1974 Postage Stamp Shows Ravana With Nine Heads Instead Of Ten In MP's Mahidpur
Mahidpur (Madhya Pradesh): A postage stamp issued by the Department of Posts in 1974 depicts Ravana with nine heads instead of the traditional 10, according to philatelic material collected by Jawahar Dosi Piyush. The Rs 2 stamp was part of a set of four titled ‘Masks’, issued on April 15, 1974. Piyush said the depiction effectively shows Ravana as ‘Navanana’. His collection also includes…
In 1974, the Indian Department of Posts released a postage stamp featuring Ravana with nine heads, deviating from the traditional depiction of ten heads. This unique stamp was part of a four-stamp set titled ‘Masks’, issued on April 15, 1974. Philatelic collector Jawahar Dosi Piyush noted that the design effectively portrayed Ravana as 'Navanana'.
The collection of Piyush also encompasses stamps and first-day covers with mythology themes from India and abroad. Nepal released a Sita-Ram stamp for Ram Navami, while other countries issued stamps featuring characters from Indian culture. The Department of Posts also published commemorative stamps on 'Puppets of India' on February 13, 2026, which included puppetry traditions from various regions of India.
Since 2017, the department has issued 11 stamps on the Ramayana theme, including scenes related to Ravana's demise. Despite Ravana's association with evil, such stamps signify the space that Indian cultural and mythological traditions have found in philately.
Written by urgent.news from Free Press Journal's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
