Indrajit Vadha (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa)

Indrajit, born Meghanāda, was the strongest son of Rāvaṇa and the greatest block in the way of Rāma’s victory. His death is the high point of the war of Laṅkā. Twice before, Indrajit had struck down Rāma and Lakshmaṇa, once with the nāgāstra (serpent weapon) and once with the Brahmāstra. On his third sortie, Lakshmaṇa broke his homa (fire ritual) at Nikumbhilā and met him in open combat. Indrajit died at the hand of Lakshmaṇa, also called Saumitri, and the three worlds rejoiced. The account is in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa also tells it, with some added touches.

Who was Indrajit

Indrajit was the eldest son of Rāvaṇa and Mandodarī. At his birth his cry sounded like thunder, and so he was called Meghanāda, “cloud-roar”.

He earned the name Indrajit, “conqueror of Indra”, by taking Indra himself prisoner in battle with the pāśa (noose) given by Brahmā. Brahmā stepped in. Indra was let go only on the condition that Indrajit be given deathlessness. This was later made narrower: Indrajit would be unbeatable only so long as he finished his homa at Nikumbhilā before battle without any break.

He was the most feared warrior of the three worlds. By the vara (boon) of Brahmā he could be unseen in battle, from the sky, by the power called antarddhāna. He was a master of māyā-yuddha (war by illusion) and carried the Brahmāstra and the nāgāstra. This is told in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 36.

First attack: the serpent weapons

Early in the war, Indrajit came into battle unseen. He rode a ratha (chariot) made invisible by the power of his abhichāra homa. He sent down a rain of nāgāstras, weapons made as poisonous serpents with golden wings. Rāma and Lakshmaṇa were pierced from head to foot. Every limb was bound in serpent arrows. They fell on the field without moving, in pools of blood.

The vānara leaders gathered around them in grief. They were Hanumān, Aṅgada, Sugrīva, Nīla, Jāmbavān, Dvivida, Mainda and Susheṇa. This is told in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44–45.

Indrajit went back to Laṅkā in triumph and told Rāvaṇa that Rāma and Lakshmaṇa were dead. Rāvaṇa was full of joy. Mandodarī was shown the fallen brothers. Only Vibhīshaṇa saw through the māyā of the rākshasa. He comforted Sugrīva and said, “Rāma lives. This is a līlā (divine play) of the avatāra. Our dharma holds us up.” This is told in Chapter 46.

Then Garuḍa came down from the sky. He is the mount of Vishṇu and the natural enemy of the nāgas. By his touch alone he destroyed every serpent arrow that bound Rāma and Lakshmaṇa. The wounds healed at once. Rāma knew that this was no common being and said, “You are a friend of my own ātman (self).” Garuḍa smiled, saluted Rāma and went away into the sky. This is told in Chapter 50.

Second attack: the Brahmāstra and the Māyā Sītā

Rāvaṇa sent Indrajit back with orders to finish the brothers with the Brahmāstra. This time Indrajit did the full homa at Nikumbhilā. This is a holy grove outside Laṅkā, where he had received his varas from Brahmā. When the fire ritual was complete, the fire took the offerings without smoke, which is a sign of victory. A black goat was offered alive. Then Indrajit climbed into his invisible ratha and let go the Brahmāstra. Once more Rāma and Lakshmaṇa fell unconscious. This is told in Chapter 80.

To break the heart of the vānara army, Indrajit made a Māyā Sītā, a perfect false image of Sītā. He put her on his chariot in full view of Hanumān and the army and “killed” her before their eyes. The vānaras were filled with grief and despair. Only Vibhīshaṇa knew the māyā of the rākshasas. He told Hanumān that this Sītā was an illusion, and that the true Sītā could never be harmed by the son of Rāvaṇa. This is told in Chapter 81.

Jāmbavān was barely alive on the field. He spoke to Hanumān, who was coming back to his senses. “Go to Oshadhi Parvata, the Mountain of Healing Herbs, and bring back the four divine herbs: Mṛtasañjīvanī, Viśalyakaraṇī, Sauvarṇakaraṇī and Saṃdhānakaraṇī.”

Hanumān flew north and found the mountain, which shone in the dark. He could not tell which herbs were the right ones, so he pulled up the whole peak and brought it back to Laṅkā. The smell alone brought back hundreds of fallen vānaras. Susheṇa, the vānara physician, gave the herbs. Rāma and Lakshmaṇa rose up fully healed. This is told in Chapters 87–88.

Third sortie: Lakshmaṇa at Nikumbhilā

Vibhīshaṇa now told the secret. “Indrajit is unbeatable only when he has finished his Nikumbhilā homa before battle. If Lakshmaṇa breaks it, Indrajit will be forced into open fighting. In open fighting, without his invisible ratha, he can be beaten.” Rāma sent Lakshmaṇa at once to Nikumbhilā with Vibhīshaṇa, Hanumān and a large force of vānaras. This is told in Chapter 83.

Indrajit was in the middle of his ritual in the holy grove, among the dark fires of the abhichāra homa. The sudden attack broke in on him. The vānaras fell upon his rākshasa guards. Vibhīshaṇa himself waded into the fight with his own men.

Indrajit saw the priests who served at the homa scattered and the fire broken. He left the unfinished ritual and climbed into his chariot in fury. He faced Vibhīshaṇa, his own uncle, with bitter words and called him a traitor. Vibhīshaṇa answered calmly, “You are the traitor to dharma. I serve Rāma.” This is told in Chapter 88.

