Mandodari
Ravana's Wise Queen
The wise and graceful queen of Lanka who begged Ravana to return Sita. She is honored as one of the five great women - the Panchakanya - though she married the epic's villain.
- Sanskrit/Telugu name: మండోదరి
- Also known as: Queen of Lanka
- Symbols: Queen's crown, Lotus of Lanka
Story
Mandodari was the daughter of Mayasura, the brilliant architect of the asuras, and an apsara - so she inherited both genius and grace. She became Ravana's chief queen and the mother of his greatest son, Indrajit (Meghanada). Though married to the most feared king in the three worlds, Mandodari never stopped speaking the truth to him. When Ravana brought the kidnapped Sita to Lanka, Mandodari pleaded with him over and over: return her, this adharma will burn our whole family. Ravana loved his queen but ignored her wisdom - and everything she warned about came true. She lost her son, her brothers-in-law, and finally her husband to the war. Her lament over fallen Ravana is one of the most moving passages Valmiki wrote - she mourns not just her husband, but the great scholar and devotee he could have been. Remarkably, tradition honors Mandodari as one of the Panchakanya, five women whose names are recited each morning for their purity of heart - a villain's wife remembered as one of the noblest women ever.
Fun fact
Mandodari is one of the Panchakanya - five ideal women honored in a daily morning verse - making Ravana's queen one of the most respected women in all Hindu tradition.