Lanka (, ) is the name given in

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

king

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

in the epics of the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' and the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the

Trikuta Trikuta is a three-peaked mountain. The Lanka of Ravana was located in it Significance to history and Hinduism Trikuta is one of the twenty mountains surrounding Maha Meru (Mount Meru) the home of Brahma. The height is said in the Bhagavata Pura ...

Mountains. The ancient city of Lankapura is said to have been burnt down by

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

. After its king, Ravana was killed by

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

with the help of Ravana's brother

Vibhishana Vibhishana () is the younger brother of Ravana, the King of Lanka, in the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. Though a rakshasa himself, Vibhishana turned his back on Ravana, and defected to Rama's side, owing to his dharma. After Rama defeated Ra ...

, the latter was crowned king of Lankapura. His descendants were said to still rule the kingdom during the period of the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

s. According to the ''Mahabharata'', the Pandava

Sahadeva Sahadeva (Sanskrit: सहदेव) was the youngest of the Pandava brothers, the five principal protagonists of the epic ''Mahabharata''. He and his twin brother, Nakula, were blessed to King Pandu and Queen Madri by invoking the twin gods As ...

visited this kingdom during his southern military campaign for the rajasuya of

Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his firs ...

Ramayana

The island was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the

Mountains. The ancient city of Lankapura is thought to have been burnt down by

. After its king, Ravana was killed by

with the help of Ravana's brother

, the latter was crowned king of Lankapura. His descendants were said to still rule the kingdom during the period of the

s. According to the ''Mahabharata'', the

visited this kingdom during his southern military campaign for the rajasuya of

Rulers of Lanka

According to both the ''

'' and the ''

'', Lanka was originally ruled by a rakshasa named Sumali. Kubera seized control of Lanka and established the

Yaksha Kingdom Yaksha Kingdom refers to the territory of a category of mythical creatures called Yakshas who were one of the mythological beings of Lanka. They had kinship with another more ferocious category of beings, the Rakshasas. The King of Yakshas, ...

and his capital was guarded by

rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma wh ...

s. His half-brother Ravana, son of the sage Vishravaya and Sumali's daughter

Kaikesi ''Ramayana'' is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (''Itihasa''s) of Hindu literature. It was composed by sage Valmiki. This is a list of important characters that appear in the epic. A Agastya Agastya was a son of sage Pulastya ...

, fought with Kubera and took Lanka from him. Ravana ruled Lanka as king of the

Rakshasa Kingdom Rakshasa Kingdom refers to the territory of Rakshasas who were a tribe, mentioned along with others like Devas (including Rudras, Maruts, Vasus and Adityas), Asuras (including Daityas, Danavas and Kalakeyas), Pisachas, Gandharvas, Kimpurushas, ...

. The battle in Lanka is depicted in a famous

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

in the 12th-century Khmer temple of Angkor Wat. Hanuman fires Lanka

After Ravana's death, he was succeeded by his brother,

Location of Ravana's "Lanka" according to Ramayana

The Lanka referred to in the still-extant Hindu Texts and the

(referred to as

's Lanka), is considered to be a large island-country, situated in the Indian Ocean. Studies refer that the Palace of Ravana was located in

Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' si, සීගිරිය, ta, சிகிரியா/சிங்ககிரி, pronounced see-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambull ...

the palace built by the

Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura Kashyapa I, also known as Kasyapa I, was a king of Sri Lanka, who ruled the country from 473 to 495 CE. He was the second king of the royal Moriya dynasty of Sri Lanka. Kashyapa is credited with the construction of the Sigiriya citadel and the ...

as the legend describes the capital of the kingdom was located between plateaus and forests. Some scholars asserted that it must have been Sri Lanka because it is so stated in the 5th century Sri Lankan text '' Mahavamsa''. However, the Ramayana clearly states that Ravana's Lanka was situated 100

Yojana A yojana (Sanskrit: योजन; th, โยชน์; my, ယူဇနာ) is a measure of distance that was used in ancient India, Thailand and Myanmar. A yojana is about 12–15 km. Edicts of Ashoka (3rd century BCE) Ashoka, in his Major R ...

s (roughly 1213 km or 753.72 miles) away from mainland India. Some scholars have interpreted the content of these texts to determine that Lanka was located at the point where the Prime-Meridian of India passes the Equator. This island would therefore lie more than southwest of present-day country of Sri Lanka. The most original of all the existing versions of

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

also suggest the location of Ravana's Lanka to be in the western

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

. It indicates that Lanka was in the midst of a series of large island-nations, submerged mountains, and sunken plateaus in the western part of the Indian Ocean. There has been a lot of speculation by several scholars since the 19th century that Ravana's Lanka might have been in the Indian Ocean around where the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

once stood as a high mountain, before getting submerged in the Indian Ocean. Sumatra and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

has also been suggested as a possibility.

