Maharishi Vishrava

At a glance

• Name: Vishrava (विश्रवा), also written Vishravas. His sons are called Vaishravana (Kubera) and, collectively, Paulastya — "descendants of Pulastya".
• Category: Maharshi of the line of Pulastya.
• Father: the sage Pulastya; mother, the daughter of the royal sage Trinabindu in the Ramayana (Havirbhu in the Bhagavata).
• Spouses: Devavarnini (often called Ilavida), daughter of the sage Bharadvaja; and Kaikasi, daughter of the rakshasa Sumali.
• Children: Kubera, by Devavarnini; Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Shurpanakha and Vibhishana, by Kaikasi.
• Source: chiefly the Uttara Kanda of Valmiki's Ramayana.
• Associated places: local tradition places his ashram at Bisrakh, near Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
• Best known for: being the father of both Kubera and Ravana.

Birth and family background

The Uttara Kanda tells how the sage Pulastya, doing tapas on Mount Meru, was so disturbed by young women playing nearby that he declared any girl who came into his sight would conceive. The daughter of the royal sage Trinabindu, who had not heard this, came near and conceived. Her father gave her to Pulastya in marriage, and their son was Vishrava, a sage devoted, like his father, to Vedic study and austerity. The Bhagavata Purana gives Pulastya a different wife, Havirbhu, daughter of Kardama, and names both Agastya and Vishrava as their sons.

Life and key episodes

Devavarnini and the birth of Kubera

The sage Bharadvaja, impressed by Vishrava's learning and conduct, gave him his daughter Devavarnini in marriage. Their son was Vaishravana, "son of Vishrava", better known as Kubera. After long tapas, Brahma made Kubera one of the four guardians of the world (lokapalas), lord of wealth and keeper of the north, and gave him the flying chariot Pushpaka. On his father's advice, Kubera made his home in Lanka, a city the rakshasas had abandoned.

Kaikasi and the children of dusk

The rakshasa Sumali, who had fled Lanka, saw Kubera's splendour and wanted grandsons as powerful. He sent his daughter Kaikasi to Vishrava. She came to him at dusk, while he was performing the evening fire-ritual, and asked for sons. Vishrava told her that because she had come at that fierce hour, her sons would be cruel and fearsome. When she pleaded, he granted that her last son would be righteous. Their children were Ravana (first called Dashagriva, "ten-necked"), Kumbhakarna, a daughter Shurpanakha, and finally Vibhishana — who was devoted to dharma, as promised.

The quarrel over Lanka

Urged by his mother to match his half-brother, Ravana won boons from Brahma through tapas, and then demanded Lanka from Kubera. Kubera asked their father what to do. Vishrava advised him to give up the city rather than fight his brother, and to go and live on Mount Kailasa. Ravana later took the Pushpaka chariot from Kubera as well. The Uttara Kanda also describes Vishrava's sorrow at Ravana's conduct and his warnings to him.

Another version: the Mahabharata

The Vana Parva of the Mahabharata tells the family story differently. There Kubera is Pulastya's own son, and Vishrava is a second self Pulastya created in anger when Kubera left him to serve Brahma. To please Vishrava, Kubera sent him three rakshasa women: Pushpotkata, who bore Ravana and Kumbhakarna; Malini, who bore Vibhishana; and Raka, who bore Khara and Shurpanakha. Both epics agree that Kubera and Ravana are half-brothers through Vishrava and that the rakshasa line descends from a sage.

Why he is remembered today

Vishrava is remembered mostly as a link in Ravana's family, the reason Ravana is called a brahmin and a learned Vedic scholar despite being a rakshasa king. At Bisrakh, near Greater Noida, local belief holds that Vishrava had his ashram there and that Ravana was born there; the village has a Shiva temple linked to Vishrava and, unusually, does not burn Ravana's effigy at Dussehra. That is a local tradition rather than something the Ramayana states.

Variant traditions and a historical note

The two epics differ on who Kubera's father is and on the names of Ravana's mother (Kaikasi in the Ramayana, Pushpotkata in the Mahabharata). Later texts usually call Kubera's mother Ilavida rather than Devavarnini. The story of the dusk visit is the Ramayana's own explanation of how a sage's sons could become rakshasas, and should be read as moral teaching as much as genealogy.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ravana's father?

The sage Vishrava, son of Pulastya. Ravana's mother was Kaikasi, daughter of the rakshasa Sumali.

Are Ravana and Kubera brothers?

Yes, half-brothers. Both are sons of Vishrava: Kubera by Devavarnini (Ilavida), and Ravana by Kaikasi.

Who were Vishrava's wives?

Devavarnini, also called Ilavida, daughter of the sage Bharadvaja; and Kaikasi, daughter of the rakshasa Sumali. The Mahabharata instead names three rakshasa women: Pushpotkata, Malini and Raka.

Why was Ravana a rakshasa if his father was a sage?

The Uttara Kanda says Kaikasi approached Vishrava at dusk, a fierce time, so their sons were born with cruel natures; only Vibhishana, by Vishrava's later grace, was righteous.

Who was Ravana's grandfather?

On his father's side, the sage Pulastya, one of the Saptarshi; on his mother's side, the rakshasa Sumali.

Where was Vishrava's ashram?

The Ramayana does not fix a place. Local tradition at Bisrakh village, near Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, says his ashram was there and that Ravana was born there.

Was Vibhishana different from his brothers?

Yes. When Kaikasi pleaded with Vishrava, he promised her that her youngest son would follow dharma. Vibhishana later left Ravana to join Rama and became king of Lanka.