In Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, Kaikesi (also spelled Kaikasi or Kekasi) was the mother of Ravana

Ravana

' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...

.

The daughter of Sumali

Sumali

Sumali is the grandfather of Ravana, the principal antagonist of the Ramayana.He, his elder brother Malyavan and younger brother Mali were the sons of the daitya Sukesh....

 and Thataka

Thataka

Tadaka was a Yaksha princess-turned-demoness in the epic Ramayana. The daughter and only child of the Yaksha king Suketu, she was a beautiful princess that was wooed by and married Sumali, an Asura King...

 and the sister of Maricha

Maricha

Maricha or Mareecha was a rakshasa who played a small but important part in the Indian Ramayana epic. He was thrown into a remote island by the arrow of Lord Rama when he tried to interrupt Sage Vishwamitra's yagna. After that he became very afraid of the very mention of the name Rama...

 and Subahu

Subahu

Subahu is a rakshasa character in the Ramayana. He and his mother, Tataka, took immense pleasure in harassing the munis of the jungle, especially Vishvamitra, by disrupting their yajnas with rains of flesh and blood....

, she schemed with her parents to seduce the Rishi Vishrava and through him, produce powerful, demonic offspring. Vishrava

Vishrava

Vishrava was the son of Pulastya and the grandson of Brahma, the Creator, and a powerful Rishi as described in a scripture epic of Ancient India. A scholar par excellence, he earned great powers through Tapasya, which in turn, earned him great name and fame amongst his fellow Rishis...

 left his wife Ilavida

Ilavida

Ilavida or Idavida is a character in the Ramayana, as the stepmother of Ravana and the first wife of Vishrava, the son of Brahma, the Creator....

 and his son Kubera

Kubera

Kubera , also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North , and a protector of the world His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of...

 to marry Kaikesi and through her, fathered Ravana

Ravana

' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...

, Vibhishana

Vibhishana

Vibhishana or Bibhishan 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 in an orderly fashion...

, Kumbhakarna

Kumbhakarna

Kumbhakarna , is a rakshasa and brother of Ravana in the Indian Ramayana epic...

 and a daughter, Surpanakha

Surpanakha

Surpanakha or Shurpanakha is one of the most important characters in the Ramayana. Indeed, Valmiki comes close to claiming that if there had been no Kaikeyi and no Surpanakha, then there would have been no Ramayana and no war with Ravana...

.

When Ravana dethroned Kubera and crowned himself King of Lanka, a disgusted Vishrava disowned his demonic family and returned to Ilavida

Ilavida

Ilavida or Idavida is a character in the Ramayana, as the stepmother of Ravana and the first wife of Vishrava, the son of Brahma, the Creator....

for good.