The Righteous Wife

Rao Nahar Panwar made Mandore the capital of Marwar, Rajasthan, until Rao Jodha shifted to the Mehrangarh Fort. Mandore, a few km from the blue city of Jodhpur, now stands as a tourist spot with an archaeological park of ancient temples. Dated back to around the 6th Century and older, these temples are an example of wonderfully curved stone architectural wonders. Amongst them stands a temple to an unusual deity. The King of Lanka, the demon devotee of Shiva, Ravana. Surprised? The Brahmins of this place religiously worship him twice every day. Why?

Temples at Mandore

During the Puranic times, Maya Danav, the architect among Demons, son of Rishi Kashyap and his wife Aditi, used to rule Madnore, with his consort, the Apsara queen Hema. They had two sons, Mayavi and Dhundhuvi, but yearned for a daughter. Devotees of Shiva prayed to him for a daughter.

Once an Apsara, Madhura visited Kailash in the absence of Devi Parvati and tried to seduce the Lord. Angered at her action, the Devi had cursed her to be born as a human and suffer ill fate because of a husband. Because of her Karma, Madhura was born to Hema and Maya Danav as their daughter Mandodari. Another version says that, after the curse, Lord Shiva had given her the boon of having a valiant warrior as her husband.

A young maiden, learned, full of Dharma and beauty, grew up in Mandore, pampered and considered blessed by the Lord himself. Meanwhile, Ravana's newly transformed terror form, after the Lord tricked him and refused to live in Lanka, was spreading Far and wide. Ravana, on his visit to Mandore, fell in love with the dignified and independent-minded Mandodari. One version says he had forcefully married her against her wishes, and she is told to do so to save her country. Another version says his bravery attracted Mandodari.

On her setting foot in his household, his luck changed; he had victories across the three Loks and became the Trilokadhipati, the Lord of Heaven, Hell and Universe. She gave him three sons: Indrajit or Meghnad, the crown prince, Akshay Kumar, and Atikara. Some tales say she also had a daughter, ordered to be killed by Ravana as he was cursed by his Doom because of a woman. Mandodari, being the mother, could not kill her own blood and set her afloat in the name of the Lord in the seas of Lanka. Some stories suggest that the very daughter reached Janaka, as Bhudevi's daughter Sita, hence causing Ravana's doom. Whatever the reason was, Mandodari was always affectionate towards the captured Sita.
She was righteous; she always tried to stop her husband from his wrongdoings in vain. She suffered the loss of her children for his deeds. As some suggest, as the Karma of the last life, Ravana's passion towards other women in the Harem and his nature to look down upon women, always hurt, insulted and made life difficult for Mandodari. Still, as a wife's Dharma said, she stood by him till his last day, knowing his doom was near, as his Ardhangini. On Ravana's death, she apologised to Lord Rama for his misdeeds.

Lord Rama, being a follower of Dharma, ordered Vivishana, the youngest brother of Ravana, to be the Ruler of the new Lanka. But the rule of the Aryans suggested he needed to marry the reigning Queen to be the king. Mandodari married her brother-in-law as an act of statesmanship for the future of Lanka. She, for her chastity and extreme sacrifice in her life, is often remembered among the most powerful five women in Hinduism. She is often termed as "Water", turbulent from the surface, deep in her spiritual journey through life.

Mandodari, who had always asked Ravana to return Sita to Rama in vain, was a lady of substance. A lady who followed the virtues of Dharma, but was never happy. A lady whose life was a struggle and full of pain because of Ravana's deeds. Because she was the one who suffered an ill fate, much like most women in Lanka, yet never left the ways of Truth and Dharma, and got the strength to live life as a fighter till the end. Even when it meant losing her children, husband and everything for the win of Dharma. She supported Sita and prayed that Dharma would win.

She lived as a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother and a queen, but somehow the woman Mandodari lost herself, trying hard to hold on to her chastity and righteous nature among the wrongdoings of her kins. The Mandodari, which bore no fewer tortures than Sita, is only remembered as Ravana's wife. Because she could not stop the Demon's vain self and wrongdoings.

The Mandodari should be remembered for her love, her dedication to her husband, her chastity, her righteousness, her Dharma, her independent protests, and her sacrifices for Mandore and Lanka. The Mandodari was the Righteous better half of the Villain of Hinduism's greatest epic.

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This is part of the "Uttara Series" You will find under the Mahabharata. The series is also available on Wattpad. She was clad in white attire. Her churamani and jewellery were all taken away. She sat numbly in front of his dead body for a whole day, pregnant with his heir, looking at his face as though he was asleep. He had told her more than once that this day could come and that she had to protect their heir. He feared her future without him. That one day turned the fifteen-year-old Princess of Matsya into an aged lady. She became quiet and aloof. Her only concern now was her baby. Her baby wiggled in her womb. She remembered him saying, " I will always be with you." All she wanted now was a son like his father. But she knew all Hastinapur wanted was an heir to the throne. The war had ended five days after his death, and they were back in the palace of Hastinapur victorious. She, for the first time, entered her real in-laws' home, but without him. All sh...

