Vishrava was a brahmin who loved knowledge and the gods, but his wife, Kaikasi, was a rakshasi, a shape-shifting creature who loved gold and blood.
Their first child, a son, was dreadful to behold, having ten heads and ten pairs of arms. Vishrava gave his son the name Dashagriva, which means Ten-Necks. Later he would be called Ravana, He-Who-Roars.
The sky rained blood at Dashagriva's birth. Jackals howled, and other vicious beasts ran in ill-omened circles around the rakshasi mother and her child.
Vishrava and Kaikasi later had three more children: two boys, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana, and a girl, Shurpanakha.
Inspired by: The Ramayana (Uttara Kanda: Sarga 9).
Notes: The ominous signs reported here are very similar to the signs reported at the birth of the antagonist of the Mahabharata, Prince Duryodhana. See below for the story of how Ravana got his name.
No comments:
Post a Comment