The final duel

What followed between Lakshmaṇa and Indrajit is told as the fiercest single combat of the whole war. They sent bāṇa-parampara, unbroken streams of arrows, at each other. This went on so long that the day turned dark with the thick shafts in the sky. Neither grew tired. Their golden arrows met in the air and broke into pieces that fell like stars. This is told in Chapters 89–90.

Indrajit struck Lakshmaṇa seven times, Hanumān ten times and Vibhīshaṇa a hundred times. Lakshmaṇa laughed. “Your arrows feel like garlands of flowers to me. Is this the best Indrajit can do?” Then he broke the golden armour (kavaca) of Indrajit with his own arrows.

The charioteer of Indrajit fell to a shaft of Lakshmaṇa. Four vānaras killed his horses. They were Pramāthi, Śarabha, Rabhasa and Gandhamādana. The chariot was shattered, and Indrajit came down to fight on foot. This is told in Chapter 90.

Vibhīshaṇa said to Lakshmaṇa, “The colour is draining from the face of Indrajit. This is the moment. Press your attack.” Lakshmaṇa drew an arrow of great brightness, one that Indra had given him. He called on the vajra of Indra with a mantra and shot the arrow at the rākshasa hero. The arrow cut off the head of Indrajit. The crowned head of Meghanāda, the conqueror of Indra, fell on the field, and his body collapsed. This is told in Chapter 91.

The sky above broke into joy. Devas, gandharvas, ṛshis and siddhas rained flowers. In his palace, Rāvaṇa felt the earth shake. He knew that his son was dead before the messenger came. He wept with the grief of a mountain that has lost its peak.

Rāvaṇa’s reaction

When the news reached him, Rāvaṇa fell to the ground in grief. Indrajit had been more than a son. He was the cornerstone of the defence of Laṅkā, “the pillar of our army”. Until this day he had never been beaten in battle.

Rāvaṇa came out to the battlefield himself, his eyes red with rage. He swore to kill Sītā before he went to fight. Only Suparśva, one of his ministers, held him back. “To kill a woman, and above all Sītā, would destroy your name for ever. Go and kill Rāma. That is the way of a warrior.” Rāvaṇa turned to war. This is told in Chapter 91.

The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa account

The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa keeps the main shape of the Vālmīki account. Here Śiva tells it to Pārvatī, and some touches are added.

Indrajit’s resolve

The vānaras had thrown Indrajit against the walls of Laṅkā, and he was stunned. When he came to his senses, Meghanāda made a resolve. “I promised my father that I would destroy the enemy. I cannot show him my face until I keep that promise.” He went at once to the forest of Nikumbhilā and began the ajaya-yajña, the fire ritual for sure victory.

Vibhīshaṇa’s news

Vibhīshaṇa learned of the plan of Indrajit through his own messengers. He told Śrī Rāma at once. “O Rāghurāya! Indrajit, the slayer of the devas, has begun the yajña at Nikumbhilā. If it is finished without a break, it will be impossible to beat him.”

Rāma’s command

Rāma called Aṅgada, Hanumān and the leading vānara commanders. He ordered them, “Go at once with Saumitri and destroy the homa that Indrajit has begun.”

To Lakshmaṇa himself he said, “Destroy that enemy of the devas. Give him svarga (heaven) and bring joy to the world of the devas.”

Lakshmaṇa bowed at the feet of his elder brother and made a vow. “O elder brother! I will not come back until I have sent this enemy of the devas on his way to paraloka (the world beyond).” He marched into Laṅkā with the host of vānaras.

The breaking of the yajña

Meghanāda was already deep in the homa. He was offering buffalo flesh and blood into the fire with great focus. The vānaras fell on him. They broke up the offerings to the fire, scattered the materials of the ritual, seized Indrajit by the ears and pulled him from his seat.

Indrajit’s dīkshā (ritual vow) was broken. He rose in terrible fury with his trident. One by one he wounded the vānaras with it and left them stunned and unconscious across the field.

The final duel

Lakshmaṇa saw that his vānara force was overwhelmed. He stepped forward and rained arrows on Indrajit like bolts of lightning. Indrajit jumped into the sky and fought from the unseen heights. He appeared and vanished, and struck from every side, in the hidden way of fighting at which he was a master. Even Lakshmaṇa was pressed and confused.

Then Lakshmaṇa saw that this kind of fight was useless. He held Śrīpati, Bhagavān Vishṇu, in his heart. He drew the bowstring to his ear and let go the mahāstra (great weapon). The arrow struck, and Indrajit cried out, “Rāma! Lakshmaṇa! Where are you?” and gave up his life.

After the vadha

Aṅgada and the gathered vānaras honoured the fallen Indrajit. They said, “O Indrajit! Blessed is the mother who bore you. We bow to your strength and courage.”

Then Hanumān took the body of the slain Meghanāda and laid it at the gate of Laṅkā. Lakshmaṇa went back in triumph to Śrī Rāma. Rāma embraced him, and Aṅgada and Hanumān as well, with great joy.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44–46, 80–91 (Chapter 36 for the account of Indrajit; Chapter 50 for Garuḍa)
• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, the Lakshmaṇa–Meghanāda Vadha section