Ravana: A Non-Violent "Gana-Nayaka", (Chief of Republics) Contemporary with the Buddha
Ravana: A Non-Violent "Gana-Nayaka", (Chief of Republics) Contemporary with the Buddha
Malavi's "Patana" translated by Dr. K. Jamanadas
Sidhartha Gautam Buddha and Ravana
were contemporary.
The principle of the Dhamma of
Buddha and culture of "Rakshas" of Ravana were
more or
less similar. The Brahmins' culture of
Ashrams had spread
their web throughout the
area to spread their concept
of God and
Yajnayas over the Adivasi thereby
causing
great danger to the traditions of Adivasi
republics. There was a great conspiracy by
the Vedic Rishis to start the internal revolt
and struggle
amongst different Adivasi
republics because in North
India the Buddhists
created a strong influence. The
Aryans had
prepared themselves to oppose the Buddhist
challenges.
Mahatma Ravana was a great world
renowned hero of the Raksha
Gana. Walmiki himself has called
him Mahatma. Ravana was grand
son of Pulsta and son of Wirsawa.
In the Adivasi language Koytur
"Pulai" means lion. The totem
of Pulstya was lion. Trunbindu
was wife of Pulstya. Wirsawa,
whose other name was Kubara
Virendu, had a wife Kakeya and
Ravana was their son. The name
Ravana has originated from their
totem, though the complete name
of Ravana is different. Ramdeo
Paswan in his book "bharat se
Arya", mentioned full name of
Ravana to be "Raujaner Varendu
Narendar" (RaVaNa) and its short
form was Ravana. [Dalit Voice,
May 1-15, 1998] His wife Mandodari
was daughter of Danava named
as Maya. The Rakshas Gana of the
Ravana belonged to Daitya race
and his mother also belonged to
the same race.
Ravana was a very powerful hero of battles. He had only
one mouth
two hands and two legs. Aryan Pundits depicted him in
a corrupt
form to the society out of hate and contempt.
The real enemy of Aryans until then were the Indigenous
people in
this country and therefore they were called Rakshasas
and
Daityas. Ravana being in the Daityas race and Rakshasa Gana
he
was depicted to have 10 mouths. In this connection H.
D.
Sankaliya observed: " Ramdas's important contribution was to show that Ravana and his kith and kin were ordinarily human beings and Ravana had only one head, two arms and two feet.-- [p. 47, "Ramayana Myth or Reality"]
As Ravana was very brave
and powerful warrior he was compared
with the powerful star
in the sky and 10 th being himself, he was
called Dash Mukha
as a rhetoric. Another idea of calling him
Dashmukh was he was
strong enough to beat 10 wrestlers at a time.
Mahatma Buddha was
also called "Dash Tathagata Balopen" because
he was endowed with
10 "balas". Similarly, Ravana had 10 powers
and hence he was
called Dashmukha.
The republics system of Adivasi and Ravana.
The system of republics - "Gana" - is the main basis of
Adivasi
culture. The deity of each Gana is different and is worshipped
by
Adivasi in form of plants and animals. They consider these totems
as sacred, and their identity is based according to their totem.
Ravana had also a totem of Raksha Gana of Adivasi and his totem
was a palm tree. That Ravana and his followers were related with
totemic culture can be seen from the examples of Ravana (palm
tree), Shurpanakha (palm tree), Tadaka (palm tree), Maricha (shal
tree), Shabari (tree of berries). His co-workers were worshiping
animals totems for like Hanuman, Wali, Sugreeva, Angad (all
monkeys), Jambuwants (bear), Jatayu (vulture). Adivasis
worshiping trees are called Maravi. M. S. Purnalingam Pillai
observes:
"Ravana and his race Rakshas belong to the human race and in all probability to the "Marava" community of the present day."-- [p. 10, "Ravana: King of Lanka" ]
H. D. Sankaliya observes:
"Thus the view that Ravana and other Rakshasas were in truth an aboriginal tribe, most probably the Gonds and Vanaras, belong to other tribes such as the Savaras and Korku, seems to be justified"-- [p.47, "Ramayana Myth or Reality"]
This proves that Ravana and others were Adivasis from different
ganas. Chandrika Prasad Jidnyasu observed that Ravana was Gond
and his Lanka was in Central India. [p.22, "Ravana aur uski
lanka"] Purnalingam Pillai observes:
"A mystery by GRSM Ravana is represented as the titanic or in other words the anti Brahmanical aboriginal fetish worshiping monarch of Lanka or Ceylon".-- [p.77, "Ravana: King of Lanka"]
Ravana was against Vedic Yajnyas
Basically, Ravana was a worshiper of nature and used to hate the
Aryans Rishis and deities killing their totems in yajnyas. Manu
enjoins killing of animals in Yajnyas as Madhupark [p.66, "Ravana
aur uski lanka"]. It therefore follows that Ramayana is a story
of conflict between Adivasi culture versus Aryans culture.
