In Sri Lanka, History Stakes Its Claim Over The Raavan Myth

This story was published as part of Outlook's 21 October 2024 magazine issue titled 'Raavan Leela'. To read more stories from the issue, click here

The question arises: how did Indian mythology merge to turn an actual Sinhala hero-king into a villain? You don’t have to go far to find the answer. It was the Tamil Nadu settlers who projected Raavan as a treacherous villain, but have suddenly changed their tune to now claim that he was Tamil in order to use that as a ploy to substantiate a separate Eelam homeland quest.

If the Ramayana is a myth, an epic created in India revolving around Sita, Ram and Raavan the king of “Lanka”, promoting the Ramayana Trail in Sri Lanka purely for political and commercial purposes is a bogus tourist pilgrimage. How many Indian tourists are aware of this? Justin W. Henry who wrote Ravana’s Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below to ascertain a Sinhalese version of the Ramayana existed, declared that there was no such mythological version in Sri Lanka.

There are four aspects to consider in approaching this topic together with the need to set facts and fiction in their proper perspective: to what extent is Valmiki’s Ramayana factual or a myth; the actual existence of King Raavan from which the Sinhalese race descends; two foreign-funded projects using Raavan as a “cult” to encourage worship of Raavan instead of the Buddha (the goal being to cunningly use Raavan to destroy people’s reverence for the Buddha and stop them from visiting Buddhist temples); and lastly, another bogus attempt to link the Ramayana Trail to replace Buddhism with Hinduism across Sri Lanka as a long-term goal. The last two projects aim to break the Sinhala Buddhist nationalism in Sri Lanka, which remains the strongest point of defence and the pillar of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. What the Ramayana Trail and the Raavan cult project aim to do is to take Sri Lanka to a pre-Sinhala pre-Buddhist era, deviously erasing the place of Sinhala Buddhists.

There are some important facts we must consider while trying to comprehend various aspects of history—fact or fiction. According to Deborah de Koning’s The Many Faces of Ravana, Sri Lanka was the centrepiece of the world and the cradle of civilisation and his kingdom was larger than the island of Sri Lanka. It was an extremely prosperous place as per the Lankavatara Sutra discovered in Japan. The Sutra confirms Raavan was a Buddhist who lived during Dipankara Buddha’s time and invited the Buddha to visit Sri Lanka.

It was Raavan who owned and used the first aircraft over 5,000 years ago in which he brought Dipankara Buddha in the pushpak (floral chariot) to Sri Lanka. Thus, Raavan’s world was far more than a Ramayana myth. This is probably why the United States tasked Justin Henry, a Cornell University student, to conduct research on it. His findings would erase the falsely-hyped notion that the Sinhala race descended from Vijaya to a version that the race descended from the Yaksha tribe of Raavan that was far older. The villagers of Meemure (Lakegala) are believed to be descendants of Raavan’s Yaksha tribe. Interestingly, Talaimannar and Koneswaram can be viewed from atop Lakegala, which was used for Raavan’s Dandumonara (chariot). Ranamure villagers continue to observe an annual ritual called the Raavan yakkama. H.C.P Bell in 1896 noted that the period before Vijaya’s arrival was known as the Raavan period as per the Ravana Rajavaliya.

The existence of Raavan and the Yaksha tribe, of which Kuveni was a member, became part of the Sivu Hela (four tribes comprising Raksha, Yaksha, Naga and Deva). Sivu Hela became Sinhale. This existence would automatically negate the Eelam claim as well and expose their bogus historical narrative, which includes the false claim that Raavan was a Tamil king just as they falsely claim that they were Buddhists to negate the fact that the Sinhalese lived in the North before their arrival from Tamil Nadu initially via numerous invasions (18 in all), and thereafter as colonial indentured labour. In addition, the many Buddhist archaeological sites and Buddhist stupas are proof of Sinhala Buddhists living in North Sri Lanka. Interestingly, in August 2023, MP Buddhika Pathirana presented a private member’s bill in Sri Lanka’s Parliament requesting research be done on King Raavan.

The Hela nation that Raavan ruled was technologically advanced, and he was the progenitor of the Sinhalese. Indian political analyst P.K. Balachandran confirms in his ‘Ravana cult energises Sri Lankan nationalism’, how King Raavan who excelled in medicine, martial arts, music and aircrafts wrote several books in Sinhala, which were translated into Sanskrit. Deborah de Koning’s book also states that the Buddha prophesied that Raavan would return in 5,000 years as the future Maitreya Buddha.

In the backdrop of this, the mythological Ramayana continues to encourage Hindu India to hold Raavan in contempt. Annually, scores of people gather around a large effigy of Raavan, shout contemptuously at it, and then burn it. It is amazing how a myth can evoke such hatred and animosity against the King of Lanka. Interestingly, the Dussehra festival (Raavan Dahan) is not celebrated in the same format in Tamil Nadu as it is in North India.

Given that the Ramayana is mythology, it is to be naturally deduced that the Ramayana Trail is part of that fiction. This reaffirms the Trail is a politically motivated agenda that is being promoted even by the Tourism Authority of Sri Lanka simply as a marketing tool to lure tourists. It raises questions about the long-term side-effects of such initiatives. While Sri Lanka’s archaeology department has statutes to protect archaeological sites, there are no laws to prevent creation of bogus sites, bogus artefacts and the promotion of myths and fiction as factual.

The sites of this Ramayana Trail have no historical basis. Even the Seetha Amman Kovil was built by Tamil estate workers who were brought to the country by colonial Britain in the 19th century. While many Indian academics, courts and authorities deny any factual basis for the Ramayana, it is baffling how a myth is being promoted as reality by some people in Sri Lanka. Ironically, while India promotes Buddhist tourism in India—the cradle of Theravada Buddhism and the land where many Buddha statues and artefacts exist—instead of marketing Theravada Buddhist heritage, Sri Lankan authorities are marketing a myth! When India annually burns effigies of Raavan after spewing venom, it is baffling how Sri Lankan authorities can officially agree to be part of a myth solely for political and commercial purposes and do immense damage by presenting disinformation to the younger generation of both nations. Recorded history is getting distorted as a result. Sigiriya has been falsely described as Chitrakoota, the palace of Raavan’s half-brother Kuber. Isurumuniya is now claimed to be the temple of Raavan’s parent. These need to be immediately corrected.

At the Royal Asiatic Society symposium, Danesh Wisumperuma claimed there was no historical evidence that Rumassala, Ritigala and Dalukanda are remnants of rocks brought by Hanuman since geologically they were formed some 542-4,500 million years ago while the flora are Sri Lankan and not from the Himalayas. The supposed “Sita flower” is actually a commonly grown Ashoka flower. There were also attempts to project the bovitiya as a “Sita flower”. It is clear that organised groups and well-funded “experts” are writing distorted histories for a larger politicised agenda aligned to the Akhand Bharat objective. Sri Lankan authorities thinking of only commercial gain by falsifying history to draw Indian tourists are paving the path for greater historical damage with future political ramifications. Once bogus sites and histories are established and revered, presenting these as distortions and falsified history becomes a tedious task especially when there are likely to be more objections against rectifying false history.

Therefore, the Sri Lankan authorities must be legally challen­ged and reverse the damage they have already committed. It is unfair to Indian tourists who set off to Sri Lanka believing in a falsified historical trail, unless they are informed beforehand that they are paying to tour a fictitious trail.

(Views expressed are personal)

Shenali D. Waduge is a writer and political analyst

(This appeared in the print as 'Beyond the Border, History Stakes Its Claim Over Myth')