Asuras are not Demons

Demons in the Abrahamic religion are not the same as Asuras of Hinduism. Originally deities of Iranian origin, they were seen in the tribal context as no different from Devas but as counterparts to maintain balance. In early epics and Puranas, asura meant a chosen leader of great capacity. Only later, perhaps due to the Iranian link, their image declined. It was with the Brahmanas that the sharp divide appeared: devas as divine, asuras as evil. Puranic myths demonised them mainly to assert the superiority and immortality of devas, while asuras were cast as symbols of the "other." Since Tribes still worshipped them and embraced their power of negativity, being important to balance, they soon became synonymous with tribes, which was not the case mythologically. There are instances of Bali or Ravana being Kshatriya or Brahmin Asuras and competent kings. Indian demonology itself is vast and layered, shaped by surviving tribes, each with unique myths. Celestial, aerial, and terres...

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Many of you have read my fan fiction as well as historical representations of the life and times of Maharana Pratap Singh of Mewar. I provided small details of his life in many articles. But never have I ever made a separate historical post on him. It is very difficult to put together his life without the help of folklore because historical evidence is scarce. This one was requested, and hence here it goes. Needless to say, this one is very special. This is a blend of history and folklore. Leave your love. ❤️ Background and Birth: The year was 1540. Mewar was under a cloud of uncertainty. Banbir, their ruler for four years now, was a very incompetent ruler who always spent his time in luxury, drinking and dancing with girls. The crown prince Udai Singh was rumoured to have been killed by him. Chittorgarh was in darkness. Around March 1540, Mewar once again saw hope as some trusted generals, along with Kunwar Udai Singh, attacked Chittorgarh, taking Banbir by surprise. He was soon ...

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The year was 1535 CE. The Rajmata of Mewar, widow of Rana Sanga, was in a dilemma. On one hand was an attack from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat as a threat to her capital, Chittorgarh, and the throne of her beloved teenage son Vikramaditya. On the other hand, there was the son of her husband's archenemy, Humayun, who could be of some help. Rani Karnavati wrote a letter to Humayun, who was in the east at that time. Along with it, she sent a Rakhi, a thread of brotherhood, asking him, as a sister, for protection against the enemy. But the road was too long and time, of great essence. Humayun arrived at Chittorgarh, in response to her letter, keeping his end of the bargain but a little late. Rani Karnavati had already performed the Jauhar. They never met. Humayun established Rana Vikramaditya on the throne of Mewar, as he had promised as a brother, and returned to his post. Two dynasties, political rivals and sworn enemies, from Sanga-Babur to Pratap-Akbar and even Raj Singh-Aurangzeb, yet ...

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Background: Nawab Alivardi Khan was ruling Bengal at the peak of Nawabi rule, expanding his strong empire. He had successfully suppressed the Marathas and had given a strong message to the British East India Company’s rising influence at Calcutta. Highly aware of the British Colonial policies across the globe, Nawab Alivardi Khan was strict with his policies and stronghold over Murshidabad, the then capital of Bengal (including present-day Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, and Bangladesh). He had two daughters and no sons. Amina Begum was the elder one, followed by Ghaseti Begum. Amina had three sons with her husband and courtier, Ahmed Khan. The second son, Mirza Mohammad, fondly called Siraj-Ud-Daulah (light of the country)by his grandfather, was born in 1733C.E. He was his grandfather’s favourite because he was born while he won over the Marathas. Alivardi Khan never let the “fortune child” of the family out of his sight. Siraj grew up accompanying his g...

The Reva Cries

Roopmati had watched the troops leave. She had stood behind the chief queen as she traditionally bid goodbye to her sons. She had waited for the Sultan to come to her. He did. He was confident that the sudden advancement of Akbar’s foster brother Adham Khan could be curbed. It was not war, just precaution. He reassured her. Malwa would never bow to the Timurids. And he would not let anything happen to her. To Her. Roopmati felt suffocated by her husband’s affectionate hug. She felt trapped in the scrutinising eyes of all the people in the palace. Angry, blaming eyes. She tried to pace herself and sing, but her voice cracked in fear. Her melody was drowned in tears. Every evening, a messenger would come to the chief queen with the news of war. Roopmati was kept in the darkness. She was not told about anything. She knew the rumours. She was a witch. A temptress who caused doom to the Sultan of Malwa. She was a spy of the enemy planted in his life to destroy him. She wondered if he came b...

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