Indrajit

Indrajit, also called Meghanāda, is the eldest son of Rāvaṇa and the most formidable warrior of Laṅkā. He won the name Indrajit, “conqueror of Indra”, when he defeated and captured Indra in battle. This feat shook the three worlds.

In the Sundara Kāṇḍa, Indrajit is the rākshasa who captures Hanumān with the Brahmāstra, the only weapon that could bind the son of Vāyu. All the armies of Laṅkā had failed before him. His power to use the Brahmāstra marks him as a warrior of the very highest order. The palace he built in Laṅkā was among those burned by Hanumān.

Birth and early life

The Uttara Kāṇḍa tells that when Meghanāda was born, the infant gave a cry so thunderous that it silenced all the directions. For this reason he was named Meghanāda (thunder-roar).

He performed tapas (austerity) to Brahmā and received these gifts:

• a divine chariot yoked to horses with supernatural power
• a special bow with divine arrows
• the power of antardhāna, which is invisibility in battle

In the Nikumbhilā grove he performed the prescribed yajña (fire ritual). When he completed it before a battle, it made him almost invincible.

He then captured Indra himself in battle and brought him bound to Laṅkā. Brahmā came down to settle the matter. Indra was released in exchange for a vara (a boon) called ajanmā, which is invincibility in any battle where the Nikumbhilā yajña was first completed. Meghanāda received the title Indrajit for this feat. The Uttara Kāṇḍa tells this in Chapters 37–41.

Names and standing

Indrajit bore several names. Meghanāda means one whose battle-cry is like a thundercloud. Indrajit means winner over Indra.

He had won great vara through tapas, including the power to fight while invisible. This made him nearly impossible to defeat in ordinary combat. He was Rāvaṇa’s greatest military strength and the last hope of Laṅkā’s defence. The Sundara Kāṇḍa describes this in Chapter 47.

Capturing Hanumān with the Brahmāstra

Hanumān had destroyed the Pramadā Vana, the grove of Rāvaṇa. He had killed eighty thousand kinkaras (Rāvaṇa’s attendants), slain Jambumāli, seven sons of ministers and five generals, and, most painful of all, killed Aksha Kumāra, Rāvaṇa’s beloved son. Every other force that Laṅkā could send had been routed. Then Indrajit was sent against this extraordinary vānara.

Indrajit fought Hanumān in the sky above Laṅkā. He saw soon that his ordinary weapons, however strong, could not hold down the son of Vāyu. Hanumān shook off every blow and went on with his destruction. So Indrajit made a careful choice. He released the Brahmāstra, the weapon of Brahmā, which can bind any being in the three worlds.

Hanumān felt the Brahmāstra settle around him. Out of deep respect for Brahmā, he gave in to it willingly. He could have broken the bond, but he chose not to. He respected the weapon of Brahmā, and he also wished to be brought before Rāvaṇa so that he could give Rāma’s message in person. The Sundara Kāṇḍa tells this in Chapters 47–48.

The burning of his palace

Hanumān was paraded through the city and then burned Laṅkā. Indrajit’s palace was among those the flames touched. The house of the mightiest warrior of Laṅkā was reduced to ash, along with the palaces of Prahasta, Kumbhakarṇa and Rāvaṇa himself. This is told in Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 54.

Role in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa

In the great war, Indrajit was Rāvaṇa’s most destructive weapon.

His first major act was to use the nāgāstra (the serpent weapon) against Śrī Rāma and Lakshmaṇa while he fought unseen. The whole vānara army fell to the ground in bonds of serpents. Rāma and Lakshmaṇa lay as if dead. Only the arrival of Garuḍa broke the power of the nāgāstra. This is told in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44–46.

In the later part of the war, after the death of Kumbhakarṇa, Indrajit again fought unseen. This time he struck Rāma and Lakshmaṇa with the Brahmāstra, the weapon Brahmā himself had given him, and bound them. The vānara army was badly hurt. Hanumān went to Oshadhi Parvata (the mountain of healing herbs), and Susheṇa used his skill to apply the herbs and revive them. This is told in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87.

Death at Nikumbhilā

The turning point of the war came when Vibhīshaṇa told Rāma that Indrajit had gone to the Nikumbhilā grove. There he was performing the yajña that would give him complete invincibility. Rāma at once sent Lakshmaṇa to break up the ritual before it could be finished.

With Vibhīshaṇa as guide, Lakshmaṇa and the vānaras broke into the grove and interrupted the unfinished yajña. Without the yajña completed, Indrajit’s protection was not whole. The two great warriors fought a tremendous battle in the grove. Lakshmaṇa used the Indra-astra given to him by Agastya and cut off Indrajit’s head. The mightiest warrior of Laṅkā fell, and with him fell Rāvaṇa’s last great shield. This is told in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 80–90.

Additional details in the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa

Tulasīdāsa’s Rāmacaritamānas adds several details about Indrajit.

The māyā chariot

Indrajit went to battle seated on a māyā-ratha, a phantom chariot made by illusion, while he himself stayed invisible. This was the mark of his deceptive way of fighting. It made him nearly impossible to find and strike.

The twelve-year condition

The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa gives the condition for his invincibility. If he kept celibacy (dvādaśa-varsha-brahmacarya, twelve years of brahmacarya) before going to battle, no one could kill him. Lakshmaṇa’s mission to Nikumbhilā was to break this vrata (vow) before it was completed.

The illusion of Sītā

In one battle sortie, Indrajit made a māyā-Sītā, an illusory Sītā, and killed her before the eyes of Hanumān to break Rāma’s resolve. Hanumān reported this, and the whole camp of Rāma sank into grief. Vibhīshaṇa then told the truth. Indrajit was a mahā-māyāvī (a great master of illusion), and the real Sītā was safe. Hanumān confirmed this by going to Laṅkā in secret. This is told in the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, in the Māyā Sītā section.

Sulocanā

Indrajit’s wife was Sulocanā, daughter of the serpent-king Vāsuki. She was a great patīvratā (a devoted and faithful wife). After his death she came to Rāma’s camp. She refused Rāma’s offer to bring her husband back to life, and she performed sahagamana, the act of satī.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 47–48
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 54
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44–90 (including Chapters 44–46, 80–90 and 87)
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 37–42 (Chapters 37–41 for the birth and capture of Indra)
• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa (Rāmacaritamānas), Laṅkā Kāṇḍa