Indrajit

Encyclopedia : I : IN : IND : Indrajit

This page contains Indic text. Without rendering support, you may see irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts. [Enabling complex text support for Indic scriptsMore...]

From the Hindu epic Ramayana, Indrajit (Devanagari: इंद्रजीत, indrajīt) also called Meghanaada (मेघनाद, méghanāda) was the son of Raavana, King of Lanka (now Sri Lanka), and Mandodari, daughter of Mayasura. He was married to Sulochana she was the daughter of sheshanaga and Lakshman was the incarnation of sheshanaga thus making Lakshmana her father and indrajit's father in law. (Prameela) hailed from the nagas.

Indrajit was named Meghnad at birth because when he cried for the first time, thunder and lightning struck, signifying the birth of a great warrior. The name 'Indrajit' ('Indra' is the mythical king of gods. 'Jit' means conqurer) was granted to him by Lord Brahma when he conquered Indra, the King of Devas, and made him a prisoner.

During the great war between Rama and Ravana, Indrajit was sent to war due to his extraordinary skills. All the warriors on Ravana's side were conditionally unbeatables. Ravana had his death-arrow hidden inside a pillar. Indrajit was unbeatable in war, and could only be killed when he would pray to god. While praying in a yagna (called Nikumbhila Yagna), he would never touch a weapon. Lakshmana took that opportunity and killed him in an unfair way.

A Brahmastra is a weapon that granted to Indrajit upon gaining victory on the King of Gods, Indra. It is said that this weapons has tremendous power and when it leaves the bow, it can beat any arrow and kill any person at wish.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.