Ravan Settles In Lanka

May, another reputed rakshas, brought his gorgeous daughter Mandodari to meet Ravan. He somehow, knew that Ravan would be their king one day, so May made sure he was nicely positioned. Ravan was very happy to get a good woman by his side, and soon he got his two brothers married.

In the middle of the ocean, there was an enormous fort on top of Trikut mountain. The danav/rakshas May who was also adept in illusions and workmanship, redecorated the fort with several golden palaces, emblazoned with precious stones.

Just as in Patal lok (underground) the clan of snakes have a capital named Bhogavati, and Lord Indra, has Amravati puri/capital in Swarg lok (heaven). However, this fort was far superior and beautiful. It was renowned in the world as Lanka. It had a deep moat encircling it, and also had a gem studded dome, so stunning, that words could not describe it. Due to the grace of God, in every era, whoever was extremely powerful and courageous, that king of the rakshas, along with his army, got to reside in the capital.

It is said, that giant rakshas' lived in that puri, before they were killed by the Devtas. Then, through Lord Indra's persuasion, one hundred thousand (bodyguards) yakshas/nature spirits of Kuber (God of wealth) started living there. Ravan had got wind of this place, so he gathered an army and attacked the fort. The Yakshas fled with their lives . After surveying the city Ravan fell in love with the place, and found it ideal and safe to set up house. By distributing homes according to their abilities, Ravan made all the other Rakshas' satisfied.

On one occasion Ravan attacked the kingdom of Kuber, and won the Pushpak Viman (aero-plane) from him. Another time just in play, he went and lifted Mount Kailash, as if proclaming to the world how mighty he was. Each day his wealth, his happiness, his fame , his army, his sons, his valour, his knowledge, grew by leaps and bounds, just like how greed grows every time one makes a profit.

Ravan's brother Kumbhkaran was so mighty, that he had no equal in the whole world. He would sleep for six months after drinking alcohol. The three Lokas would shudder when he woke up. He had an enormous appetite. He was however a great warrior, just like several others in Ravan's army.

Meghnath was Ravan's oldest son, who again was so talented in fighting, that nobody could face him in war. Even the Devtas were afraid of him. In addition Durmukh, Akampan, Vajradant, Dhamketu,and Atikaya were other yodhas/warriors in Ravan's army, who could easily win the world by their individual might. They were all versed in the supernatural and could create illusions and change their forms at will.

Do not be deceived by this pomp, and remember that we are talking about these evil rakshas'. After all this is a setup for a mighty fall. Lucky for us, we have nothing to worry about !!! We live in Ram Rajya!! Jai Ho!!!