Lanka
Encyclopedia
Hindu mythology
Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
in the great Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
epics, the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the Trikuta Mountains. The ancient capital city of Lanka is thought to have been burnt down by Lord Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
. After Ravana was killed by Lord Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
with the help of the former's brother Vibhishana
Vibhishana
Vibhishana or Bibhishan is a character in the epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the demon Ravana. Though a half-demon himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion...
, Vibhishana was crowned King by Lord Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
after which he ruled the kingdom.
His descendants ruled the kingdom even during the period of the Pandavas. According to the epic, the Mahabharata, the Pandava Sahadeva
Sahadeva
Sahadeva was one of the five Pandava brothers according to the epic Mahābhārata. He was one of the twin sons of Madri, who invoked Ashvins using a mantra shared by Kunti for a son. His twin brother was named Nakula...
had visited this kingdom during his southern military campaign for the Rajasuya
Rajasuya
Rajasuya was a sacrifice, described in detail in the Mahabharata, performed by the ancient kings of India who considered themselves powerful enough to be an emperor...
sacrifice of Pandava king Yudhisthira
Yudhisthira
In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...
.
Rulers of Lanka
Lanka was originally ruled by a Rakshasa named Sumali (as per RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
). Later it was taken by Visarvana (Kubera) who was a Yaksha
Yaksha
Yaksha is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology. The feminine form of the word is ' or Yakshini .In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist mythology,...
. From him, Rakshasa Ravana, took the rulership of Lanka. Rama killed Ravana and installed his brother Vibhishana on the throne of Lanka. According to both the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, the Yaksha
Yaksha Kingdom
Yaksha Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe called Yakshas who were one of the Exotic Tribes of Ancient India. They had kinship with another similar tribe, the Rakshasas. Yaksha king Vaisravana and Rakshasa king Ravana were both sons of the sage Visrava Paulastya. Kubera is sometimes...
king Vaisravana
Vaisravana
' or ' also known as Jambhala in Tibet and Bishamonten in Japan is the name of the chief of the Four Heavenly Kings and an important figure in Buddhist mythology.-Names:...
alias Kubera
Kubera
Kubera , also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North , and a protector of the world His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of...
was the ruler of Lanka. His capital was guarded by Rakshasas. His half-brother Ravana (son of the sage Vishravaya and Sumali's daughter) fought with Kubera in battle and obtained the sovereignty of Lanka from him. Ravana ruled Lanka as the king of Rakshasas
Rakshasa Kingdom
Rakshasa Kingdom refers to the territory of Rakshasas who were a tribe, mentioned along with others like Devas , Asuras , Pisachas, Gandharvas, Kimpurushas, Vanaras, Suparnas, Kinnaras, Bhutas and Yakshas...
. Having slain the king of the Rakshasas, viz Ravana, with his brother Kumbhakarna
Kumbhakarna
Kumbhakarna , is a rakshasa and brother of Ravana in the Indian Ramayana epic...
, and sons and kindred, Rama installed in the kingdom of Lanka the Rakshasa chief, Vibhishana
Vibhishana
Vibhishana or Bibhishan is a character in the epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the demon Ravana. Though a half-demon himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion...
, pious, and reverent, and kind to devoted dependents.
Rama's invasion and conquest of Lanka
According to the story set forth in the RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and (in an abbreviated version) in the Mahabharata (Book III: Varna Parva, Section 271 ff.), Ravana was a powerful king in Lanka who ruled Lanka as well as reasonable area in mainland India. The Battle of Lanka is depicted in a famous bas-relief in the 12th century Khmer
Khmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
temple of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
.
Lanka, Sri Lanka, and possible locations
The Lanka referred to in the still-extant Hindu Texts and the RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
(referred to as Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
's Lanka), is considered to be a large island-country, situated in the Indian Ocean. The Ramayana, as also several other surviving Hindu texts, clearly state that Ravana's Lanka was situated 100 Yojanas (800 miles or around 1288 kilometres) away from mainland India. They also state that Lanka was located at the point where the Prime-Meridian of India passes the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
. This island would therefore lie more than a hundred miles South-west of present-day country of Sri Lanka.
There has been a lot of speculation by several scholars, that Ravana's Lanka might have been in the Indian Ocean around where the Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
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 super-human even by modern-day standards. Ravana's central palace-complex (main citadel) was a massive collection of several edifices that reached over one yojana (8 miles or 12.88 kilometres) in height, one yojana in length, and half a yojana in breadth. The island had a large mountain range known as the Trikuta Mountain, atop which was situated Ravana's capital of Lanka, at the center of which in turn stood his citadel. The city itself is described as being 100 Yojanas (800 miles or 1288 kilometres) long and 30 Yojanas (240 miles or 386.4 kilometres) in breadth.Sahadeva's expedition to South
The son of PanduPandu
In the Mahābhārata epic, King Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is more popularly known as the father of the Pandavas and ruled Hastinapur.-Birth:...
, viz. Sahadeva
Sahadeva
Sahadeva was one of the five Pandava brothers according to the epic Mahābhārata. He was one of the twin sons of Madri, who invoked Ashvins using a mantra shared by Kunti for a son. His twin brother was named Nakula...
