The Story of Lanka
The ORigins of Lanka
Lanka is a great place to start learning about my creations. Lanka is one of my favorite inventions or creations, behind only the universe, and Lanka may be one of my most beautiful and influential creations. Lanka itself is on an island in the sea, but the golden walls and palaces create the illusion that the city of Lanka is an island among the vegetation and earth that surrounds it. From a distance, the city appears as if it is a shining star in the night sky against the duller colors of nature. But the city is even more beautiful up close! The beautiful shining of the golden walls is amplified by the glimmering of the jewels that adorn the palace and walls. In fact, the name Lanka even translates to “that which glitters”. But as you get closer, you start to notice my city can be quite menacing as well. As wandering travelers, mischievous invaders, and powerful armies approach my city, they begin to get struck with awe and fear by the dauntingly tall fortifications. The walls tower above any outsider, and the impenetrable walls seem as if they could hold back even a god. But I had to make Lanka beautiful and strong! I made the city as a wedding gift for Lord Shiva and his wife, Parvati. I had to do my very best for them. However, here is where all the drama begins…
During the housewarming party, Pulastya, a rishi who was the son of Brahma, received one favor from Shiva and Parvati. And, unexpectedly, Pulastya asked Shiva and Parvati for Lanka! Pulastya was so enamored by my golden city that he ended up cunningly taking the city from Shiva. Shiva had to agree to give the golden city to Pulastya – he had already promised one favor and receiving the city was the favor that Pulastya requested. Pulastya then gifted the city to his son, Vishrava. And, as his father had done for him, Vishrava then gifted the city to his son, Kubera.
While Lanka was trading hands down Pulastya’s lineage, Shiva and Parvati were starting a family. They adopted a rakshasa-born son, named Sukesa. Sukesa then had three sons: Mali, Sumali, and Malyavan. However, unlike their grandparents, Mali, Sumali, and Malyavan were not quite as virtuous. The rakshasa within each of them overpowered the good that Shiva and Parvati had tried to instill within them.
Now, the grandsons of Shiva and Pulastya met in a battle for Lanka. Mali, Sumali, and Malyavan took the city from Kubera! Once again, the city was back in the hands of the lineage of the original owners. However, Shiva and Parvati could only be disappointed that it happened this way. Soon enough, Mali, Sumali, and Malyavan were up to no good again. They launched horrific attacks on many of my fellow gods! Luckily, I was not amongst those attacked. All of us gods had enough of the three troublemakers by this point, and we ordered Vishnu to deal with them. Vishnu took the weapon I created, the extremely powerful Sudarshan chakra, and killed Mali. Sumali and Malyavan then hastily scrambled out of Lanka, and Lanka was, once again, in the hands of Kubera. However, Sumali was not yet finished with Lanka…
Sumali had a daughter named Kaikesi, and he had a plan involving her that would get him Lanka back. As if Sumali's plan was straight from a modern-day drama's plot, Sumali forced Kaikesi to marry Kubera’s father! Kaikesi and Vishrava married and had four kids: Shupanakha, Vibhishana, Kumbhakarna, and Ravana. Three of the kids were not so virtuous, but one was born extremely virtuous. Ravana was not so virtuous, and he was born very greedy. He was born with multiple heads, and he cut off heads to get favors from Brahma who granted Ravana invincibility against gods. Once Sumali was aware of the power of his grandson, Ravana, Sumali pressured Ravana into taking Lanka from Kubera. Ravana, due to his greed, was very willing to take Lanka from Kubera, but he would have to win it in battle. Kubera had never been a soldier and did not stand a chance against Ravana. He had nothing to fight for since he had more wealth than a mortal could imagine. Ravana handily defeated Kubera, and took Lanka. Lanka was then in the hands of Ravana.
Author's Note
In this first story of my storybook, I have detailed the story of Lanka by using multiple resources. I have tried to combine the best plot points from multiple stories. For example, one story I read stated that Kubera got the city of Lanka from his father, Pulastya. Another story states that after Mali, Sumali, and Malyavan attacked the gods and were pushed out of Lanka by Vishnu. Kubera was then appointed as the ruler of the city. However, I thought it would be more interesting to state that Kubera owned the city, had the city stolen from him by Mali, Sumali, and Malyavan, and then regained the city. I wanted to retain as much information from each story describing the leadership changes in Lanka, but I also wanted to make sure the story flowed smoothly. The most important parts of the story were the origins of the city, the fact that there has almost always been endless fighting for Lanka, and the fact that, in the end, Ravana ended up with the city right before the start of the Ramayana. All information I have deemed important for future stories, therefore, has been retained and I have introduced readers to multiple stories about the origins of Ravana’s ownership of Lanka.