Why Ravana should not be glorified



Now a days it has become a trend to glorify certain traits of Ravana like he never violated the modesty of Sita though he abducted her and he was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. And this discussion comes up especially during the time of Dussehra when Ravana's efigy is burnt. Many people oppose this tradition by giving examples about the positive traits of Ravana as described earlier. Now I am not raising an argument about whether Ravana's efigy should be burnt or not, rather I would like to clear the misconceptions about the positive traits of Ravana which he never had.

Myth #1:
Ravana never violated the modesty of Sita.

Fact:
It is true that Ravana never violated the modesty of Sita, but it was not due to his greatness, rather it was due to a curse inflicted upon him for which he didn't dare to do so.

Once Ravana came across Rambha, the celestial damsel. Charmed by her beauty, he got hold of her and expressed his desire to make love to her. But Rambha resisted and said that she was going to visit her beloved Nalakuvera who was waiting for her at that time. But Ravana didn't listen to her and forcefully raped her instead. After that when Nalakuvera came to know about this incidence, he cursed Ravana saying - "he can't approach an unwilling woman. Upon doing so, his head would burst."

So it was the fear of Nalakuvera's curse that prevented Ravana from violating Sita's modesty and not due to his greatness.

Myth #2:
Ravana was a great devotee of Lord Shiva.

Fact:
Though Ravana was a devotee of Lord Shiva, still it can't be said that he was a great devotee. Though he composed the "Shiva Tandava stotra", one of the favourite stotras of Lord Shiva, still it was not composed out of devotion. It was composed out of desperation.

Once Ravana visited Mount Kailash and tried to lift it along with Lord Shiva and his Ganas. When Shiva came to know about it, he just pressed his toe and Ravana got crushed under the heavy weight of Mount Kailash. When he was about to die, to please Lord Shiva, he composed and sang the "Shiva Tandava stotra" and Shiva was pleased. Then he released Ravana and showered His blessings upon him. After this incidence he became a devotee of Lord Shiva.

But again, by worshipping a Shiva Linga wearing "Tripundra" and "Rudraksha", one doesn't become a Shiva Devotee. For this one has to adhere to the tenets of Shiva Dharma which Ravana didn't. So he can't be addressed as a great Shiva devotee.

The eight fold path of Shiva Dharma as described in "Srimad Shiva Dharma Purana" is as follows:

1. Devotion to Lord Shiva
2. Feeling at peace with Lord Shiva
3. Ahimsa or non-violence
4. Shama or withdrawing the mind from all sensual pleasures
5. Santosha or contentment
6. Satya or adherence to Truth
7. Asteya or non-stealing
8. Brahmacharya or celibacy

So if we observe the above tenets, then it is clear that apart from the first two tenets, Ravana never seemed to follow the rest of the tenets and hence never adhered to Shiva Dharma. So he can't be called as a Shiva Devotee; the title of "a great devotee of Lord Shiva" was too far from his reach given his life style and attributes.

So it is clear that Ravana was never a person worthy of glory, hence we should stop glorifying his traits or attributes falsely claiming to be so.

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