Ravana's family tree: Exploring lineage of the Demon king

Vijayadashami is celebrated every year on Ashwin Shukla Dashami date. This time this festival will be celebrated on 12 October, Saturday. Effigies of Ravana are burnt

Most people know about Ravana that he belonged to the demon caste, but this is not true. Ravana's family was directly related to Brahma. Therefore Ravana was a Brahmin, not a demon

The scriptures mention 10 Manas sons of Brahma. Among these is Maharishi Pulastya. He is also one of the Saptarishis of the first Manvantara. Maharishi Pulastya was a great ascetic

Maharishi Pulastya was married to a woman named Havirbhoo. They have two sons - Rishi Vishrava and Maharishi Agastya. Both of them were great ascetics

Rishi Vishrava had two marriages, one of his marriages was with Kaikesi, the daughter of the demon Sumali. They had 3 sons and 1 daughter - Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana

Thus Maharishi Pulastya was the grandfather of Ravana. This is the reason why Ravana is called a Brahmin. Ravana was a scholar of scriptures. He also composed many texts

Ravana was brought up by mother Kaikesi and maternal grandfather Sumali. Living with them, Ravana's nature also became demonic and by his might he became the king of demons