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Ravana : was one of the two chief dwara-pālas of Lord Vishnu who were cursed by Rishi Durvāsā to be born in Mrityuloka (the world of Death, our evolutionary earth) as they had stopped him from disturbing the Lord in his bedroom. They chose to be the Lord’s enemies on earth to be able remember Him constantly & gain mukti by being killed by Him. Rāvana, Kumbhakarṇa & Vibhīshaṇa were the sons of Rishi Vishravas by his second wife Kekasi, daughter of the Rākshasa who tricked him into marrying her. Vishravas’ first wife Ilavida’s only child was Kubera. Vishravas was the son of Rishi Pulastya, one of the first ten Prajāpatis. Rāvana’s intense tapasyā brought him great boons from Lord Brahma. Through his father Rāvana mastered all the Vedas & scriptures & through his mother & her brother the ambition & cunning of the Asura adept in all types of warfare & the hater of Vishnu – at the same time he became the second greatest devotee of Lord Shiva after Parashurāma. Rāvana married Mandōdari the daughter of Māyasūra. Her love & loyalty to her husband earned her the eternal place as one of the Pañcakanyāḥ (see Ahalyā).