Indrajit: (pronounced
indrajīt) or
Meghanada/
Meghanath, a mythological warrior mentioned in the Indian epic
RamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon . The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being Mahabharata...
, was the son of the
LankaLanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, and is the ancient name for present day Sri Lanka. The fortress was situated in a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the Trikuta Mountains...
n king
RavanaRavana is a character in Hindu and Srilankan history, a powerful legendary king who ruled in Ancient Lanka and is the primary antagonist in the Ramayan epic....
. The word 'Indrajit' literally means the 'conqueror of Indra (the Hindu king of gods)'.
Indrajit played an active role in the great war between Rama and Ravana. He was said to be invincible in battle because of a
YajnaIn Hinduism, Yajña is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...
he used to perform before every battle. He twice defeated Rama and
LakshmanaLakshmana ; Javanese language: Lesmono) was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana. Within a number of Hindu traditions Lakshmana is considered to be an avatara, in a secondary form to Rama's main appearance...
, but on the third occasion Lakshmana disrupted the Yajna with the help of
VibhishanaVibhishana or in Javanese language as Wibisanaor Wibisono is a character in the epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the demon Ravana. Though a half-demon himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama...
and killed him.
Biography
Indrajit was born to Ravana and his wife
MandodariIn Hinduism, Mandodari was the beautiful and pious daughter of the King of Danavas, Mayasura and the celestial dancer, Apsara Hema. She is best known as the Queen Consort of Ravana, the son of Rishi Vishrava and the demonic King of Lanka....
, the daughter of
MayasuraIn Hindu mythology, Maya , or Mayasura was a great ancient king of the Asura, Daitya and Rakshasa races upon earth. He was also the chief architect of the peoples of the netherworlds.-Tripura:...
. He was named "Meghanada", because his birth cry sounded like thunder. He defeated
Indra' is the King of the gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology, and also he is the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall....
, the king of the
DevasDeva is the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a God, angel, spirit, celestial being, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence, and is thus comparable to the Hebrew Elohim...
, after which he came to be known as 'Indrajit' ("the conqueror of Indra").
At a very young age, Meghnada became the possessor of several supreme celestial weapons, including
BrahmastraIn ancient Sanskrit writings, a Brahmastra is a weapon created by Brahma. It is sometimes known as the Brahma Astra . As described in a number of the Puranas, it is considered the deadliest weapon...
,
Pashupatastra, and
VaishnavastraIn Hinduism, the Vaishnavastra is the personal missile weapon of the God Vishnu. Once fired it cannot be thwarted by any means, except by the will of Vishnu himself....
, under the guidance of
ShukraShukra , the Sanskrit for "clear, pure" or "brightness, clearness", is the name the son of Bhrgu and Urjaswathi, and preceptor of the Daityas, and the guru of the Asuras, identified with the planet Venus, one of the Navagrahas...
, the guru of the
daityaIn Hinduism, the Daityas were the children of Diti and the sage Kashyapa. They were a race of giants who fought against the gods because they were jealous of their Deva half-brothers. Some known Daityas include Bali, Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha...
s (demons). He was married to
SulochanaSulochana was the daughter of the King of the Serpents Shesha Naga, who is mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana. She was married to Indrajit who was the son of demon king Ravana, who defeated Indra, hence received his title...
, the daughter of the King of the Serpents Shesha Naga.
Brahma's boon
During the
Devasoor Sangram (the battle between the
devaDeva can refer to:A religious concept:* Deva , Hindu deity or deities* Deva , a superhuman being in traditional Buddhist cosmology* Deva , spiritual forces or beings behind nature...
s and the
asura-In Hinduism:In Hinduism, the Asura are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes referred to as demons or sinful. They were opposed to the Devas. Both groups are children of Kasyapa. The views of Asuras in Hinduism vary due to the many deities who were Asuras then later became known as Devas...
s), he freed his father from the shackles of
Indra' is the King of the gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology, and also he is the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall....
. He then turned the tables on Indra, tying him up and mounting him onto his celestial chariot.
