Ravana’s version of the Ramayana, 'Asura : The Tale of the Vanquished' by Anand Neelakantan. About the book: The epic tale of victory and defeat… The story of the Ramayana had been told innumerable times. The enthralling story of Rama, the incarnation of God, who slew Ravana, the evil demon of darkness, is known to every Indian. And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors, that lives on. The voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence. But what if Ravana and his people had a different story to tell? The story of the Ravanayana had never been told. Asura is the epic tale of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed outcastes of India for 3000 years. Until now, no Asura has dared to tell the tale. But perhaps the time has come for the dead and the defeated to speak. “For thousands of years, I have been vilified and my death is celebrated year after year in every corner of India. Why? Was it because I challenged the Gods for the sake of my daughter? Was it because I freed a race from the yoke of caste-based Deva rule? You have heard the victor’s tale, the Ramayana. Now hear the Ravanayana, for I am Ravana, the Asura, and my story is the tale of the vanquished.” “I am a non-entity – invisible, powerless and negligible. No epics will ever be written about me. I have suffered both Ravana and Rama – the hero and the villain or the villain and the hero. When the stories of great men are told, my voice maybe too feeble to be heard. Yet, spare me a moment and hear my story, for I am Bhadra, the Asura, and my life is the tale of the loser.” The ancient Asura empire lay shattered into many warring petty kingdoms reeling under the heel of the Devas. In desperation, the Asuras look up to a young saviour – Ravana. Believing that a better world awaits them under Ravana, common men like Bhadra decide to follow the young leader. With a will of iron and a fiery ambition to succeed, Ravana leads his people from victory to victory and carves out a vast empire from the Devas. But even when Ravana succeeds spectacularly, the poor Asuras find that nothing much has changed for them. It is when that Ravana, by one action, changes the history of the world.

1. Did you know there are over 300
versions of the greatest Epic - Ramayana
Here are some of them!

2. Muslim (Mappilla) Ramayan
Mappillapattu is a song genre popular among the Muslims in
South India especially from Kerala and Lakshwadeep. These Muslims
incorporated episodes of Ramayana in these songs. These songs came
to be known as Mappila Ramayana and has been handed down from
one generation to the next orally.
In Mappila Ramayana, the story of the Ramayana has been
changed into that of a Sultan and there are no major changes in the
names of characters except for that of Rama which is `Laman' in many
places.

3. Jain Ramayana
In the Jain epic, Lakshamana kills Ravana. Rama is
characterized an upright person who at the end sacrifices his
kingdom, becomes a Jain monk and attains Moksha. Lakshamana
kills Ravana and they both go to hell. According to the epic, one day
they will be reborn as upright characters and will attain Moksha in
their future births.
Jains believe that Ravana will be reborn as Jain Tirthankara
(the omniscient teacher).

4. Buddhist Version
In this version of Ramayana, Dasaratha was the king of Varanasi
and not Ayodhya. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana were the siblings born to
the first wife of Dasaratha. To protect his children from his second wife,
the king sent the three in exile to the Himalayas.
Twelve years later, the trio came back to the kingdom with Rama
and Sita ruling as consorts. The abduction of Sita did not find a place in
this version.

5. Malaysian Ramayana
According to this version of Ramayana, Dasaratha is a great
grand son of prophet Adam. Ravana receives boons from ALLAH and
not Brahma. Lakshmana is the hero in this story and Rama is not at
all heroic.
Thai Ramayana
Thai version of Ramayana is known as Ramakien in the local
language. In this version, Sita is the daughter of Ravana and Mandodari.
Hanuman is the hero in this story and not Rama.

6. And the most recent…
Ravana’s Ramayana
Yes you read that right! In the Ramayana that we have been
hearing and reading, Rama has been the hero. He triumphed over
Ravana and emerged victorious. Today 5000 years later, the villian is
back to narrate his version of Ramayana. The devil, the dead and the
defeated rises back to tell the story of his people.
Ravana has another side. He was known to be a complete man
which is why he came to be known as “Dasamukha”. His kingdom was
known to be the most advanced kingdom of his times. He freed a race
from the oppression of the Devas. And yet Ravana’s death is the most
celebrated death of the mankind. Why?
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