"Marathi Vishva Kosh" vol. 14, p. 781 mentioned Ram Lakshman
driving away Maricha, Subahu from the Yajnya of Vishwamitra.
Ramaswami Periyar observed that Ravana was hating Vedic deities
and Rishis because they were indulging in cruelly killing of
animals and there was no other reason. [p.26, "Ravana aur Uski
Lanka" by Chandrika Prasad Jidnyasu]
Raksha culture of Rakshasas
Mahatma Ravana had started a struggle against the Vedic Yajnyas
to protect the culture of Adivasis and his Rakshasa Gana.
"Raksha" means to protect. Acharya Chatursen named his book
"Wayam Raksham", meaning "we protect" [p.131, "Wayam Raksham" by
Acharya Chatursen] Aryans always hated the Adivasis as seen by
depicting them as enemies of Gods and men [p.999, v.14, "Marathi
Vishva Kosh"]
Ravana was worshiper of Shiva
The Siva worshiped by Ravana was not the same as Vedic Rudra and
was against the Vedic yajnyas. Shiva is truth and good. His totem
was a bull and he was king of Daitya ganas. It is also said that
the Siva that was being worshiped by Ravana was ancient Buddha.
Ravana used to worship by music. M. S. Purnalingam Pillai
observes:
"By his austerities and penances for years he obtained boons from Shiva as longevity and broad bright sword which gave him victory."-- [p.20, "Ravana:King of Lanka" ]
There is also a book by Ravana on music, says Chandrika Prasad
Jidnyasu [p.47]
Ravana was contemporary of Buddha
Chandrika Prasad Jidnyasu has observed that Ravana was
contemporary of Buddha and has attended His discourses and
believed in Buddha's karuna and non violence. Acharya Narendra
Deva in his "Buddha Darshna describes Ravana asking one hundred
questions to the Buddha about Buddhist doctrine like Nirvana.
[p.53-54, Ravana aur Uski Lanka] Ravana has accepted the concept
of Nibbana and Shunyata of the Buddhists.
Totemic culture of black Buddha and Ravana
>
Sidhartha Gautam Buddha belongs to Shakya Gana of Adivasis having
totem of the tree of Salai and Gautam means a bull which was his
totem. Debiprasad Chattopadhyay has observed:
"In actual fact, there were a number of clans within the Shakya tribes, and one of these gave the Buddha his name Gotama (Gautam)." [p.472, "Lokayat"]
The totem of Ashoka was the Ashoka tree and
peacock, today's
national bird, was the totem of his Maurya gana and was being
worshipped during Buddha's times. Ravana's region had plenty of
Shal trees and hence Dandaka vana was also called "Shalvana",
[Waman Puran,90.32] says Prof. Hiralal Shukla, "aadivasi asmita
aur vikas", [p. 84-85]. To kill Mahabali Vali, Rama had to use
arrows of Shal tree, because shal tree was Vali's totem, as
Sugreeva had told Rama that Vali can not be killed otherwise. H.
D. Sankalia observes:
"It is Rama with one arrow only pierces all the seven sala trees" [p.11, "Ramayana: Myth or Reality"]
The society, worshiping totems, naturally was against
Vedic
Yajnyas. Ravana and Buddha both were believers of nonviolence,
and were the heroes of struggle against Yajnyas. Adivasi Ravana
and Buddha and Charwaka were criminals in the eyes of Aryans.
[p.28, Chandrika Prasad Jidnyasu: "Ravana Aur Uski Lanka"]
Ramayana, the struggle of Whites against Blacks
By the participation of brown colour of Wanaras it
seems that the Rishis had civilized the wanaras. Master Purnalangam
Pillai
observes:
"They were in colour and complexion black opposed to the Aryans, who were bright or fair in colour and features. It (the Ramayana) represents the Rakshas as black of hue, and compares them with black cloudier and masses of black collyrium, it attributes to them curly wooly hair and thick lips, it depicts them as Loaded with chains, collars and girdle of gold and the other bright ornaments which their race has always loved and in which the kindred races of the southern still delight."
