In the world of good and bad, while good teaches mankind to walk on the path of Dharma, bad is like a warning not to fall into evil path which leads to downfall. Ravan’s life itself is a noted example for the same where having bestowed with ten heads and great power, for his mistakes in life, there are treated as the symbols of ten things to be kept away from life. As much the ten heads of Ravan made him superior and powerful, they reflected his thoughts, personality and character which in fact are like warning lessons for mankind for not deterring the right conduct.
As he was an ardent devotee of Bhagwan Shiv, he once severed all of his heads to appease him. Bhagwan Shiv was immensely pleased with his sacrifice and granted him back the ten heads and with that, great power too. However, Ravan could be anything else, but a good individual.
Ravan grew to be an egoistic demon, terrifying the worlds by and forcing them to comply with him. He disturbed the balance of Dharma in the Universe, and Bhagwan Vishnu incarnated as Shri Ram to get the world rid away of him. The ten heads, powers and might of Ravan were of no use in his battle with Shri Ram and thus he succumbed.
Being a scholastic personality, the ten heads initially symbolised the four Vedas, and the six Sastras in which he was well versed with. But he never understood the true meaning of what he learnt, and hence the ten heads came to be the representations of ego, anger, attachment, greed, hatred, fear jealousy, lust, and insensitivity, finally regret. The negative emotions overpowered his intellectual capabilities and thus in spite of being the possessor of great knowledge and intellect, it was no use.
Ego made him never pay heed to anybody who advised him not to go against Dharma. Anger made him blind and he never saw beyond Shoorpanakhas’s plan of involving her own greed and revenge into the plan of abduction of Mata Sita. Desire towards material desires made him drive away his brother Kuber from his city, and keep all his riches including the Pushpak to his own.
Greed is the root cause of his doom. To kidnap other person’s wife and trying to make her his own depicts his greed for desires. The hatred for Shri Ram never made him look beyond it and realise his sins. One who is tormented by greed and hatred always has fear of the opponent. The moment Ravan kidnaps Mata Sita, a sense of fear enters him as he knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he tries all ways to subdue and not show it.
Ravan was jealous of Shri Ram in all ways. This jealousy drove him mad, and he committed many mistakes from which he could never recover. He regarded women as things of luxury and beauty but never saw divinity and the piousness in them and hence his lust on Mata Sita led to his doom. Ravan is a strong example of understanding that power and having some boons like ten heads is not important for one to succeed in life, but walking on the path of Dharma like Shri Ram is important and necessary to be successful and complete and his virtues spread not only to his coming family generations, but to the entire world.