Humming quietly, the queen of Lanka packed a small satchel. In it she placed two servings of bread and two small cups; the river nearby is pure and sweet, she thought to herself, and I will serve the new woman the water she no doubt longs for. Mandodari turned from her satchel to her reflecting glass. There she stood, tall and slender; no doubt her hair was touched with grey here and there, and perhaps her limbs were not so lithe as they had once been, but the fire in her eyes was brighter than ever, and growing older had lent a dignified air to her already regal features. She sighed quietly and tied a green sari around herself; she knew that the new woman was dressed plainly, as was the custom, so she arrayed herself similarly. Mandodari was nothing if not diplomatic, a natural consequence of marrying a mercurial demon king like Ravana. With one last look in her mirror, the queen strode confidently out from her chamber, bumping into three of her husband's innumerable concubines, nude and giggling as they danced toward Ravana's chamber. Although they leered at her, Mandodari continued without speaking to them. Silly girls, she thought to herself, if I was not enough, and the hundreds before you were not enough, why would you be able to satisfy him? She continued to march toward the great palace doors, which another nude girl hurried to open for her. Goodness, she thought, he is ravenous today. He may even call me if he gets desperate.

The woods were cool and welcoming to Mandodari, but she knew that the new woman would feel afraid and oppressed by them. For thousands of years, her husband had brought new women to Lanka and left them tied to a tree until they agreed to submit to his will. After they gave in, they were allowed to live in the palace on the condition of immediacy: if he wanted them, they came without hesitation or questions. Mandodari, as his head wife, technically had rights over them should she want her husband for the night, but she rarely exercised that power. The few times she had, Ravana had pouted so much she hadn't been able to enjoy it. Her husband was brilliant and powerful and exciting, but sometimes he could be such an infant! Mandodari rolled her eyes to herself as she treaded down the path to the tree where the new woman sat, no doubt alone and dejected. Her rakshasi guards had been dismissed for a short while, as Ravana wanted to enjoy them during the day; Mandodari mentally thanked her husband for giving her a chance to meet the new woman on her own terms. She had a feeling that this one was different.

Whenever her husband brought home a new girl, his story was always that she'd begged him to bring her to Lanka. Each time, Mandodari agreed, saying, "But of course, my beloved husband; what sane woman would not beg you to make love to her? You are the king of the beautiful city of Lanka, after all!" She would continue in that vein until Ravana was assured, even though she knew full well that often Ravana captured and held the women against their will. However, when he came home with this woman, his story was different. After hours spent avoiding her glances and quiet questions, the demon king finally spat at his wife, "I caught her by her hair, woman!" and stormed out of the room. At the time, Mandodari had not attached much importance to his words, letting them flow over her as she often did. Later, though, she overheard one of her husband's girls whispering about Ravana's latest woman to an old rakshasa guard.

According to the nude girl, this new woman had refused Ravana, and had fought back! The new woman, a prince's wife, had warned the demon king that her abduction would bring an end to his reign and to all the rakshasas in the three worlds. Of course, being the too-proud ten-headed ruler of Lanka, Ravana had taken her anyway. The gossiping girl claimed that the new woman was a bad omen, and that she sat in the dust bringing curses on their lives. Mandodari doubted that the woman's husband was so powerful: after all, he was only a mortal. What mortal could defeat the proud Ravana, much less lay waste to a vast city and an entire race? Instead, Mandodari thought to herself, this new woman is merely proud and strong-willed. She reminds me of myself when I was..when I was young. She had wanted to say "brave," she knew, but had been too ashamed. With that thought echoing in her mind, the kind queen of Lanka prepared to meet the abducted woman for herself.

As she walked, Mandodari imagined the fuss this woman must have put up to perturb Ravana so. Screaming, kicking, biting and clawing: surely such a spitfire as the gossip described would not submit to the demon king easily. While she herself had been a willing bride, Mandodari knew that many women fought, if only for a moment, then gave in and enjoyed the king's attentions. This new woman sounded different. Ravana had borne scratches and cuts on his arms and back when he'd returned from stealing the woman--perhaps she had been armed! Mandodari chuckled to herself, remembering playful sword fights with Ravana when they were young. Though he was many-armed and brutally strong, she knew from experience that a small, quick fighter with great skill offered an even match in a fight. This new woman must have fought with every ounce of her strength; she would not give in as easily as the nubile girls draped on the palace floor. Allowing herself a small smile, the queen rounded the final corner and saw her husband's latest prize.



Image Information: Almost Mandodari. Web Source: Flickr.

Author's Note: I based this scene on extrapolation from both the Ramayana as told by Narayan and Buck. Mandodari is one of my favorite characters in the entire story, and I wanted to write about her life as the queen of Lanka and the wife of Ravana. This story is related to Sita's abduction because Mandodari's life, too, is ruined by the event. Here we see Mandodari dealing with her life as one of Ravana's many women, and how she hopes that Sita will offer some sort of solace in her plight. This hope springs from Mandodari's warrior past and her wisdom and faith, which have helped her endure her husband's metamorphosis from sage to savage. I wanted to reflect on Sita's abduction as heard about third-hand: one of Ravana's other lovers heard a garbled version of the abduction from him, and Mandodari overhears an even more distorted version from the girl. Mandodari, therefore, attributes the wounds Ravana received at the hand of Jatayu to what she imagines Sita as, that is, a warrior like herself. I really enjoyed exploring Mandodari's character in this story, and hope that the thread of Sita's abduction is carried throughout despite what seems to be many other factors piled atop it.

Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
                        Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.

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