रावणrāvaṇa

रावण (rāvaṇa) is a Sanskrit word meaning causing to cry, a descendant of Ravana, name of a prince of Kashmir, of various authors, name of a medical work, screaming. Its 21 recorded definitions are grouped into 6 contexts, among them Rāvaṇa, the Rākṣasa King of Laṅkā, Adjective: Crying or Causing to Cry, Patronymics and Derived/Related Names.

Etymology: E. रु to cry (in the causal form), aff. ल्युट्, afflicting mankind
Definitions: 21

View Declension Tables , 48 forms

Meanings by context

Rāvaṇa, the Rākṣasa King of Laṅkā

12 definitions

The ten-headed chief of the demons and ruler of Lanka, destroyed by Rama.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Ravana, a celebrated demon, king of Lanka and chief of the Rakshasas

— णः (ṇaḥ) N. of a celebrated demon, king of Laṅkā and the chief of the Rākṣasas; स (sa) रावणो नाम निकामभषिणं बभूव रक्षः (rāvaṇo nāma nikāmabhaṣiṇaṃ babhūva rakṣaḥ) क्षतरक्षणं दिवः (kṣatarakṣaṇaṃ divaḥ) Śiśupālavadha 1. 48 [He was the son of Viśravas by Keśinī or Kaikasī and so half-brother of Kubera. He is called Paulastya as being a grandson of the sage Pulastya. Laṅkā was originally occupied by Kubera, but Rāvaṇa ousted him from it and made it his own capital. He had ten heads (and hence his names Daśagrīva, Daśavadana &c.) and twenty arms, and according to some, four legs (cf. Raghuvaṃśa (Bombay) 12. 88 and Malli.). He is represented to have practised the most austere penance for ten thousand years in order to propitiate the god Brahman, and to have offered one head at the end of each one thousand years. Thus he offered nine of his heads and was going to offer the tenth when the God was pleased and granted him immunity from death by either god or man. On the strength of this boon he grew very tyrannical and oppressed all beings. His power became so great that even the gods are said to have acted as his domestic servanta. He conquered almost all the kings of the day, but is said to have been imprisoned by Kārtavīrya for
(pb) some time when he went to attack his territory. On one occasion he tried to uplift the Kailāsa mountain, but Śiva pressed it down so as to crush his fingers under it. He, therefore, hymned Śiva for one thousand years so loudly that the God gave him the name Rāvaṇa and freed him from his painful position. But though he was so powerful and invincible, the day of retribution drew near. While Rāma-who was Viṣṇu descended on earth for the destruction of this very demon-was passing his years of exile in the forest, Rāvaṇa carried off his wife Sitā and urged her to become his wife; but she persistently refused and remained loyal to her husband. At last Rāma assisted by his monkey-troops invaded Laṅkā, annihilated Rāvaṇa's troops and killed the demon himself. He was a worthy opponent of Rāma, and hence the expression:- रामरावणयोर्युद्धं रामरावणयोरिव (rāmarāvaṇayoryuddhaṃ rāmarāvaṇayoriva)].

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Causing to wail. 2. A ten-headed demon, chief of the Rakshasas, king of Lanka, younger brother of Kubera, and vanquished by Rama. 3. A king of Cashmere.

— Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. The sovereign of Lanka, killed by Ramachandra. 2. Noise or tumult.

— Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. The sovereign of Lanka killed by Ramchandra. 2. Noise or tumult.

— Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Name of a demon, king of Lanka, and enemy of Rama

— Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. The demon king of Lanka, killed by Ramachandra. 2. Noise or tumult.

— Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

The king of the Rakshasas, who abducted Sita and was destroyed by Rama.

— Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

name of a rakshasa

— Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Screaming, roaring, crying, bellowing, bewailing, or making lamentation. 2. The ruler of Lanka and chief of the demons, vanquished by Ramachandra. 3. The author of a commentary on the Sama-veda and the Rig-veda, and the author of the Arka-cikitsa. 4. A king of Kashmir. 5. The act of screaming. 6. A particular Muhurta.

