fraught. In resisted either on the battlefield or in the bedchamber,
some Southeast Asian performance traditions, the final will conquer the unconquerable Rama and will win the
battle and Rama's victory are enacted, but not Ravana's unattainable Sita. He is utterly arrogant, stubborn, and
death. A controversy on this subject is testimony to headstrong but, having lost, through his own agency,
the continuing power and relevance of the Rama epic his closest siblings, his six brave sons, and numberless
in numerous cultures. In 2006 a Western-style opera allies and supporters, he has aching moments of self-
titled Ayodhya (after the name of Rama's capital) was awareness and doubt.
created by Thai-American composer Somtow Sucharit- The last words on Ravana come from my respected
kul to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the reign of the gurus Robert Goldman and Sally Sutherland Goldman:
present king of Thailand, known as Rama IX in West-
ern languages. Just before its premiere in Bangkok the In his towering stature, megalomania, pride,
Thai government threatened to disallow it, supposedly and power, vitiated only by his mad and self-
on the grounds that it showed the death of the charac- destructive passion for the one thing in the
ter "Ravan" onstage. The Guardian (London) reported universe he cannot possess, he comes as close
that "in a country still jittery after September's mili- as any figure in the epic to an approximation
tary coup, officials from the Ministry of Culture, an of a classic tragic hero.34
Orwellian body charged with protecting Thailand's
heritage and morals, claimed that the opera, a retell-
ing of the Ramayana epic, would bring bad luck."31 The
production eventually went ahead, but apparently dis-
agreement remains over whether changes were intro-
duced to satisfy the officials.
In the Valmiki Ramayana, Ravana's funeral is
hardly described. We are told only that the demon king
was cremated "according to the prescriptions of the
ritual texts."32 Once again, things are different in Thai-
land (and no doubt elsewhere).
The cloister walls of Bangkok's royal Buddhist tem-
ple Wat Phra Si Rattanasatsadaram ("The Temple of the
Emerald Buddha") are covered with extensive murals
of the Rammakian, the canonical Thai telling of the
Ramayana. Three large panels of the murals depict the
elaborate ceremonies for the funeral ofRavana (fig. 77).
In Thai tradition Ravana is as much a demonic villain
as he is elsewhere, but his elevated status as a king is FIG. 77- Third section of a
mural depicting the funeral of Ravana at Wat
never forgotten.33 Phra Si Rattanasatsadaram (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha), Bangkok.

