In some versions of the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...

such as the Krittivasi Ramayana, Ahiravan, also called Mahiravana, is a

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 ...

(demon) ruler of

Patala In Indian religions, Patala (Sanskrit: पाताल, IAST: pātāla, lit. ''that which is below the feet''), denotes the subterranean realms of the universe – which are located under the earthly dimension. Patala is often translated as und ...

. He is variously described as either an ally or a brother of the rakshasa 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 Thai tradition, he is called Maiyarap. Ahiravan secretly carried away

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 Being ...

and his brother

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

to the nether-world, consulted his friends, and decided to sacrifice the life of the two divine brothers at the altar of his chosen deity, goddess Mahamaya. However,

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 ...

saved their lives by decapitating Mahiravana, and destroying his army.

Popular culture

The ''Mairavan charitra'' was written in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

in Kavya style in the 16th century by Adithya kavi. The story of Mahiravana was made into a Telugu film in 1940 by Ghantasala Balaramaiah entitled ''

Mahiravana In some versions of the Ramayana such as the Krittivasi Ramayana, Ahiravan, also called Mahiravana, is a rakshasa (demon) ruler of Patala. He is variously described as either an ally or a brother of the rakshasa king Ravana. In Thai tradi ...

''. The veteran actor

Vemuri Gaggaiah Vemuri Gaggayya (1895–1955) was an Indian actor, singer, and thespian known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. In 1933, East India Film Company produced its first Indian film, ''Savitri'' in Telugu. Shot in Calcutta on a bud ...

played the role of Mahiravana.Mahiravana 1940 film at IMDb.
/ref> The legend was also featured in the 2018 animated film '' Hanuman vs Mahiravana'', released in Hindi and Tamil.

References

{{Commons category, Ahiravan Rakshasa in the Ramayana

Popular culture

See also

References