रावण (rāvaṇa) [Printed book page 0844-a]
Rāvaṇa, as, ī, am (fr. the Caus.), screaming, roar-

ing, crying, bellowing, bewailing, making lamentation;
Page0844-b+ 77

(as), m. ‘the Vociferator,’ N. of the ruler of Laṅkā

or Ceylon and the famous chief of the Rākṣasas or

demons whose subjugation and destruction by Rāma-

candra, the seventh incarnation of Viṣṇu, form the

subject of the Rāmāyaṇa, (as son of Viśravas, he was

younger brother of Kuvera, but by a different mother,

Ilavilā being the mother of Kuvera, and Keśinī of

the three other brothers, Rāvaṇa, Vibhīṣaṇa, and

Kumbha-karṇa; both Rāvaṇa and Kuvera, the god

of wealth, are often called Paulastya, as grandchildren

of the Ṛṣi Pulastya, one of the seven or ten mind-

born sons of Brahmā, and as Kuvera is king of the

Yakṣas, so is Rāvaṇa of the Rākṣasas, the latter,

however, are always malignant beings [see rākṣasa],

and Rāvaṇa himself is one of the worst of the many

impersonations of evil common in Hindū mythology;

he is the Satan of the Rāmāyaṇa as Duryodhana is

of the Mahā-bhārata; he has ten heads [whence his

names Daśa-grīva, Daśānana, &c.] and twenty arms,

symbolizing strength; his power is described as so

great, that where he is ‘there the sun does not give

out its heat, the winds through fear of him do not

blow, the fire ceases to burn, and the ocean becomes

motionless;’ he even, by his power, defeated his own

brother Vaiśravaṇa or Kuvera, and carried off his self-

moving car, called Puṣpaka, the wonders of which

are described in the Rāmāyaṇa; this potency was,

as usual, acquired by self-inflicted austerities, which

had obtained from Brahmā a boon, in virtue of which

Rāvaṇa was invulnerable by gods and divine beings

of all kinds, though not by men or a god in human

form; as Viṣṇu became incarnate in Rāma-candra

to destroy Rāvaṇa, so other gods produced innume-

rable monkeys, bears, and various semi-divine animals

to do battle with the legions of demons, his subjects,

under Khara, Dūṣaṇa, and his other generals; see

hanu-mat); a patronymic from Ravaṇa; N. of the

author of a commentary on the Sāma-veda; of one

on the Ṛg-veda; of the author of the Arka-cikitsā;

of a king of Kaśmīra (mentioned together with Indra-

jit and Vibhīṣaṇa); (am), n. the act of screaming,

&c. N. of a Muhūrta. —Rāvaṇa-gaṅgā, f. ‘Rā-

vaṇa's Ganges,’ N. of a river in Laṅkā (called after

the Rākṣasa Rāvaṇa). —Rāvaṇa-hasra, a parti-

cular stringed instrument. —Rāvaṇa-hrada, as, m.,

N. of a lake (from which the Śata-dru or Sutlej

takes its rise). —Rāvaṇāri (°ṇa-ari), is, m. Rā-

vaṇa's enemy, i. e. Rāma. [ID=39425]

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)

king of the Rakshasas on Lanka and son of Vishravas

रावण (rāvaṇa) [Printed book page 595-2]
Rāvaṇa, king of the Rākṣasas on Laṅkā, son of Viśravas

(Pulastya) (originally named Daśagrīva). § 11 (Parvasaṅgr.):

