Ravanolbhavam (The Origin of Ravana) is a

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

play( Aattakatha) authored by Kallekulangara Raghava Pisharodi in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

. Based on 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 ...

, it narrates the story surrounding the origin of

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. ...

and his rise to power following his penance to

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

. A major part of the play involves the arrogant Ravana enacting the tale of how, by means of a severe penance, he came in possession of boons from Brahma.{{Cite news, last=K, first=Achuthan T., date=2021-02-09, title=Pristine and powerful recital of ‘Ravanolbhavam’, language=en-IN, work=The Hindu, url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/pristine-and-powerful-recital-of-ravanolbhavam/article33791000.ece, access-date=2021-08-30, issn=0971-751X

References

Kathakali Indian plays Malayalam-language literature