Ravana

RAVANA

The ten-headed king of Lanka: scholar, musician, devotee of Shiva and the most formidable rakshasa in the Ramayana.

Who Ravana is to practitioners today

Ravana is a king, a scholar and a devotee, and in the Ramayana he is also the great antagonist. That is a more complicated figure than most people expect.

In the Ramayana he is the ten-headed lord of Lanka, son of the sage Vishrava and the rakshasi Kaikesi. The tradition describes him as a master of the Vedas, an accomplished player of the veena and a tireless devotee of Shiva. He is credited with the Shiva Tandava Stotram, a hymn still recited today.

Through long austerities he won boons from Brahma that made him nearly invulnerable to gods and demons. He took the flying chariot Pushpaka from his half-brother Kubera. In the story he abducts Sita, and is killed by Rama in the great war that follows.

Ravana is also honoured in parts of India and Sri Lanka as a learned king and a devout worshipper of Shiva, with temples and communities that do not burn his effigy. Practitioners who work with him today treat him as a spirit of knowledge, will and devotion.

Why people work with Ravana

Classic reasons

• The ten-headed king and scholar of the Vedas
• A devotee of Shiva whose austerities won divine boons
• The great rakshasa of the Ramayana

Modern reasons

• Knowledge, scholarship and mastery of sacred texts
• Will, ambition and discipline
• Music and the arts
• Devotion and the path of the willing penitent
• Kingship, authority and confidence
• Understanding the side of a story that is usually told against him

Traditional, for reference

• Boon-granted by Brahma through austerities
• Ruler of Lanka and conqueror of the worlds
• Shiva devotee and author of the Tandava Stotram by tradition

Ravana at a glance

• Name: Sanskrit Ravana, “he who makes others cry” in one traditional reading
• Titles: Dashagriva (“ten-headed”), king of Lanka, Lankesh
• Parents: the sage Vishrava and the rakshasi Kaikesi
• Sources: the Valmiki Ramayana and later retellings; the Shiva Tandava Stotram, attributed to him
• Related: Shiva, Kubera, Rama

Correspondences

Used in Black Witch Coven (from our own practice and modern demonolatry):

• Planet: Sun and Saturn in Vedic correspondence, with Mars for the warrior side
• Element: Fire
• Day: Saturday and Tuesday
• Colours: black, red, gold
• Incense: sandalwood, camphor, guggul
• Symbols: the ten heads, the veena, Mount Kailash, the Pushpaka chariot

Working with Ravana today

Relationship before requests

Ravana belongs to a living religious culture. Learn the story from the Valmiki Ramayana and from retellings that honour him before you come to him.

He responds to study and to sound. Reciting the Shiva Tandava Stotram, or playing music, is how many practitioners begin.

He is a king. Approach with respect and with something you have earned.

Nothing is guaranteed. No practitioner controls a spirit of any level. What comes of a working is always the spirit’s to give, and this page describes what people report, not what will happen.

The altar

• A black or red cloth
• A lamp or candle, with ghee if you have it
• A Shiva image or a lingam, since Ravana is Shiva’s devotee
• A string or veena, if you play
• Sandalwood and camphor incense

Offerings

• Ghee, milk and honey
• Sandalwood and camphor
• Recitation of the Tandava Stotram
• Music played or sung for him
• A drop or two of blood on a candle or on his name written in Devanagari

Timing

Saturdays and Tuesdays, and the Mahashivaratri festival.

Signs of contact

• Heat and the weight of a king in the room
• Dreams of Lanka, ten faces or the sea
• Sudden fluency in a text or a chant
• The sound of strings
• A surge of ambition and discipline

Prayers and invocations to Ravana

Opening invocation

Ravana, king of Lanka, lord of ten heads, I call you by name.

You who sang to Shiva and shook Kailash, attend me.

I come with respect and with something to learn.

Prayer for knowledge

Ravana, master of the Vedas, open the text before me.

Give me memory, voice and understanding.

I will study what I am given.

Prayer for will and discipline

Ravana, who won boons by austerity, teach me to endure.

Let my will be a flame that does not waver.

I take the vow of the long work.

Closing and release

Ravana, I thank you for your attention.

Go in peace to your own city. Return when I call.

Questions people actually ask

Is Ravana a demon?

In the Ramayana he is a rakshasa. In many traditions he is also a learned king and a devotee. Practitioners hold both.

Why is he honoured in some places?

In parts of India and Sri Lanka he is remembered as a scholar and a Shiva devotee. Some communities do not burn his effigy at Dussehra.

Do I need to know the Ramayana?

Yes. It is the basis for the whole figure.

What if nothing happens?

Add study and sound. Ravana responds to recitation and effort.

Inside the Course

Some material on Ravana is not published on this website. Black Witch Coven has had hosting companies flag the site in the past, so the fuller rites are held for the course instead. This is not a sales pitch, it is the reality of running an old and popular site like this one.

Inside the course:

• The full rite of Ravana drawn from the Ramayana and Shaiva sources
• Mantras and chants dedicated to him
• Workings aimed at a named person or rival
• Dedication rites with Ravana