Ravana - Etymology

Etymology

The name 'Ravana' obtains from the root 'ru' 'raavayati iti raavanah' 'one who makes god love by his compassion actions.' The name Ravana obtains from the root, 'Ra' signifies the sun and 'vana' signifies generation according to a nationalist Sinhala scholar, Arisen. Ravana had many other popular names such as Dasis Ravana, Ravan, Raavan, Ravula, Lankeshwar, Ravanaeshwaran all signifying the qualities of his life. Ravana was a cross of Brahmin and Daitya thus attaining a status of BrahmaRakshasa.

• • • NOTE***

These claims seem to be curious speculation at most, by outside observers, as the detail and innumberable references describing Ravana, his geneaology and his life are found throughout the great body of Sanskrit works and tradition of ancient Vedic India imply and point to very different meanings. Ravana was not a cross of Varna. He was a pure Brahmin by birth, and a very great ancestor of all life throughout the Universe itself by being so close in generations to Prajapatis. His race was that of a Danava, or Daitya, or Rakshasa, the three names describing the same race of great beings equal to the Gods. The term BrahmaRakshasa describes a once fallen Brahmin who has attained by punishment the realm of Ghosts without a body but much higher than an ordinary Ghost or Preta. A BrahmaRakshasa can confer, blessings, wealth, and liberation as can a God or Deity. They are said to inhabit various places on Earth and on varios other planes waiting until their term is over and they are free again to take birth and death like all Jivas caught in Samsara. When Ravana had fallen he took the name of Lord Sri Rama and acknowledged him as Sri Narayana the sustainer of the entire Universe and thus attained liberation. In recent years, Ravana has been popularized by Sinhala & Tamil Sri Lankans, as a Nationalistic symbol used at various times. He appears in many local legends all over India and in Sri Lanka sometimes as a hero but mostly remembered for the villainous acts attributed to him in the Epic Ramayana .

Variations of the name include the following:

• Dashahisa: Ten Heads
• Bengali: রাবণ Rabon
• Burmese: ရာဝဏ
• Indonesian: Rahwana
• Javanese: Rahwana or Dasamuka (from Daśamukha or 'ten-faced')
• Kannada:ರಾವಣ Raavana
• Kashmiri: Raavun
• Khmer: Rabana or Rab, Krong Reap
• Lao: Raphanasuan
• Malay: Rawana or Wana
• Malayalam: രാവണന്‍ Raavanan
• Maranao: Lawana
• Marathi: रावण Raawan
• Nepali: रावण Rawan
• Tamil: இராவணன் Raavanan (இ silent)
• Thai: ทศกัณฐ์ Thosakan (from Dashakanta or 'ten-necked')
• Telugu:రావణాసురుడు Rāvaṇasurdu
• Yuan: Rahbanasun
• Gujarati: રાવણ