From the face of it, Ravana was all set to become one of the greatest and divine figures of the Universe and at ANTHKAL (time of death) pre-planned to get killed by RAMA so that HE can easily attain MOKSHA

From the face of it, Ravana was all set to become one of the greatest and divine figures of the Universe and at ANTHKAL (time of death) pre-planned to get killed by RAMA so that HE can easily attain MOKSHA

Born in the lineage of one of the most learned and wise sages of all times, Rishi Pulatsya, Ravana had all the bearings which could make him a legend. I have taken some below incidents from Valmiki Ramayan which proves how powerful RAVANA was and it was impossible to kill HIM without HIS WILL. Ravana was observing OPPONENT DEVOTION (विरोधी भक्ति) of RAMA and wanted himself to be killed by the hands RAMA coz he was very knowledgeble and totally aware of the fact that if a person gets killed by the hands of GOD attains MOKSHA immediately and easily.

1) Rama needed a bridge to be built across the ocean to reach Lanka, in order to defeat Ravana. The night before they started their preparations, he decided to conduct a Yagna to worship Shiva at Rameshwaram. As he was going to fight one of his most powerful adversaries, he needed the most scholarly priest to conduct the Yagna for him. He was informed that Ravana himself is the most learned scholar of all times. An invitation was sent to Ravana, who accepted it, arrived at Rameshwaram and conducted aYagna with all holy rites.
Interestingly, the Yagna could be considered successfully completed only when Rama would sit with his wife Sita in the ceremony, who was held captive by Ravana in Lanka.

♥***Ravana not only brought Sita to the Yagna, he presided over the proper arrangements and completion of theYagna. After the Yagna got over, Rama sought Ravana's blessings in defeating him, to which Ravana replied, Tathastu.

2) The great Shiva devotee that Ravana was, he wanted Shiva to move his abode from Kailash to Lanka. When Shiva didnt oblige, he even attempted to lift the entire Kailash mountain with his hands. This was one distinct attribute of Ravana, the arrogance.
When Shiva pressed his toe on Kailash, Ravana's fingers got stuck beneath the mountains, and he created & sang an entire Stotram, Shiva-Tandava-Strotram to appease SHIVA. This was a contrasting, yet another distinct attribute of the same person, his knowledge, his wisdom. On Shiva's insistence, he had even mastered all the Vedas and their knowledge.

Inspite of his arrogance and ego, his knowledge and wisdom could eventually have placed him as one of the most revered names of the Universe.

♥***Illusion of Immortality:

Ravana performed one of the most difficult penances of all times to Brahma standing on one feet for hundreds of years, and after the penance got successful, Brahma granted him Amrut which he placed in his navel. He had asked Brahma to be superior to devas,other Rakshasas, serpents, beasts, celestial beings, as he disrespected mortals .
This illusion of immortality sowed the first seeds of arrogance in Ravana

♥***The Return of the King:

Lanka was built by Vishwakarma and was acquired by Kubera, Ravana's half brother. When Ravana returned from his penance, he won the complete control over Lanka from Kuber and the kingdom flourished under his rule. It is believed that even the poorest of houses had vessels made up of gold and hunger vanished from the country. The rise of Lanka speaks volumes about him being a wise and a just ruler.

♥***The Absolute Devotee:

After being granted Amrut by Brahma, Ravana started a penance to Shiva where he sacrificed his head 10 times, Shiva each time replacing his head. After the penance, Shiva blessed Ravana with 10 heads, after which he was known as Dashanan.
The 10 heads of Ravana represented the 4 Vedas and 6 Shastras which he had mastered, the heads symbolically representing his knowledge in all the 10 directions.

By now, Ravana had become so powerful, that he defeated all the deities of heaven, and gained control over the setting and rising of sun

♥***The multi-faceted Ravana:

Nadi Shastra talk about Ravana being an expert in Ayurvedic texts. He also attended medical conferences held in those days.
Ravana was a great musician. As per legends, when he started playing his Veena, even Gods would appear to listen to his music. He was an equally fierce warrior and a great administrator. While he was moments away from his inevitable death, Rama had asked Laxman to pay respect to Ravana and learn the methods of proper governance and administration, when Ravana eventually obliges Laxman with his knowledge.

♥***Ravana loved his family & Brothers a lot:

Be it his son, his wife, his brothers or his sister, Ravana loved his family the most in the world. Though he placed his duties as a Brahmin and a king above his family, when Kumbhkarna was tricked by Brahma in receiving an eternal sleep as boon, Ravana performed some further penance and pleaded Brahma to amend the boon, which he then changed to 6 months of continuous sleep.
He loved and respected his wife Mandodari and also used to take her advises on matters of high importance.

And though, people may claim he didnt loved Vibhishana as much, he loved him until he asked Ravana to give up war against Rama, when Ravana considered his kingdom the greatest of all.

♥***NOTE: Vibhishana was the dearest to RAVANA and this is why HE shared the secret Amrut is placed in his navel, only to Vibhishana.

It was his love for Surpanakha, that caused his inevitable downfall. Though he had previously murdered her husband as well, when he had tried to overthrow Ravana in greed for power, he loved and adored his sister. Add to that his arrogance, which forced him to seek some revenge against the men had who insulted his sister, formed the ingredients of his fall.

♥***The Divine Figure: In many places in South India and South-east Asia, Ravana is still worshipped in temples, and devotees flock in large numbers to pay homage to him. Kailash Temple in Kanpur opens its gates only for one day of the year, i.e. Dusshehra, and is worshipped on the day. Apart from this, Ravana is also worshipped in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh; Alwar, Rajasthan among other places.

In spite of him being a bona-fide villain in Hindu mythology, his effigies being burnt in almost every part of India on Dusshehra, his name being equivalent to evil, the divinity and respect he still enjoys, albeit concentrated to a few specific places and sects, is worth mentioning.

♥***NOTE:
#Ravana was slain on the day of "#Navami" [on #15th_November_7292_BC], and next day --- the 10th day of the (ceased) War --- was celebrated as "victory day" (Vijaya Dashami) --- so the FIRST Vijaya Dashami was celebrated on #16th_November_7292BC [by the victorious army of Shri Rama].

On this auspicious Day (Vijaya Dashami) Ravana’s surviving and youngest brother, #Vibhisana, --- after captive #Sita’s rescue from Her confinement from the Ashokavana --- was coroneted as King or regent King of Lanka as successor of Ravana (16th November 7292 BC).

ॐ ~ψ~ || हरि अनंत हरि कथा अनंता ||The exploits of Lord Shri Ram are infinite and his stories are also infinite || ~ψ~ ॐ