Sympathy for the Rakshasa: Understanding Ambivalence Towards Ravana in South Asia

<span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite being told for at least 2,000 years, the Ramayana is still an incredibly significant narrative throughout South and Southeast Asia, playing a role in religious and ritual life as well as providing a source of secular entertainment. As a result, Ravana, the epic&rsquo;s antagonist, is a well-known character across many cultures throughout the world. Not every group who knows of him regards him as a villain, however, and in this paper I seek to examine how and why different groups may view Ravana in a more complex, ambiguous, or even positive light. I explore the evolution of Rama&rsquo;s villainy in &ldquo;normative&rdquo; Ramayanas before turning to recent Ramayanas which have reexamined his legacy. These &ldquo;transgressive Ramayanas&rdquo; from South India and Sri Lanka portray Ravana not as a rapacious beast, but as a wise and dignified warrior who rules a prosperous kingdom. The thinkers behind these transgressive Ramayanas have their own complex reasons for wanting to rethink Ravana&rsquo;s portrayal, which vary significantly from 20th century South India to modern-day Sri Lanka, but in both cases illustrate the ways that narratives are intimately bound up with the identities and societies of those who tell them.</span>