Beyond his popular representation as a demon king and anti-hero, how was Ravana perceived as a son, brother, father and husband? Devdutt Pattanaik, in his new audiobook Ravana 360 Degrees, explores the many layers of Ravana’s character.
Launched recently on audio platform Audible, the book (presented as an audio show), affords a comprehensive perspective on Ravana. Here, ‘360 degrees’ refers to pradakshina, the popular Hindu practice of going around someone, says Devdutt. “While it is seen in temples and meant for deities, it is also a philosophical idea of appreciating someone from a 360 degree point of view. In management, this would be called understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a person entirely. And that is what the book wants to do,” he adds.
The author, who has written over 50 books in the last 20 years, on several characters in Indian epics, says he had not focussed on Ravana in its entirety until now. So he took up Audible’s idea of approaching him as the central character. “All the characters that I have written about have appealed to me in their own way, as each one of them has amplified one aspect of human consciousness,” he says.
Artisans prepare an effigy of demon king Ravana in Guwahati | Photo Credit: Swapan Mahapatra
Understanding Ravana
The audio show, across 12 parts, will cover the sources of the stories about Ravana, the origins of the character and the multiple narratives associated with him. As part of research, Devdutt read not just the scriptural texts, but also the oral legends and popular lore. “This includes the social beliefs and practices that are found across the country where Ravana is venerated amongst many communities.”
Ravana’s complex persona has always been a source of intrigue. He knew the Vedas, was a great musician, had knowledge of architecture, the shastras, medicine, astrology and language. Yet he followed the path of adharma. Says Devdutt. “Hindu mythological ideas are based on the ideas of dharma and adharma. But people often confuse dharma with justice or with obedience to the lord while dharma actually means discovering your humanity and how human you are.”
Mythological analysis
While Indian mythology has lent itself to many works in popular culture, be it literature or film, how much does it allow for artistic interpretation? “Artistic interpretation is a creative exercise, where poetic license is taken. It becomes a work of mythological fiction. This work is a work of mythological analysis. It is not mythological fiction. And so, I cannot place an artistic interpretation in Ravana 360 degrees just as an academician cannot have an artistic interpretation in writing an academic paper. At best, it can be simplified for the masses,” Devdutt explains.
Trained in medicine and having worked for 15 years in the healthcare and pharma industries before following his true passion, mythology, Devdutt is known for his lectures and podcasts as well as his writing and illustration. “I consider myself as handling only a single role… that of a mythologist, who expresses himself sometimes through texts, sometimes through art, sometimes the spoken word.”
Doing an audio show, he says, is new learning. “It has been an interesting challenge for me as I had to learn new forms of intonation and pause, and unlike a text which gets edited relatively easier, this involves the participation of sound engineers, who function very differently from editors.“
The book is available as an audio show in a mix of Hindi and English on Audible.
