RāvaṇaRavanain Hindu mythologyHinduism, the 10-headed king of the demons (rākṣasasrakshasas). His abduction of Sītā Sita and eventual defeat by her husband Rāma Rama are the central incidents of the popular epic the Rāmāyaṇa Ramayana (“Romance of Rāma”Rama”). Rāvaṇa Ravana ruled in the kingdom of LaṅkāLanka, believed by some to be modern Sri Lanka, from which he had expelled his brother Kubera. The Rām Līlā Ram Lila festival, an annual pageant popular particularly in northern India, is climaxed with the defeat of Rāvaṇa Ravana and the burning of huge effigies of the demons.

Rāvaṇa Ravana is described as having 10 heads and 20 arms and is vividly portrayed in Rājasthānī Rajasthani painting of incidents of the Rāmāyaṇa Ramayana, flying away with SītāSita, fighting with RāmaRama, and sitting with his demon councillors. In sculpture, a favourite incident depicted is his shaking of Mount KailāsaKailasa. Śiva ( Shiva ) stopped him by pressing the mountain down with his toe and kept him imprisoned beneath for 1,000 years. Notable examples of this representation can be seen at Ellora in Mahārāshtra Maharashtra state, India. Glorification of Rāvaṇa Ravana is not unknown. According to a minor tradition, the demons of Vishnu are successive reincarnations of his attendants, who take this form in order to be near him.

In modern times, Tamil groups who oppose what they believe to be the political domination of southern India by the north view the story of Rāma Rama as an example of the Aryan invasion Sanskritization and cultural repression of the south and express their sympathies for Rāvaṇa Ravana and against RāmaRama.