I, 2, 475 (Rāmeṇa…nihato R°aḥ, cf. Rāmopākhyāna-

parvan).—§ 383 (Paraśu-Rāma): III, 99, 8657 (Viṣṇu

was born as Rāma Dāśarathi in order to slay R.).—§ 425

(Hanūmad-Bhīmasenasaṃv.): III, 147, 11199 (Rākṣa-

sendreṇa, had ravished Sītā); 148, 11205, 11208, 11212

(lokarāvaṇaḥ, the contents of Rāmopākhyānaparvan briefly

narrated).—§ 430 (do.): III, 150, 11279, 11281, 11283.—

§ 525 (Rāmopākhyānap.): III, 274, 15873 (Rākṣasendreṇa,

had ravished Sītā), 15875, 15881, 15882 (grandson of

Brahmán and son of Pulastya (in the form of Viśravas)).—

§ 526 (do.): III, 275, [15895 (Rākṣasendrau Kumbhakarṇa-

Daśagrīvau, sons of Viśravas and Puṣpotkaṭā), 15898

(Daśagrīvaḥ…Rākṣasendraḥ), (β), 15904 (Daśagrīvaḥ,

lived upon air alone amidst five fires, standing on one leg

during 1,000 years)], (γ), (15913) (Brahmán gave back to

R. his heads which he had cut off and offered to the fire

and granted him that he should be able to assume any form

at will and never experience defeat at the hands of Gandharvas,

gods, Kinnaras, Asuras, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Serpents, and

Bhūtas (but only from men whom he despised)), 15922

(defeated Kubera and obtained the sovereignty of Laṅkā and

the vimāna of Kubera, named Puṣpaka; Kubera cursed

R.), 15928 (installed as king of the Rākṣasas and the

Piśācas, etymology of the name R.).—§ 528 (Rāvaṇagamana):

III, 277, 15990, 15991 (Śūrpaṇakhā excited Rāvaṇa to

take vengeance on Rāma Dāśarathi, R. sought the assistance

of Mārīca).—§ 529 (Sītāharaṇa): III, 278, 16001, 16005,

16006, 16008, 16015, 16016, 16031, 16035 (Rākṣasarājaḥ),

16042 (in the shape of a mendicant R. ravished Sītā).—

§ 530 (Viśvāvasumokṣaṇa): III, 279, 16046 (Rākṣa-

seśvaraṃ, slew Jaṭāyus), 16066, 16067, 16087 (Laṅkānivāsinā),

16091.—§ 531 (Rāmopākhyānap.): III, 280, 16097.—

§ 532 (Sītāsāntvana): III, 280, 16133, 16151 (b: R. had

been cursed by Nalakūbara for having violated Rambhā:

he would not be able to violate any woman by force).—§ 533

(Sītā-Rāvaṇasaṃv.): III, 281, 16167 (b: R. was the

conqueror of the gods, Dānavas, Gandharvas, Yakṣas, and

Kimpuruṣas, he looked like the kalpavṛkṣa of Indra and like

Śanaiśvara when approaching Rohiṇī. He possessed many

daughters of the gods and the Gandharvas, of the Dānavas

Page596-a+ 61

and the Daityas. He ruled 140 millions of Piśācas, twice as

many man-eating Rākṣasas and thrice as many Yakṣas

(some are under the sway of Kubera), in his drinking-hall

Gandharvas and Apsarases wait upon him (as upon Kubera),

he was the son of the ṛṣi Viśravas, his queen was Mandodarī),

16191.—§ 534 (Hanūmatpratyāgamana): III, 282, 16220,

16252, 16256.—§ 535 (Setubandhana): III, 283, 16320

(°āmatyau…Śuka-Sāraṇau), 16322.—§ 536 (Laṅkā-

praveśa): III, 284, 16324 (fortified Laṅkā), 16339.—

§ 537 (Rāma-Rāvaṇayuddha): III, 285, 16364 (R°ānugāḥ),

16368, 16371, 16375 (fought with Rāma Dāśarathi).—§ 538

(Kumbhakarṇaraṇagamana): III, 286, 16387 (Rāma-R°-

sainyānāṃ), 16395, 16396 (roused his brother Kumbhakarṇa

and caused him to set out for battle).—§ 540 (Indrajid-

yuddha): III, 288, 16439 (father of Indrajit).—§ 541

(Indrajidvadha): III, 289, 16489, 16490, 16496 (Indrajit

is slain).—§ 542 (Rāvaṇavadha): III, 290, 16502, 16512,

16513 (māyā…Rāvaṇasya), 16515, 16526 (°āntakaraṃ, sc.

