RAVANA

Rāvaṇa is the primary character of the Hindu epic Ramayana who was the Rakshasa(Rakshasa is one the high class of Srilanka, they were not demons) king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister Surpanakha.

Ravana is described as a devout follower of the god Shiva in addition to his tribe's religious beliefs, a great scholar, a capable ruler and a maestro of the Veena. He has his apologists and staunch devotees within the Hindu traditions, some of whom believe that his description as a ten-headed person(Daśamukha) is a reference to him possessing a very thorough knowledge over the 4 Vedas and 6 Upanishads, which made him as powerful as 10 scholars. However, there is mention in Atharvaveda of demonic Brahmans called Dasagva (ten-headed). Yet another interpretation of the ten-headed Ravana describe him to be a complete man with nine of his heads representing nine emotions that a man may possess (anger, pride, jealousy, happiness, sadness, fear, selfishness, passion, ambition) and one representing the intellect.

The Great Ravana also authored Ravana Sanhita, a powerful book on the Hindu astrology. Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge of Ayurveda and political science. He is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which was stored under his navel. According to some theories, he was a historical emperor who reigned over Sri Lanka from (2554-2517)BC. The lake Rakshastaal, a salt water formation in Tibet, high up in Himalayas located right next to fresh-water lake Manasarovar is considered to be the place of severe penance tapasya by Ravana.