Mandodari

Mandodari
Member of Panchakanya
Raja Ravi Varma's lithograph on Mandodari
Devanagari	मंदोदरी
Sanskrit transliteration	Mandodarī
Affiliation	Rakshasi Panchakanya
Abode	Lanka
Texts	Ramayana and its versions
Personal information
Parents	Mayasura (father) Hema (mother)
Siblings	Mayavi, Dundubhi and Vyomasura(brothers)
Consort	Ravana, and later Vibhishana
Children	Meghanada, Atikaya and Akshayakumara (sons)

Mandodari (Sanskrit: मंदोदरी, Mandodarī, lit. "soft-bellied";^[1]) was the queen consort of Ravana, the king of Lanka, according to the Hindu epic Ramayana. The Ramayana describes her as beautiful, pious, and righteous. She is extolled as one of the Panchakanya, the recital of whose names is believed to dispel sin.

Mandodari was the daughter of Mayasura, the King of the Asuras (demons), and the apsara (celestial nymphs) Hema. She marries Ravana and bears three sons: Meghanada (Indrajit), Atikaya and Akshayakumara. According to some Ramayana adaptations, Mandodari is also the mother of Rama's wife Sita, who is infamously kidnapped by Ravana. Despite her husband's faults, Mandodari loves him and advises him to follow the path of righteousness. She repeatedly advises Ravana to return Sita to Rama, but her advice falls on deaf ears. Her love and loyalty to Ravana are praised in the Ramayana.

In a version of Ramayana, Hanuman tricks her into disclosing the location of a magical arrow which Rama uses to kill Ravana. Many versions of Ramayana state that after Ravana's death, Vibhishana—Ravana's younger brother who joins forces with Rama, does so on Mandodari's advice.