, conquered the town of Sanjayanti and the country of the Pashandas and the Karanatakas
Karnata Kingdom
Karnata was a southern kingdom ruled by non-Vedic rulers during the period of the epic Mahabharata. The Karnata tribe was a Dravidian tribe. They could have migrated from the Sindh-Baluchistan area...
by means of his messengers alone, and made all of them pay tributes to him. The hero brought under his subjection and exacted tributes from the Paundrayas (Pandyas
Pandya Kingdom
The Pandyas were fierce warriors who took part in the Kurukshetra War as per the epic Mahabharata. A Pandya king named Sarangadhwaja, is mentioned as participating in the Kurukshetra War, siding with the Pandavas. It is not clear if Pandyas were linked to the Pandavas of North India...
?) and the Dravidas
Dravida Kingdom
During the time of Mahabharata Dravida was mentioned as one among the kingdoms ruled by non-Vedic tribes, in southern India. Its territories include the southern part of modern day Andhra Pradesh and the northern part of Tamil Nadu...
along with the Udrakeralas
Kerala Kingdom
This article is about the Kingdom of Kerala in Indian epic literature. For the present-day region, see Kerala, For the historical kingdom, see Chera dynasty...
and the Andhras
Andhra Kingdom
Andhra in Indian epic literature was a kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. It was a southern kingdom. Andhra and Kalinga are often used interchangeably. Andhras are sub-tribes of Andhra satavahanas. The state Andhra Pradesh got its name from this kingdom.Andhra Tribes are also mentioned in...
and the Talavanas, the Kalingas
Kalinga Kingdom
Kalinga forms the sea shore of Orissa and Andhra region of Andhra pradesh state in India. Kuru king Duryodhana's wife was from Kalinga. Kalingas sided with Duryodhana in the Kurukshetra War...
and the Ushtrakarnikas, and also the delightful city of Atavi and that of the Yavanas. And, He having arrived at the seashore, then dispatched with great assurance messengers unto the illustrious Vibhishana
Vibhishana
Vibhishana or Bibhishan is a character in the epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the demon Ravana. Though a half-demon himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion...
, the grandson of Pulastya and the ruler of Lanka (2:30).
Presence of the King of Lanka in Yudhisthira's Rajasuya
Lanka king is listed as present in the conclave of kings present in PandavaPandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
king Yudhisthira
Yudhisthira
In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...
's Rajasuya
Rajasuya
Rajasuya was a sacrifice, described in detail in the Mahabharata, performed by the ancient kings of India who considered themselves powerful enough to be an emperor...
sacrifice.
.. The Vangas
Vanga Kingdom
Vanga orBengal was a kingdom located in the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent, comprising part of West Bengal, India and present-day modern Bangladesh. It was a seafaring nation of Ancient India.- References in Mahabharata :...
and Angas
Anga Kingdom
Anga was a kingdom ruled by non-Vedic rulers. Anga king Lomapada was a friend of Kosala king Dasaratha. Kosala Princess Santha, elder to Raghava Rama, lived as the daughter of Lomapada, since he was childless. Duryodhana established Karna as the ruler of Angas. It is believed that there were many...
and Paundras
Pundra Kingdom
Pundra was an eastern kingdom located in West Bengal, Bangladesh and Purnia . A Pundra king challenged Vasudeva Krishna by imitating his attributes. He called himself Paundraka Vasudeva. He was later killed by Vasudeva Krishna in a battle...
and Odras
Odra Kingdom
Odra was a country located in the northern Orissa. This kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. Odras were neighbours to the Vangas. It is believed that the Oriya language and the state Orissa got their names derived from the name "Odra"....
and Cholas
Chola Kingdom
Chola was a powerful southern kingdom. They were mentioned in both great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. They were believed to have some link with the Sivi or Sibi clan, situated along with the Sindhu Sauviras. In the time of recorded history, Chola kingdom grew into a powerful empire...
and Dravidas
Dravida Kingdom
During the time of Mahabharata Dravida was mentioned as one among the kingdoms ruled by non-Vedic tribes, in southern India. Its territories include the southern part of modern day Andhra Pradesh and the northern part of Tamil Nadu...
and Cheras and Pandyas
Pandya Kingdom
The Pandyas were fierce warriors who took part in the Kurukshetra War as per the epic Mahabharata. A Pandya king named Sarangadhwaja, is mentioned as participating in the Kurukshetra War, siding with the Pandavas. It is not clear if Pandyas were linked to the Pandavas of North India...
and Mushika
Mushika Kingdom
Mushika Kingdom was an ancient kingdom of the Tamil Sangam age in present day northern Kerala, India ruled by the Royal dynasty of the same name. They ruled the strip of land between Mangaluru in the north and Vadagara in the south...
and Andhakas
Andhra Kingdom
Andhra in Indian epic literature was a kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. It was a southern kingdom. Andhra and Kalinga are often used interchangeably. Andhras are sub-tribes of Andhra satavahanas. The state Andhra Pradesh got its name from this kingdom.Andhra Tribes are also mentioned in...