210 I THE RAMA EPIC

N OTES
1. On the character of Ravana: "For does it not seem that we are here Reading," 185-187, and the discussion in the section called "The Con-
confronted with yet another incarnation of the pirate or gypsy of that troversial Episodes" in the introduction of Goldman and Sutherland
archetypal female fantasy of seduction-or, more properly no doubt, of Goldman, Uttarakal)<}a. A treatment ofRavana's character that is sym-
the male construal or rendering of such a fantasy?" Pollock, "Rak~asas pathetic, if not heroizing, is found in an eighteenth-century kathakali
and Others," 279. On Ravana as Sita's father: Though it is not the case in play d iscussed by Richman, "Looking at Ravana," 66-68.
the Valmiki Ramayana and a number of other texts, in some Jain, Thai, 11. Pollock, Aral)yaka,:i(ja, 123-126 (16:4-1]:21).
and other tellings, Ravana is in fact Sita's father. See the discussion and 12. Ibid., 123 (16:8-10). In some tellings of the story-but not Valmiki's
references in Lutgendorf, Hanuman's Tale, 51; and Ramanujan, "Three -Shurpanakha shape-shifts into the form of a beautiful woman to
Hundred Ramaya,:ias," 37. carry out her seduction.
2. I have surveyed only a score of the hundreds of the South and 13. Ibid., 150 (30:4-6).
Southeast Asian temple reliefs and murals with scenes of the Rama 14. Ibid., 152-153 (31:2-14, 23). To heighten the theatrical effect, I have
epic, but this generalization seems to hold. Branfoot and Dallapiccola taken the liberty of breaking the translated lines into the semblance
note that some sixteenth-century southern Indian temples have reliefs of verse.
illustrating some episodes of the Uttarakanda, such as Sita's banish- 15. Ibid., 115-117 (13:3-35), 190-195 (48:3-49:40).
ment. They do not mention depictions of Ravana's early career (Bran- 16. Ibid., 226 (6p5).
foot and Dallapiccola, "Temple Architecture," 300-301). The most 17. For more on the negative association of donkeys in general, and
comprehensive known set of paintings of Ravana's early life and ca- their association with Ravana, see Mokashi, "The Ass Curse Stele Tra-
reer is in the great Mewar Ramayana of about 1650. Its illustrations dition," 67-69.
of the Uttarakanda are held by the British Library; though few have 18. Goldman and Sutherland Goldman, Sundarakal)<}a, 166- 167
been published, they can be seen in full at the joint British Library- (18:3- 7 and 18:16-q).
CSMVS site called "Turning the Pages" at http://www.bl.uk/turning 19. Kamban, Sundaram, and Jagannathan, Kamba Ramayana, 230.
-the-pages/?id=68bod8eb-787f-4609-9028-8cd17ffo5c96&type=book. 20. Goldman and Sutherland Goldman, Sundaraka,:i(ja, 171-172
About these illustrations,). P. Losty wrote, "The Uttaraka,:i(ja had very (20:2-9).
possibly never been illustrated before in any depth." From the undated 21. Robert Goldman, in an e-mail of September 29, 2015, says, "Don't
essay "Art Historical Overviews of the Mewar Ramayal)a Books" at forget the position of some Srivai~,:,ava commentators that R[avana]'s
www.bl.uk/ramayana. Losty further notes that "preceding Mughal appeals to Sita are actually that of a devotee to the goddess and have
ones are not illustrated in detail." Several Mughal depictions of scenes no carnal intent."
from Ravana's earlier life as described in the Uttarakanda, includ- 22. Slightly adapted from Bofman, Poetics of the Ramakian, 115, 121.
ing some from the Freer Ramayana, may be seen in vol. 7 ofValmiki, 23. Goldman and Sutherland Goldman, Sundarakal)<}a, 135-136
Ramayal)a de Valmiki illustre par /es miniatures indiennes du XV!e au (8:5- 15), 138 (8:43-44).
XIXe siecle. 24. Images of the relief have been published in Cadet, The Ramakien,
3. Brahma's giving Ravana the power to change form at will is odd no. 24; and Niyada, Ramakien Bas-reliefs, no. 24.
because Ravana, like other rakshasas, presumably already had this 25. Goldman and Sutherland Goldman discuss Ravana's "progres-
power; see Goldman and Sutherland Goldman, Uttarakal)<}a, note to sive mental and emotional disintegration" in Yuddhaka,:i(ja, 71.
10:21. I appreciate the Goldmans' help in understanding the issue. 26. Goldman, Sutherland Goldman, and van Nooten, Yuddhaka,:i(ja,
4. "Despite Rava,:,a's reputation elsewhere in the epic as an abduc- 141 (10:4).
tor and ravisher of women, including those already married, the poet 27. Ibid., 300 (56:12, 56:16-17).
here claims that with the exception of Sita alone all the women of the 28. Ibid., 400 (83=37).
rak~asa's harem were there of their own free will, won over by the 29. Ibid., 438 (97:19).
virtues of Rava,:,a, and had, moreover, no attachments to other men." 30. On the identification of rakshasas in general and Ravana in par-
Goldman and Sutherland Goldman, Sundaraka,:i(ja, 68, where they ticular with our geopolitical enemies, see Pollock, "Ramaya,:,a and Po-
also cite relevant verses. litical Imagination in India," 283, 287.
5. My understanding of the importance of this scene is based on 31. Bill Condie, "Thailand's Culture Police Turn an Opera into a Cen-
the discussion in the section called "The Major Characters of the sorship Battle," The Guardian, November 25, 2006. The performance is
Uttaraka,:i(ja" in the introduction of Goldman and Sutherland Gold- available on DVD and can be seen full-length on YouTube. The origi-
man, Uttaraka,:i(ja . The Goldmans were most generous in allowing me nal performance was reviewed by Robert Markow, "Ayodyha," Opera
to read the prepublication draft of this introduction. News, November 16, 2006, at http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News
6. Uttarakanda, chapter 26. On the rarity of accounts of penetra- _ Maga zi ne/2007/3/ Review / BANGKOK_%E2 %80%9 4 %C2%Ao
tive rapes in the epic literature, see the introduction of Goldman and Ayodhya,_Bangkok_Opera,_11/16/06.html.
Sutherland Goldman, Uttarakal)<}a, and several of its notes. 32. Goldman, Sutherland Goldman, and van Nooten, Yuddhaka,:i<Ja,
7. Goldman and Sutherland Goldman, Sundaraka,:i(ja, 248 (47:17- 445 (99:42).
18). These verses are discussed in Whaling, The Rise of the Religious 33. On the Rama epic in Southeast Asian Buddhist contexts, see page
Significance of Rama, 70-71; and Pollock, "Rak~asas and Others," 278. 41. The murals showing the preparations for Ravana's funeral (which
8. On the notion that Ravana (like Rama) "has undergone a sig- were painted at the end of the eighteenth century and have since been
nificant process of exaltation in the [Uttarakanda]," see Goldman and extensively restored several times) are so detailed that they have been
Masson, "Who Knows Ravar_ia?," 95. studied for information on traditional Thai royal funerals; see Pat-
9. Pollock, "Rak~asas and Others," 273. taratorn, "Funeral Scenes." On the murals in general, see The Rama-
10. For more on such oppositional readings in general, see Richman, kian (Ramayana) Mural Paintings; and Nidda Hongvivat, The Story of
introduction to Many Ramaya,:ias, 15, and the sources she cites. On Ra- Ramakian.
masami 's interpretation in particular, see Richman, "E. V. Ramasami's 34. Goldman and Sutherland Goldman, Yuddhakal)<}a, 75.

RAVANA 211