-- [p.9-10, "Ravana: King of Lanka"]
Fraser believes that there existed in Lanka,
even before the
Rakshasas, a culture of Black people. Some scholars
believe that
Rama had destroyed the culture of Black people in
Indian Ocean.
[5.63,"Siteyacha Parityag" by Arvind Kumar]
All the Ganas in Raksha culture of Ravana were black and had a
black flag.
"Ravana was a dark-skinned man who had not more than two hands and one head and he had carried away Sita in his hand"
-- [p.61, "Ramayana: Myth or Reality" ]
The people who influenced Ravana were also Black, like
(1) the Buddha who showed him way of Nirvana, so was His father Shuddhodana,(2) Alar Kalam, who taught Sankhya to Buddha.(3) Shiva, whose disciple Ravana was, was also Black. Shiva was a Buddha before Gautama, the Buddha.(4) All relatives of Ravana were Black like Kumbhakrna, Meghnad, Shurpanakha, Mandodari, Tadika, Maricha, Bali, Shambuka Shabari, Subahu were all black.
There was a culture of black people in India and
they had
importance in Buddhist and Raksha culture. Siva,
Charwaka,
Buddha, Alar Kalam, Ravana, all considered black as
a sign of
success.
Rama went to forest for
14 years to destroy the Adivasis. He had
preferred killing of
Adivasis to the pleasures of king's palace.
All those killed
in Ramayana war were black Rakshasas and
Vanaras, and not
a single white Aryan was killed.
Killings
were because of black colour
Bali, Matang, Shabari, Maricha,
Lawanasaur, Tadka and Thadamai,
Shambuk were all Black. All
this proves that the struggle
depicted in Ramayana was a struggle
between White coloured Aryans
crusading against the Black Adivasis
and in the real sense was a
struggle between Blacks and Whites.
Black Ravana and Sita
As Ravana was present on the occasion of Sita
Swayamvar
it can
not be gainsaid that his relation with Ram Lakshmana
Sita were
not friendly. The black beauty Shurpanaka was insulted
by Rama
and Lakshmana. To her proposal of marriage, why did they
not tell
her that they were already married, why was she disfigured?
The
real reason of this was that Mahatma Ravana had accepted
Buddhist
philosophy of nonviolence and opposed the killing of animals in
Yajnyas. To avenge this Rama cut the nose and ears of
Shurpanakha, who was much more beautiful than Sita herself.
There was no crime in the kingdom of Ravana. The justice
was
done by Ganpanchayats and the punishment was Eye for an eye
and
hand for hand. No brother would have tolerated the torture
of Shurpanakha. Ravana took away Sita to question Rama in
her
presence. At the time of Swayamwara of Sita Ravana was already
known to Rama but still Rama kept on searching him. It appears
therefore that to liberate Sita was his secondary aim and the
main aim was to destroy the culture of non violence of Ravana.
Ravana kept Sita very respectfully in the Ashoka Watika
and
treated her with great respect as a guest and followed political
protocol. He never tried to outrage her modesty or to rape her.
As a matter of fact there are many folk songs among the Adivasis
that one can hear describing that Ravana had not abducted Sita
but she has gone with him with her willingness.
Korku Adivasis worship Ravana and Meghnath. Ravana was very
handsome and expert in music and dressed attractively. That is
why Sita went with Ravana with full willingness. G. B. Pradhan,
"Korku che San war" edited by Sarojani Babar - "Adiwasi che San
War", [p. 55-56] has given detailed folk songs prevalent among
them. The summary of these is as follows:-
Sita was asked what did you see in Ravana in the guise
of a Sadhu on which she replied that she went behind Ravana
by
seeing at his crown. She went behind Ravana looking
at
stick in his hand. She went behind Ravana looking
at a
cloth bag on his shoulder. She went behind Ravana
looking
at musical instruments in his lips.
Thus it appears that Sita went of her own with Ravana but
misunderstanding of was spread among the masses to create the
feeling of hate against him. The reason of this was that
Mahatma Ravana was out side the caste system of Hindus, was
nonviolent and was a great personality observing karuna.
Source: http://www.dalitstan.org/books/patana/patana6.html
http://www.doccentre.org/docsweb/RWH-dw/intel_ravana.htm
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