At this juncture,
BrahmaBrahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. He is not to be confused with the Supreme Cosmic Spirit in Hindu Vedanta philosophy known as Brahman. Brahmā's consort is Saraswati, the goddess of learning...
intervened and asked him to free Indra. Meghnada obliged, and was granted a chance to ask for a boon from Brahma. Meghanada asked for immortality, but Brahma remarked that absolute immortality is against the law of the nature. Instead, he was then granted another boon: he would never be won over in any battle, until his
Yagna (fire-worship) of his native goddess Nikumbala was disturbed and detroyed. On the completion of the Yagna, a supreme celestial chariot would appear, boarding which, Indrajeet would become invincible in any battle. But Brahma also cautioned him that whosoever would destroy this yagna would also kill him. It was Brahma who gave him the name
Indrajit ("the conqueror of Indra").
Battle against Rama and Lakshmana
Indrajit joined the battle when all his brothers had been killed by Rama and his army. His father, Ravana, had been humiliated in the battle by Rama, and his paternal uncle
KumbhakarnaKumbhakarna , in the Hindu epic Ramayana, was a Rakshasa and brother of Ravana...
had been killed by Rama. Indrajit fought with Rama's army for three days.
First day
On the first day of his battle with Rama's army, Indrajit was swift with his weapons. He swiftly wiped out the Armies of the
SugrivaIn Hindu mythology, Sugriva In Hindu mythology, Sugriva In Hindu mythology, Sugriva (Sanskrit: सुग्रीव, Sugrīva, Malay: Sugriwa, Thai: Sugreep, Creole: Soogrim , also spelled Sugreeva or Sugreev, was the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara or monkey kingdom Kishkindha....
, calling on the Lord Rama and Lakshmana to come out of their hiding, so he could avenge the deaths of his paternal uncle and his brothers. When Rama and Lakshmana appeared before him, he fought fiercely, and arrested both the brothers using his most nefarious weapon
Nagapash (a trap made of million snakes). Both the brothers fell on the ground breathless. They were rescued by the
GarudaThe Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology....
on behest of
HanumanHanuman , known also as Anjaneya or Maruti , is one of the most popular concepts of devotees of God in Hinduism and one of the most important personalities in the Indian epic, the Ramayana...
, who was also the enemy of the serpents & also the the flying vehicle of narayana.
Second day
When Indrajeet came to know that both the Brothers Rama and Lakhsmana were still alive and were rescued by Garuda, he was fiery and vowed to kill at least one of the brothers that day. When the battle started, he used all his force to cast a havoc on the armies of Sugriva. At this Lakshmana appeared before him, and fought a fierce battle with him. When Indrajeet realised that Lakshmana could not be won over, he started using his supreme magical powers, darting across the clouds and skies like a bolt of lightning. He combined his skills of sorcery and deceptive warfare, repeatedly vanishing and reappearing behind Lakshmana's back to catch him off-guard, when used his fiercest and deadliest weapon,
Shakti. On being impaled in the back by the weapon, Lakshmana fell unconscious, poised to die precisely at the following sunrise. His life was saved by Lord Hanuman, who kidnapped the
Rajvaidya(royal physician)
Sushena from the Lankan fortress, and brought the whole mountain of Dhauladhar from the Himalayas to Lanka overnight to find the remedy(the magical herb -
Sanjivani booti) for the weapon used by Indrajeet. Sushena first was hesitant to use the herb on an enemy, which was only common as he was abducted from Lanka and was in a bad mood, but when Rama reminded him of the ancient saying that physicians then used, "A physician has no friends or enemies", Sushena bowed beneath the saying and cured Lakshmana, who, aroused and ready, challenged Indrajit once more.
Third day
When Indrajeet came to know that Lakhsman had survived again, he went to his native deity's secret temple, to perform the yagna that would make him invincible. Vibhishana learnt of Indrajeet's routine through his spies and alerted Lord Rama. Lakshmana and Vibhisana took the opportunity to face Indrajeet in the yagnaagaar where Indrajeet would not touch any weapons. Indrajeet fought Lakshmana with the utensils of the yagna and even managed to make him unconscious for some time. But before Indrajeet could leave the place to get armed, Lakshmana regained consciousness and killed him. Upon his death his wife
SulochanaSulochana was the daughter of the King of the Serpents Shesha Naga, who is mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana. She was married to Indrajit who was the son of demon king Ravana, who defeated Indra, hence received his title...
became
SatiSatī is a funeral practice among some Hindu communities in which a recently widowed woman would either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre...
on his funeral pyre .
In popular culture
In modern popular culture, Indrajit appeared as a villain (referred to as the King of Demons) in the
Xena: Warrior Princess episode 'The Way,' and was portrayed by Rajneel Singh.
In the video game Digital Devil Saga, Meganada/Indrajit appears as a boss.
External links