, and the chiefs of many islands and countries on the seaboard as also of frontier states, including the rulers of the Sinhalas
Sinhala Kingdom
Sinhala was a kingdom in the island Lanka, modern day Sri Lanka, mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. From 'Sinhala Diva' are derived the Tamil 'Eelam', Persian/Arabic Serendipor Sarandib, and the European 'Ceilao', 'Zeylan' and 'Ceylon'....
, the barbarous mlecchas, 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 Pahlavas
Pahlava Kingdom
Pahlava Kingdom is identified to be a kingdom of an Iranian tribe. The kingdom was well known, even during the campaign of Alexander. It was also mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.- Yudhisthira's Rajasuya :...
and the Daradas
Darada Kingdom
Daradas were a people who lived north to the Kashmir valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region in Kashmir along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken along with the Kambojas...
and the various tribes of the Kiratas
Kirata Kingdom
Kirata Kingdom in Sanskrit literature and Hindu mythology refers to any kingdom of the Kirata people, who were dwellers mostly in the Himalayas and North-East India. They took part in the Kurukshetra War along with Parvatas and other Himalayan tribes...
and Yavanas
Yavana Kingdom
Yavana or Yona is grouped under western countries along with Sindhu, Madra, Kekeya, Gandhara and Kamboja as per the descriptions in the epic Mahabharata. In later history, this word was used to indicate the Greeks and the Arabs, leading to much confusion....
and Sakras
Saka Kingdom
Sakas were a Mlechcha tribe grouped along with the Yavanas, Tusharas and Barbaras. They were later known as Scythians. They were Soma drinkers, Soma being an intoxicating liquor famous in the land of Devas . There were a group of Sakas called Apa Sakas meaning water dwelling Sakas, probably living...
and the Harahunas
Hara Huna Kingdom
Hara-Hunas were a Chinese tribe close to Himalayas so that they had limited interaction with Indian kingdoms, thus they were mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.They belonged to the Xinjiang province of China, east of Kashmir...
and Chinas
China of Mahabharata
China in the Mahābhārata refers to an ancient Chinese people who lived across the Himalayas north of India in the first millennium BC or even earlier, and were mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata...
and Tukharas
Tushara Kingdom
Tusharas were a Mleccha tribe, with their kingdom located in the north west of India as per the epic Mahabharata. An account in Mahabharata depicts Mlechchas as the descendants of Anu, one of the cursed sons of king Yayati. Yayati's eldest son Yadu, gave rise to the Yadavas and youngest son Puru...
and the Sindhavas
Sindhu Kingdom
Sindhu&sandhu was a kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. It stretched along the banks of river Sindhu in the Ancient Greater India, which is now Pakistan. It is believed that Sindhu kingdom was founded by Vrsadarbh, one of sons of Sivi...
and the Jagudas and the Ramathas and the Mundas and the inhabitants of the kingdom of women and the Tanganas and the Kekayas and the Malavas
Malava Kingdom
Malava kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled by the Yadava kings in the central and western India, corresponding to the Malwa region. Sometimes Avanti and Malava were described to be the same country. They were originally a western tribe, in Punjab province of Pakistan. Later they migrated...
and the inhabitants of Kasmira
Kasmira Kingdom
Kasmira was a kingdom identified as the Kashmir Valley along the Jhelum River of the modern Jammu and Kashmir state. Possibly, the sage Kashyapa or a descendant of this sage lived here, since the name Kas is derived from the name Kashyapa like the name Caspian of the Caspian Sea. During the epic...
... (3:51).
Other fragmentory 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).
See also
- Paschima LankaPaschima LankaPaschima Lanka also called Paschim Lanka or Western Lanka refers to the modern day of Sonepur region of western Orissa, India., According to historians the Sonepur region was known as Paschima Lanka around 10th-11th centuries. The evidence comes from a copper plate charter issued on late of 10th...
- Kingdoms of Ancient IndiaKingdoms of Ancient IndiaEpic India is the geography of Greater India traditionally around early 10th century BC and later on from the Sanskrit epics, viz. the Mahabharata and the Ramayana as well as Puranic literature ....
- Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
- Vanga KingdomVanga KingdomVanga orBengal was a kingdom located in the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent, comprising part of West Bengal, India and present-day modern Bangladesh. It was a seafaring nation of Ancient India.- References in Mahabharata :...
- Sinhala KingdomSinhala KingdomSinhala was a kingdom in the island Lanka, modern day Sri Lanka, mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. From 'Sinhala Diva' are derived the Tamil 'Eelam', Persian/Arabic Serendipor Sarandib, and the European 'Ceilao', 'Zeylan' and 'Ceylon'....
- Kerala KingdomKerala KingdomThis article is about the Kingdom of Kerala in Indian epic literature. For the present-day region, see Kerala, For the historical kingdom, see Chera dynasty...
- Vishwakarma
- LangkawiLangkawiLangkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border...
External links
- Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated from Sanskrit into English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
- Sri Lanka Reference – Country Information, History and Maps
- Etymology of Lanka from TamilnetTamilnetTamilNet is a news website that provides news and feature articles on current affairs in Sri Lanka, specifically related to the erstwhile Sri Lankan Civil War...