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The degree of concentration on a key character is a major point of distinction among Ramayanas. In his early passages, Valmiki emphasises on Rama and his past; Vimalasuri's Jaina Ramayana and the Thai epic, on the other hand, focus on Ravana's ancestry and exploits. Ravana is a noble hero fated by his karma to fall for Sita and bring death upon himself in the latter [Jaina texts], but he is an overbearing demon in other traditions. In a three-part series, I'll attempt to explore three of many Ravana's characterisations.
The Many Faces of Ravana: Part 2 - Valmiki’s Ramayana
We've seen how much of the story's morphology makes it easy and necessary to place Ravana in a long series of demonic villains (Hiranyakasipu and the rest), and how, as a result, he frequently appears to embody the power of cosmic evil manifest. However, this transcendence is not consistent, and what Ravana represents appears to be far deeper and more intricate than any such cosmic rank would allow. > . . . like Milton's Satan, Ravana has to be endowed with substantial 'merit,' since great evil presupposes the perversion of great virtues”, according to Pollock. >
This is undoubtedly true to some extent, but it also has a corollary: in order to be a fit opponent for a great avatar of Vishnu, Ravana must be built in the image of the gods' formidable asura foes. To save the worlds from some petty ogre chieftain of the forest, the supreme lord of the universe does not need to take on human form; and so Ravana, virtually alone among the rakshasas of Indian myth, is allowed to rise to a level of power and grandeur sufficient to warrant the intervention of a full-fledged avatar.
In retrospect, a close study of Valmiki’s Yuddhakanda text reveals a Ravana who, while undoubtedly one of world literature's great villains, is far from the one-dimensional bogeyman depicted in later and more popular versions of the epic saga. Megalomania, vanity, and power abound in his towering stature. He is further vitiated only by his insane and self-destructive desire for the one thing in the universe he cannot have, coming as close to a traditional tragic hero as any figure in the epic.
Though Totsakan's cruelty and avarice make his death appear justifiable, the inevitability of his demise, as well as the way he goes into it blindly and voluntarily, elicits catharsis and sympathy for his character.
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