Indrajit

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Meghanada
Devantaka
Trishira (brothers)
SpouseSulochana
HomeLanka

Meghanada (

Vaishnavastra, and Pashupatastra.[5]

Etymology

Indrajita had the special ability to fight from the sky, hidden behind the clouds. That is why both Rama and Lakshmana were defeated during the battle and were tied up by the snake[citation needed]. In Sanskrit, the literal translation of the name "Indrajita" (इन्द्रजित) is mentioned as the "Conqueror of Indra. He defeated Indra, the king of the devas, after which he came to be known as "Indrajita" (the conqueror of Indra).[6] He is also known as Shakrajit, Ravani, Vasavajit, Varidanada, and Ghananada.

Early life

Wayang Figure Of Indrajita.

Indrajita was the eldest son of Ravana and his wife Mandodari. He was named Meghanada after his birth because his birth cry sounded like thunder. When Meghanada was going to be born, Ravana wished his son to be supreme so that no one in the world could defeat him. Ravana wanted his son to be the ultimate warrior and extremely knowledgeable. Ravana was a great astrologer. To make his son immortal, he commanded all the planets and constellations in such a position that would allow his son to be born the way he wanted. Because of Ravana's anger and power, all the planets and constellations feared him. All the planets were in the position as desired by Ravana at time of his son Meghanada's birth. All the planets aligned in such a way that they came in the 11th house of Meghanada's horoscope.[7] However, Shani (Saturn) had disobeyed Ravana's orders and had settled in the 12th house of Meghanada's horoscope. Ravana became furious at this and blamed Shani. Due to the state of Shani, Meghanada had to die at the hands of Lakshmana in the war between Prince Rama and Ravana.

Meghanada was also an expert in magical warfare, sorcery and tantra. His wife is not mentioned in the original epic; however in later versions of the epic,

Shesha Naga—is mentioned as his wife.[8]

Brahma's boon

During the battle between the devas and Ravana, Indra, king of heavens accompanied by all other devas captured

Prathyangira or the "Nikumbhila yagna" would be completed, he will get a celestial chariot, mounting on which, any enemy can't kill him in a war and become invulnerable. But Brahma also cautioned him that whosoever would destroy this yagna, would also kill him. Brahma was highly impressed by Meghanada's valor in this war and it was Brahma who coined him the name Indrajita ("the conqueror of Indra"). It is also believed that Meghanada was granted another boon by Brahma in which it was promised to him that he would only be killed by a common man who hadn't slept for 12 years continuously.[9]

Role in battle

Meghanada was the greatest warrior on Ravana's side. He was a great archer and unsurpassed grand master in illusion warfare techniques.

First Day

Rama & Lakshmana Bound By Indrajita's Nagapasha

On the first day of his battle with Rama's army, Indrajita was fast with his weapons. Angada jumped onto Indrajit's chariot and killed his horses and charioteer.[10] Immediately, Indrajit became invisible and went into the clouds, from where he attacked and swiftly wiped out the armies of Sugriva, calling on Rama and Lakshmana to come in a direct combat by his illusion tactics of sorcery, so he could avenge the deaths of his paternal uncle and his brothers. When Lakshmana appeared before him, he fought fiercely and used his most nefarious weapon Nagapasha (a trap made of a million snakes). Rama and Lakshmana fell on the ground breathless. They were rescued by Garuda on behest of Hanuman. Garuda was the uncle of Jatayu and Sampati and the enemy of the serpents and also the flying vehicle of Vishnu, of whom Rama was the seventh avatar.

Second Day

When Indrajita discovered that both Rama and Lakshmana had been rescued by Garuda and were still alive, he was livid and vowed to kill at least one of the brothers on 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 him fiercely. Indrajita used his supreme magical powers, darting across the clouds and skies like a bolt of lightning. He combined his skills of sorcery and illusion warfare, repeatedly vanishing and reappearing behind Lakshmana's back. He was invisible but his arrows injured Lakshmana. Indrajita used the Vasavi Sakthi against Lakshmana, and upon being impaled Lakshmana fell unconscious, poised to die precisely at the following sunrise. His life was saved by Hanuman, who brought the whole mountain of Dronagiri from the Himalayas to Lanka overnight to find the remedy (the magical herb - Sanjivani) for the weapon used by Indrajita and cured him. Although there is false speculation that Rama fought, too. Dharma does not allow multiple warriors to fight against one and it was only Lakshmana who was injured because it is against moral duty to fight against an invisible warrior.

Third day

Lakshmana Fights Indrajita
Killing Of Indrajita Painting by Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi

When Indrajita learned that Lakshmana had survived again, he went to his native deity's secret temple to perform the yagna that would make him a warrior who can't be killed by anyone.

Yagna
being destroyed by the armies of Lakshmana, Indrajita became enraged and stormed out of the Temple Cave. Seeing his uncle Vibhishana at Lakshmana's side multiplied Indrajita's fury manyfold. He vowed to kill his uncle Vibhisana along with Lakshmana once and for all, letting loose the Yama-astra which he had been conserving for punishing Vibhishana's perceived treason. At this juncture, Lakshmana protected Vibhishana, countering the Yama-astra owing to an earlier warning by
Shesha incarnated as Rama's brother Lakshmana, to kill Indrajita, didn't have any sleep for more than twelve years during their exile so that he would be able to serve Rama and Sita efficiently and meet the criteria to kill Indrajita.[6]

In popular culture

See also

References

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  1. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Indrajit". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-955-96843-0-5
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-57607-283-7
    .
  4. ^ 9
  5. ^ a b c DUTT, MANMATHA NATH (1894). The Ramayana. CALCUTTA: Elysium Press.
  6. ^ a b "The Ramayana index".
  7. ^ "Ravana and Shani fight over the horoscope of Meghanath". Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  8. ^ Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An alphabetical guide
  9. ISBN 978-0-520-22703-3
    .
  10. ^ "Valmiki Ramayana - Yuddha Kanda - Sarga 44".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Indrajit.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indrajit&oldid=1219281749"