He secretly carried away Rama and his brother Lakshmana to the nether-world, consulted his friends, and decided to sacrifice the life of the two divine brothers at the altar of his chosen deity, goddess Mahamaya.

However, Hanuman saved their lives by decapitating Mahiravana, and destroying his army.

The Mairavan charitra was written in Telugu in Kavya style in the 16th century by Adithya kavi.

The veteran actor Vemuri Gaggaiah played the role of Mahiravana.

[3] The legend was also featured in the 2018 animated film Hanuman vs Mahiravana, released in Hindi and Tamil.