śaraṃ), 16528 (nihataṃ, Rāma slew R.).—§ 543 (Rāmarājyā-

bhiṣeka): III, 291, 16531 (hatvā R°ṃ Rākṣasendraṃ, sc.

Rāmaḥ).—§ 565 (Gālavacarita): V, 109, 3790 (atra—i.e.

in the south—Rākṣasarājena Paulastyena mahātmanā R°ena

tapaś cartvā surebhyo 'maratā vṛtā).—§ 592 (Saṃśapta-

kavadhap.): VII, 23π, 1037 (aśvāś ca kāmagās tasya R°sya

yathā purā).—§ 595 (Ṣoḍaśarāj., v. Rāma Dāśarathi): VII,

59, 2227 (Rākṣasaḥ, all. to Rāmopākhyānaparvan).—§ 599

(Jayadrathavadhap.): VII, 96, 3569 (yādṛśaṃ…Rāma-

R°yor mṛdhe); 106, 3981 (yādṛk…purā vṛttaṃ Rāma-

R°yoḥ).—§ 600 (Ghaṭotkacavadhap.): VII, 181, 8236 (°ena

samaprāṇāḥ, sc. Hiḍimba-Baka-Kirmīrāḥ).—§ 604 (Karṇap.):

VIII, 5ζ, 143 (yathā Rāmeṇa R°ḥ, sc. nihataḥ).—§ 612

(Hradapraveśap.): IX, 31, 1752 (Paulastyatanayo R°o nāma

Rākṣasaḥ Rāmeṇa nihataḥ).—§ 615 (Gadāyuddhap.): IX,

55, 3107 (sadṛśakarmāṇau…Rāma-R°yoḥ, sc. Bhīmasena

and Duryodhana).—§ 717b (Nārāyaṇīya): XII, 340, 12953

(tato Rakṣaḥpatiṃ ghoraṃ Pulastyakulapāṃsanaṃ haniṣye—

sc. incarnate as Rāma Dāśarathi—R°ṃ raudraṃ sagaṇam

lokakaṇṭakaṃ, says Nārāyaṇa).

Cf. also the following synonyms:—

Daśagrīva (“having ten necks”): III, 15895 (Kumbha-

karṇa-D°au), 15898, 15904, 15915, 15920, 15927, 15928,

15930, 16011, 16304, 16400, 16498, 16501, 16515, 16519,

16521, 16532, 16535, 16612, 17467; VII, 6827 (°samaḥ, sc.

Ghaṭotkaca); XII, 13878.

Daśakandhara (do.): III, 16516.

Daśānana (“having ten faces”): III, 15908, 15999,

16000, 16370, 16505.

Daśāsya (do.): III, 11324.

Paulastya, Paulastyatanaya, q.v.

Rakṣaḥpati (“lord of the Rakṣases”): XII, 12952.

Rakṣas, Rākṣasa, Rākṣasādhipa, Rāk-

ṣasādhipati, Rākṣasaśreṣṭha, Rākṣasa-

maheśvara, Rākṣasapati, Rākṣasapuṅgava,

Rākṣasarāja, Rākṣaseśvara, Rākṣasendra,

q.v.

[ID=9043]

— Index to the Names in the Mahabharata

1. A son of Vishravas and Keshini. 2. A legendary king killed by Rama.

— The Purana Index

Adjective: Crying or Causing to Cry

3 definitions

causing to cry

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Crying, screaming, roaring, bewailing

— Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Crying, roaring, bewailing

— Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Personal Name (Other Individuals)

2 definitions

Name of a prince of Kashmir.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

of various authors

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Neuter Noun: Act of Screaming, Noise, Tumult

1 definition

screaming

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Specific Nomenclatures (Muhūrta, Compounds)

1 definition

The name of a Muhurta

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

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Definitions on this page come from 12 works: Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Index to the Names in the Mahabharata, Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872), Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary, The Purana Index, Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon.