Ravana comes in many shapes and sizes, quite literally. Rakshasas can change their form into many different things, and Ravana is the ruler of Lanka, land of the rakshasas. In the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana, Ravana is the wife-kidnapping, attempter of murder, overall bad guy. To win over the gods, he severs his own head not once, but nine times before being granted the immense power of immunity to the gods before his tenth attempt.
All in all, it seems like Ravana is a villain. The stories I'll be writing in this storybook take a turn from the stories most of us have read. There will be alternate histories, there will be complete changes in the plots, but most importantly, Ravana will be the good guy. Ravana will be victorious. Ravana will get his way. The inspiration of this idea came from one group that actually celebrates Ravana , linked here. To this group, Ravana is more than just a rakshasa. He's a full blown God that they claim was killed by Aryan invaders and was a leader of their people.
While these stories may not line up with how we expect characters to act, this works as a way to toy with the idea of how the world would be in different outcomes where Ravana is victorious. In each story, we will not only see a retelling of a previous story with Ravana as the winner, but we will explore how the repercussions affect the rest of the world. What would happen if Sita gave in to Ravana? Or what if Rama returned home when Bharata asked and Ravana had never even crossed paths with Rama and Sita? These are the kinds of questions we can delve into with looking into these new endings. Even if we just look at the events related to the Ramayana, these things could have extreme effects on the world! Lanka could never be burned down, Rama may not receive his celestial armory, entire kingdoms may go unchanged without the touch of Rama or Ravana. I hope you enjoy these stories and go in with an open mind to really explore this alternate world!
Banner Image: Ravana on his throne