Queen Mandodari’s Extraordinary Speech From The Battlefield Of Ramayana
After the battle of Ramayana came to an end with the killing of Ravana, Ravana’s queen Mandodari – daughter of the divine architect Mayasura and one of the five Pancha Kanyas along with Kunthi, Draupadi, Ahalya and Tara – came to the battlefield where Ravana was lying dead.
At that time, Rama was standing a few feet away from Ravana’s body. Mandodari slowly came walking to that place; carrying a great sense of composure in her walking, and an immeasurable amount of control in her feelings. There was also a great calmness in her face and silence in her eyes.
She firstly looked at her demon husband, lying dead in the middle of the battlefield, and then, slowly turned her head and looked at Rama; whom she was seeing for the first time in her life.
As a mark of respect, the Maryada Purushottama Rama raised both his hands and offered his humble Namaskar to Mandodari, a noble lady of extraordinary spiritual wisdom which Rama was aware.
After looking quietly at Rama for a few seconds, Mandodari slowly turned towards her husband and delivered one of the greatest speeches in Ramayana.
“Ravana, this is no ordinary man. To kill a warrior like you, who had conquered the three worlds, he cannot be human. He is the Eternal Spirit, the Supreme Being who has taken a human form to establish Dharma on earth.
Blinded by your arrogance you failed to recognize his power and also his dominance over our lives; and now lying dead in front of him.
Ravana, you didn’t lose to a man but to the Cosmic Law that you have spent all your life violating. Look at this battlefield, it is not a graveyard of warriors but a graveyard of Ego.
You defeated Indra, the Yakshas, even the Gods and also conquered the eight directions, but you could not conquer your own senses.
Ravana, in beauty, in lineage, and in devotion, I am in no way inferior to Sita. You saw in Sita a prized possession to own, but I saw in her the flame of a thousand suns.
You thought you were stealing a woman; but did not realize you were bringing home the fire that would one day reduce our golden city to ashes.
Ravana., your mind was clouded by lust, and you ignored the treasure you had at home to chase a disaster elsewhere. Sita is the flame of chastity; and by trying to touch that flame, you have burnt yourself today.”
Saying so, Mandodari slowly turned towards Rama; bowed her head in reverence and with tear filled eyes said in a submissive tone,
“Rama, they call you a human prince, and a wanderer in matted hair. But I see you as you truly are. You are not a killer of men, or a slayer of demons but are the mighty Vigrahavan Dharmaha – righteousness given a human face. My husband fought the battle with celestial maces and divine boons, but you fought with uprightness to uphold Dharma and truth.
You did not win the battle because your bow was stronger; but you won because your heart was steady. You are ‘Eka Patni Vrata’ who stood mightily against a man of a thousand lusts. In this war, you Ayodhya Prince humbled the great Emperor of Lanka, proving forever to the world that character is the only armor that never breaks.
My humble pranams to you, Rama. Please forgive my husband for all the sins he committed and bless him with eternal peace. Posterity shall remember me as a blessed someone who had seen Swayam Narayan in flesh and blood. Dhanyosmi Rama.”
Then,
Mandodari turned towards the wounded soldiers of the Ravana army and towards thousands of Lankan citizens who gathered there. She told them in an apologetic tone,
“My beloved Lankans, on behalf of my husband, I offer you all my sincere apologies for the pain he caused to you and for the suffering he inflicted upon your families by waging this meaningless war with a man mightier than all the forces in the nature and with a Supreme Consciousness ruling the fourteen lokas.
Some mistakes cannot be undone and some errors can never be rectified. Ravana’s abduction of Sita is one such mistake that cost us our lives. Let this be the lesson written in the blood of our kin.
Evil does not bear fruit the moment the seed is planted. It waits with patience and grows silently in the darkness. And when the season of Justice arrives, it strikes with the certainty of Time.
Do not weep for the gold of Lanka that has melted or for the life of Ravana that was burnt to ashes in the fire of sin. Weep for the wisdom that was traded for pride. A King who cannot rule his own senses can never truly rule a Kingdom.
Today, the Dasakanta Ravana has fallen because he had ten brains to think of conquest, but not one heart to feel the pain he caused to so many, particularly to Sita.
The war is now over. The sun sets on the age of Rakshasas and rises on the age of Man. May the world remember that even the greatest power is but dust if it is not held together by the thread of Dharma.”
Conclusion
In that extraordinary speech, Mandodari not only acknowledged that her husband was a genius and a great warrior, but also ruthlessly stated that knowledge without wisdom and intellect without morality is a tragedy.
She finally bowed down to Rama and accepted his supremacy; not out of fear, but out of a deep, spiritual recognition of his divinity. Ramo Vigrahavan dharmaha
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