Dussehra is celebrated as a sign of victory, and it signifies the good over the evil. It was in Satya Yug when Shree Ram killed Lankadhipati, Ravana, for kidnapping his wife, Sita. Ravana was a great scholar and a devotee of Lord Shiva. His pride over his power brought him destruction. On the 10th day of Ashwin month’s Krishna Paksha, Ram killed Ravana. Each year, Ravana, Kumbhkaran, and Meghnad’s effigies are brunt to celebrate good over evil. Well, there’s a lot about Ramayan in mythological records. But did you know that Dashanan had three wives, and he was said to have killed his third wife? Well, let us tell you an interesting story about Ravana’s wives.
Ravana has more than one wife, Mandodari being the first one
Ravana was blown away by the beauty of Maa Sita, Ram’s wife. When Lakhsman cut Ravan’s sister Surpanakha’s nose, she, out of revenge, ran to her brother and revealed the unmatched beauty of Sita. Listening to his sister, Ravana, in the disguise of a poor wandering mendicant, came to Ram and Sita’s hut, and seized the latter. When Ravana took Sita to Lanka, it was his wife, Mandodari, who opposed it. She even urged her husband to leave Sita, but Ravana didn’t listen.
Ravana is said to have kidnapped his first wife, Mandodari
Cut to Ravana’s wives, the Lankadhipati got married to Mandodari, the daughter of demon king, Mayasur. For Mandodari’s patibrata dharma, she is often considered as equal to Goddess Ahalya. Ravana and Mandodari had five sons, Indrajit, Meghnad, Mahodar, Prahastha, Virupaksha Bhikam. Well, very few know that Ravana actually kidnapped Mandodari. Yes, as per mythology, Ravana once went to meet Mayasur and was captivated by the beauty of Mandodari.
Being melted by Mandodari’s beauty, Ravana decided to marry her and asked for her hand from her father, Mayasur. The king of demons, Mayasur, rejected Ravana’s proposal, and the latter then kidnapped Mandodari, which led to a war between Lanka and Mayasur’s kingdom. Mandodari, who was also a scholar, understood that Ravana possessed much more power than her father, and thus, to save her family, she decided to spend the rest of her life with the Lankadhipati. That is when Ravana married Mandodari legally and made her his queen.
Mandodari was asked to marry her brother-in-law, Vibhishana
According to Valmiki Ramayana, after Ramchandra killed Ravana, Mandodari said it was the repentation of the sins that her husband had done. The quote in English reads “You who destroyed many yagyas, who broke the religion, who kidnapped the daughters of gods, demons and humans, today you will repent for your sins. It is because of this reason that one has died.” It’s also said that after Ravana was killed, Ram, Sita, and Hanuman proposed that Mandodari marry her devar, Vibhishana, who had been made the king of Lanka after Ravana’s demise. Well, Mandodari didn’t agree to the same as it was religiously, logically, and morally wrong.
Ravana has two other wives, and the Lankadhipati was said to have killed one of them
Apart from Mandodari, Ravana had other two wives. One of them was named Dhanyamalini, with whom, the Lankadhipati had two sons, Atikya and Thrishirar. Interestingly, it’s also said that Ravana had killed his third wife. While her name isn’t known, with his third wife, Ravana had three sons, Prahastha, Narantaka, and Devataka.
Well, there was no second great scholar as Ravana, and no one could beat his devotion to Lord Shiva. But it was his pride that took him down. Meanwhile, his wife Mandodari tried to take him to the right path, which he denied, and it came with its cost.
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