Ravana was born as the son of Visiravas. Dasanana is another name of Ravana, and it means one who has ten heads. Ravana’s character changed dramatically in the many retellings of his actions as the central antagonist of Rama in the Ramayana. At one extreme Ravana was the consummate expression of evil and at the other an obedient devotee of Rama (Tulsidas’ version).
It is the story of Ravana as a ten-headed, shape-shifting abductor of Sita that all India has loved century after century. They have loved the Ravana who kept getting cursed by the sages because of his evil actions. Ravana became the most well-known rakshasa in Hindu mythological literature, since his life was conÂnected with Rama. Ravana’s previous lives were as Jaya and Hiranyaksha. He was reborn to carry on his program of evil as Sisupala.