Description

Ravana's Lanka, and its capital Lankapuri, are described in a manner that seems superhuman even by modern-day standards. Ravana's central palace complex (main citadel) was a massive collection of several edifices that reached over one yojana () in height, one yojana in length, and half a yojana in breadth. The island had a large mountain range known as the Trikuta Mountain, atop which was situated Ravana's capital of Lanka, at the center of which in turn stood his citadel.

References to Lanka in the Mahabharata

Many of the references to Lanka in the Mahabharata are found in sage Markandeya's narration of the story of

and

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

to the king

, which narration amounts to a truncated version of the

. The references in the following summary are to the Mahabharata and adhere to the following form: (book:section). Markandeya's narration of the story begins at Book III (Varna Parva), Section 271 of the Mahabharata.

Sahadeva's expedition to South

, the son of Pandu, conquered the town of Sanjayanti and the country of the Pashandas and the Karanatakas utilizing his messengers alone and made all of them pay tributes to him. The hero brought under his subjection and exacted tributes from the Paundrayas ( Pandyas?) and the Dravidas along with the Udrakeralas and the Andhras and the Talavanas, the

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

s and the Ushtrakarnikas, and also the delightful city of Atavi and that of the

Yavanas The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for " Ionians" ( grc, ...

. And, He has arrived at the seashore, then dispatched with great assurance messengers unto the illustrious

, the grandson of Pulastya and the ruler of Lanka (2:30).

Presence of the King of Lanka in Yudhishthira's Rajasuya

''Lanka king is listed as present in the conclave of kings present in

king

's Rajasuya sacrifice.'' .. The Vangas and Angas and Paundras and Odras and Cholas and Dravidas and Cheras and Pandyas and Mushika and Andhakas, and the chiefs of many islands and countries on the seaboard as also of frontier states, including the rulers of the Sinhalas, the barbarous mlecchas, the natives of Lanka, and all the kings of the West by hundreds, and all the chiefs of the seacoast, and the kings of the

Pahlavas The Pahlavas are a people mentioned in ancient Indian texts like the Manu Smriti, various Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Brihat Samhita. According to P. Carnegy, In the 4th century BCE, Vartika of Katyayana mentions the ''Sakah- ...

and the

Daradas Daradas were a people who lived north and north-west to the Kashmir valley. This kingdom is identified to be the Gilgit region, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region (part of ancient Baloristan) along the river Sindhu or Indus. They are often spoken alo ...

and the various tribes of the

Kiratas The Kirāta ( sa, किरात) is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who had territory in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and Northeast India and who are believed to have been Sino-Tibetan in origin. The meaning o ...

and

and Sakras and the Harahunas and

Chinas The Chinas, Cīna, or Chīnaḥ (Sanskrit चीनः (''cīna'')) are a people mentioned in ancient Indian literature from the first millennium BC and first millennium AD, such as the ''Mahabharata'', ''Laws of Manu'', and the Puranic literatu ...

and Tukharas and the Sindhavas and the Jagudas and the Ramathas and the Mundas and the inhabitants of the kingdom of women and the Tanganas and the

Kekayas Kekaya (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Kekaya tribe were called the Kaikayas. Location The Kekayas were located between the Gāndhāra ...

and the

Malavas The Malavas (Brahmi script: 𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀯 ''Mmālava'') or Malwas were an ancient Indian tribe. Modern scholars identify them with the Mallian people (Malloi) who were settled in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander's invasion ...

and the inhabitants of Kasmira ... (3:51).

Other fragmentary references

*Lanka, with its warriors, and horses, elephants and chariots (3:149). *Lanka with its towers and ramparts and gates (3:147) *The walls of Lanka (3:282).

References

External links

Mahabharata
of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated from Sanskrit into English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli {{Portal bar, Hinduism, India, Sri Lanka Kingdoms in the Ramayana Kingdoms in the Mahabharata Hindu mythology Mythological islands