The Mandākinī is the sacred river that flows through the forests of Citrakūṭa. On its banks Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa built their parṇaśālā (leaf hut) during the exile told in the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa.

The Rāmāyaṇa describes the Mandākinī as a river of rare beauty. Its water runs clear and silvery between banks full of flowers, alive with birds and lotuses. Rāma’s words to Sītā about its beauty are among the most lyrical passages of the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa. On this river Rāma also offered the piṇḍa dāna (rice-ball offering to ancestors) for his father Daśaratha, after he learned of the king’s death.

Description

The Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa describes the Mandākinī at Citrakūṭa with great care and affection. Its waters are clear and pure, fit for ritual bathing and for daily washing. Its banks are covered with flowers. Lotuses bloom in the pools, and kadamba and pāṭali trees flower along the banks. Cranes, geese, peacocks and many-coloured forest birds crowd the river. It flows with a gentle, musical sound through the forest, between banks of moss and fern.

Bharadvāja Maharshi praised the Mandākinī when he told Rāma to go to Citrakūṭa. He named the river as one great reason for choosing the place as a home for the years of exile (Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 54).

Rāma describes the river to Sītā

Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa came near Citrakūṭa. Rāma then described the beauty of the Mandākinī to Sītā, as one who shares a place of joy. He pointed to the flowers on the banks, the birds on the water, the reflections of the forest-covered mountain on the surface of the river, and the clearness of the water. In these words Rāma speaks as teacher and as husband, sharing the beauty of their new home. They are among the tenderest passages of the Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa (Chapter 56).

Sacred meaning

The Mandākinī is a sacred river. Its name means “the gentle one”. Living on its banks and bathing in its waters were part of the daily dharma routine of Rāma’s life in the forest.

On the Mandākinī’s banks the piṇḍa dāna was offered for Daśaratha. Sītā herself offered a piṇḍa made of Mandākinī sand at the river. The river thus became the witness and the means of this offering to the ancestors (Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 95–96).

Sources

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 54–56, 95–96