Ravana : The Great King, Alchemist & Physician of Sri Lanka

Ravana was the king of Lanka. His prosperity could be judged by the fact that his Lanka - capital city - was built in gold. Everyone had enough of food and shelter in his period.

Ravana was the eldest of the sons of Brahmin called Vishrava and a princess called Kaikesi. He was named Dasagriva or Dashanana since it is believed that he had ten heads. But this may be because he had the power and strength of ten men. Some say the ten heads were due to the reflections of a crystal necklace gifted to him by his father at the time of his birth or he had the mental strength of 10 people. Ravana had two brothers, Vibhishana and Kumbhakarna and one sister, Meenakshi (Later named Shoorpanakha). It is said there were 11 Ravanas found in Sinhalese history such as Nala Ravana, Manu ravana, Punu ravana and Dasis Ravana. The most famous Ravana is the king who fought with Indian hindu prince Rama is Dasis Ravana.His queen was Mandodari, children were known as Upendraminika / Indrajith [Son] & Sohili [Daughter] . King Dasis Ravana was a great Scholar in Ayurvedic medicine. He was the person who invented Arka Shastra. The book Arka Prakshaya reveals this truth to the present world.

As his willing to research in Ayurvedic medicine he wrote several books revealing the cures for many diseases. Some of his books are; Oddisa Tantra, Kumara Tantra etc. In one book he wrote "Eating beef cause to infect ninety eight new diseases to human beings".The book "Kumara Tantraya" which reveals the treatments for infant diseases was written by him accepting the request of his pregnant queen Mandodari. He was the first king flew over the world with his aeroplane, known Dandumonaraya or Vimanaya, Kashtawahana. Some evidence of Dandumonaraya the aeroplane is found in Rock inscriptions, Jataka Stories and Ola manuscripts. It is believed he used Mercury as the fuel for that Dandumonaraya- the aeroplane. He was a "Siddha" person- who belonged & had ability to use Mercury [Parada].

King Ravana was continuing a vegan oriented life style and was a real nature lover. According to Lankavatara sutta he was Buddhist and worshipped Kashyapa Buddha. Once he invited Kashyapa Buddha to visit Lanka and deliver his sermon to Sri Lankan citizens who practice yoga and follow Buddhism. Today the time has changed and many of us do not know the real history of king Ravana and throw our folk tales away without considering any valuable parts of them. King Ravana was one of the best emperors found in Sri Lankan History.

Indunil Source: http://jeevthaya.blogspot.com/