Lanka (; ) is the name given in to the island fortress capital of the legendary Rakshasa king Ravana in the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the Trikuta Mountains. The ancient city of Lankapura is said to have been burnt down by Hanuman. After its king, Ravana was killed by Rama with the help of Ravana's brother Vibhishana, the latter was crowned king of Lankapura. His descendants were said to still rule the kingdom during the period of the . According to the Mahabharata, the Pandava Sahadeva visited this kingdom during his southern military campaign for the rajasuya of Yudhishthira. The palaces of Ravana were said to be guarded by four-tusked elephants.[Valmiki Ramayan, Sundar Kanda 4.27.]
Ramayana
Rulers of Lanka
According to both the
Ramayana and the
Mahabharata, Lanka was originally ruled by a rakshasa named
Sumali.
Kubera seized control of Lanka and established the
Yaksha kingdom and his capital was guarded by
. His half-brother Ravana, son of the sage
Vishrava and
Sumali's daughter
Kaikesi, fought with Kubera and took Lanka from him. Ravana ruled Lanka as king of the
Rakshasa kingdom. The battle in Lanka is depicted in a famous
relief in the 12th-century
Khmer people temple of
Angkor Wat.
After Ravana's death, he was succeeded by his brother,
Vibhishana.
Location of Ravana's "Lanka" according to Ramayana
The Lanka referred to in the still-extant Hindu Texts and the
Ramayana (referred to as
Ravana's Lanka), is considered to be a large island-country, situated in the Indian Ocean. Studies refer that the Palace of Ravana was located in
Sigiriya the palace built by the Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura as the legend describes the capital of the kingdom was located between plateaus and forests. Some scholars asserted that it must have been
Sri Lanka because it is so stated in the 5th century Sri Lankan text
Mahavamsa.
However, the Ramayana clearly states that Ravana's Lanka was situated 100
(roughly 1213 km or 753.72 miles) away from mainland India.
[Valmiki Ramayana 4.58.20][Valmiki Ramayana 4.58.24]
Some scholars have interpreted the content of these texts to determine that Lanka was located at the point where the Prime-Meridian of India passes the Equator.
There has been a lot of speculation by several scholars since the 19th century that Ravana's Lanka might have been in the Indian Ocean around where the Maldives once stood as a high mountain, before getting submerged in the Indian Ocean.
Description
Ravana's Lanka, and its capital Lankapuri, are described in a manner that seems superhuman even by modern-day standards. Ravana's central palace complex (main citadel) was a massive collection of several edifices that reached over one yojana () in height, one yojana in length, and half a yojana in breadth. The island had a large mountain range known as the Trikuta Mountain (Trikonamalai-In Tamil/Trinkomale-English,where Ravan built Temple for shiva), atop which was situated Ravana's capital of Lanka, at the center of which in turn stood his citadel.
References to Lanka in the Mahabharata
Many of the references to Lanka in the Mahabharata are found in sage
Markandeya's narration of the story of
Rama and
Sita to the king
Yudhishthira, which narration amounts to a truncated version of the
Ramayana. The references in the following summary are to the Mahabharata and adhere to the following form: (book:section).
Markandeya's narration of the story begins at Book III (Varna Parva), Section 271 of the Mahabharata.
Sahadeva's expedition to South
Sahadeva, the son of
Pandu, conquered the town of Sanjayanti and the country of the Pashandas and the
Karnata kingdom utilizing his messengers alone and made all of them pay tributes to him. The hero brought under his subjection and exacted tributes from the Paundrayas (
Pandya kingdom?) and the
Dravida kingdom along with the Udrakeralas and the
Andhra kingdom and the Talavanas, the Kalingas and the Ushtrakarnikas, and also the delightful city of Atavi and that of the
Yavanas. And, He has arrived at the seashore, then dispatched with great assurance messengers unto the illustrious
Vibhishana, the grandson of Pulastya and the ruler of
Lanka kingdom (2:30).
Presence of the King of Lanka in Yudhishthira's Rajasuya
Lanka king is listed as present in the conclave of kings present in Pandava king Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice.
The Vanga kingdom and Anga kingdom and Pundra kingdom and Odra kingdom and Chola kingdom and Dravida kingdom and Chera Dynasties and Pandya kingdom and Mushika kingdom and Andhra kingdom, and the chiefs of many islands and countries on the seaboard as also of frontier states, including the rulers of the Sinhala kingdom, the barbarous Mleccha, the natives of Lanka, and all the kings of the West by hundreds, and all the chiefs of the seacoast, and the kings of the Pahlava kingdom and the Darada kingdom and the various tribes of the Kirata kingdom and Yavanas and Sakras and the Harahunas and Chinas and Tushara kingdom and the Sindhu kingdom and the Jagudas and the Ramathas and the Mundas and the inhabitants of the kingdom of women and the Tanganas and the Kekaya kingdom and the Malava kingdom and the inhabitants of Kasmira kingdom... (3:51).
Other fragmentary references
-
Lanka, with its warriors, and horses, elephants and chariots (3:149).
-
Lanka with its towers and ramparts and gates (3:147)
-
The walls of Lanka (3:282).
-
4 tusked elephants (4.27.12)
See also
External links
-
Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated from Sanskrit into English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
