The greatest and the most furious warrior of all time Meghnath. He was the eldest son of the mighty king of Lanka- Ravana and his wife, Mandodari.
Meghnath is also known by the names Indrajit, Meghanand, Shakrajit, Ravani, Vasavajit, Varidanada, and Ghananada. He is one of the less renowned names from the epic Ramayana.
Do you know, that the most important part of Ramayana was the slaying of Meghanada? But why?
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The only warrior after Parshurama to possess all the three divine weapons of the Trimurti. Before every battle, he performed a yagna which made him invincible in any combat.
In both Mahabharata and Ramayana, Meghnath is the only “Atimaharathi”. Who is capable of fighting 12 maharathis at once except Lord Rama and Krishna?
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Who was Meghnath not Just the Son of Ravana
The mighty King of Lanka, Ravana had seven sons with his three wives- Indrajit, Atikaya, Akshay Kumar, Narantak, Devantaka, Trishira, and Prahstha.
Indrajit/ Meghnath is the eldest son and prince of the kingdom. He was married to Sulochana, the virtuous daughter of Shesha Naga, the king of serpents.
In the ballad Meghnad Bodh Kavya, Meghnath’s wife is called by the name “Prameela”. Hence, it can be reasonably assumed that Sulochana was also known by the name Prameela.
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Ravana wanted his son to possess extraordinary virtues, great intelligence, and excellence. He was a great astrologer himself and with the help of a priest’s instructions.
He commanded the planets and constellations to align themselves in a manner that they all lie on the 11th house of Meghnath’s horoscope.
Planets feared the powerful king and obeyed his command except for Shani, who placed himself in the 12th house. As a result, Meghnath became mortal and had to die at the hands of Laxman.
When the child was born his birth cry sounded like thunder, hence he was given the name “Meghnath” meaning Thunderous or the lord of the sky.
From his childhood, Meghnath showed signs of becoming a great warrior and went through hard penance to acquire magical powers and celestial weapons.
He grew up to become the greatest warrior of his time. He learned and became an expert in magical warfare, tantra, and sorcery. Which were later used during the epic battle between Lord Rama and Ravana.
He is the only one after Lord Parshuram to possess the three ultimate weapons of the Trimurti- Brahmandastra, Vaishanvastra, and Pashupatstra.
With the help of his guru Shukracharya, he also gained several celestial weapons.
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How did Meghnath Get The Name “Indrajit”
When Indra, the king of heaven, captured Ravana. Meghanada defeated the devas (gods) and Indra along with his elephant Airavata to rescue his father.
He tied Indra and mounted him onto his chariot and brought him, Lanka, to his father. Ravana and Meghanada decided to slay Indra when Brahma intervened and asked him to release Indra.
Brahma was extremely impressed by Meghanada’s valor, and hence he was given a chance to receive a boon from him. Brahma gave him the title and coined the name “Indrajit” meaning the one who defeated Indra, the king of Devas.
Meghnath Boon from Brahma
Meghanada felt obliged and agreed to Brahma. He first demanded immortality as a boon which was refused by Brahma, saying absolute immorality was against the Laws of Nature instead Brahma granted him a celestial chariot mounting which he would never be killed by his enemy.
Brahma asked him to perform a yajna to his native goddess Prathjangira, known as the “Nikumbhila yajna” with which he would become invincible in battle and also warned him that the one who would destroy this yagna would also slay him.
It is believed that Brahma also gave yet another boon that the one who would slay Meghanada had to be a common man who had not slept for 14 years.
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Why Lord Rama Could Not Slay Meghnath
Laxman is said to be an avatar of Shesha Naga. When Shesha Naga’s daughter, Sulochana, was married to Meghanada without his consent. He vowed to kill Meghanada.
Laxmana, with the help of Vibhshian, destroyed Meghanada’s yagna.
Indrajit joined the battle when all his brothers were killed by Lord Rama and his army.
In the three days of battle in which he fought to avenge his brothers and parental uncle, he made use of his illusionary warfare and celestial weapons to kill almost half of Sugreeva’s army single-handedly. He even twice almost defeated Lord Rama and Laxman.
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He used the exceptional weapon Nagapash, meaning a trap that was made of a million snakes.
Against lord Rama and Laxman, which made them lay breathless on the ground when Garuda, the flying vehicle of lord Vishnu, rescued them on the behest of Hanuman.
Indrajit went furiously seeing Vibhishian who abandoned Ravana and joined Rama in the temple cave along with Laxman, where he performed the yagna.
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The Slaying of Meghnath by Lakshmana
Laxman had vowed to protect Lord Rama and Sita due to which he hadn’t slept for 12 years.
Hence, he met both the criteria which were required to kill Indrajit.
Realizing this, Indrajit used the 3 divine weapons – Brahmandastra, Vaishanvastra, and Pashupatstra on him.
To his surprise, the weapons did not affect Laxman, and he then knew that Lord Rama and Laxmana were no ordinary beings.
He used his magical powers to become invisible and escape the temple cave to the royal palace and requested his father Ravana to surrender and return Sita.
Ravana, who was drenched in his pride, mocked Indrajit’s cowardliness and asked him to get back to the battlefield.
Indrajit bid everyone a final goodbye, knowing he was going to meet his end. Though he knew that he was going to die, he yet chose to abide by his father’s will, which he considered his supreme duty.
He went back to the battlefield and fought Laxman with all his skill in warfare and at last, was slain by Aindrastra weapon used by Laxman.
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Who was Meghnath not Just the Son of Ravana: FAQ
What is the meaning of the name Meghnath
Thunderous or the lord of the sky
When the child was born his birth cry sounded like thunder, hence he was given the name “Meghnath” meaning Thunderous or the lord of the sky.
How many kids does Meghnath have
Aghiya
King aghiya of lanka.
Who killed Meghnath
Who killed meghanada
Who could kill Meghnath
It is believed that Brahma gave a boon that the one who would slay Meghanada had to be a common man who had not slept for 14 years.
How Meghnath can be killed
It is believed that Brahma gave a boon that the one who would slay Meghanada had to be a common man who had not slept for 14 years.
Who was the wife of Meghanada
Sulachana
Who was the wife of Meghnath
Sulachana
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