Surpanakha was born as the youngest child of rishi Vishrava and mother Kaikeshi in a place near
modern day Noida called Bisrakha. As a child she was called as Meenakshee and Chandranakha.
She was beautiful child, groomed in the aashram
of her father. Her siblings were Raavana, Veebhishana, Kumbhakarana, Khara,
Dooshana, Aahiraavana and Kumbhini.
She fell in love and secretly married danav prince Vidyutjhiva, also known as Dushtabuddhee. This angered Raavana, as raakshashas and daityas are mortal enemies. He was to punish her, but his wife
Mandodari convinced him to respect her wishes. Thus he accepted the marriage of
a raakshasha with a daitya.
When Raavana was going for conquering Paatalaloka, he decided
to visit the newlywed couple. There he discovered the true motive of
Vidyutjhiva to marry Surpanakha – to kill Raavana. In absence of his wife,
Vidyutjhiva attacked Raavana, and in defence was killed. This angered
Surpanakha and thus her ill will. The widowed sister spent her time between
Lanka and the forest of Janasthaana. She spent time with forest dwelling aashuras. She had a son called Shambhri,
who later became a warrior.
Surpanakha did great penance and got boons to take any form.
She even had a boon of long life from the daitya
guru Shukracharya. She has lived long after by name of Maha Maada meaning the
great female, far away from Lanka after the great war.
Raakshashas and aashuras
had a nature of being wicked, no regards for dharma, ie, they were not bound
by social norms, at ease with violence, reveled in evil deeds and had no
control over the senses. Even amongst them there were few wise and virtuous people.
Raavana was a learned man and his 10 heads represented the knowledge of 4 vedas and 6 shashtras.
She never forgave her brother for killing her beloved. She knew
of his powers and boons. He derived boons from Brahma for absolute protection from
and supremacy over Gods, heavenly spirits, other raakshashas, serpents and wild
beasts. In his pride, he did not seek protection from mortal men.
In the Panchvaati aranya, two men Raama and his younger
brother Laakshmana along with a woman, Seetha, wife of Raaama were wandering like
ascetic. They were from the royal household of Ajodhya, banished to the forest for 14 years by their step mother. Raama had the physique of a nobleman,
strong, well built, polite and carried arms by his side. Seetha was full of
love, fun and grace, always with her husband. Laakshmana was very of similar to
his brother, always moving like a shadow, always alert and protecting the
perimeters. They had camped in the banks of river Godavari.
Surpanakha was in the same forest as the trio. She smelled
human flesh and had followed the scent to their dwellings. She had also
heard of wandering human, and the terror they have been to raakshasha’s who
were troubling yogis and saints. Although she came to devour them, a first look
at the silhouette of Raama arose her senses and she wanted to be one with him. She
was in love and wanted to marry him.
She roamed around their dwelling in the shadows of the trees
and surveyed them. She realized that any man would reject her if she went in
her current form. She had a voice like the thunder, spit as venomous as a
serpent, protruded eyes, large teeth, potbellied, scaled skins, golden red
hair, animal skin clothes, largemouth that eats everything, shape that scared
wild beasts and ugly. Using her powers of mystic mantras she took a beautiful form that was more desirable. She
became a beautiful maiden, with voice of a mynaah
and beauty of a peacock. She looked like Goddess Lakshmi herself, radiant than
a full moon, ornate with yellow flowers, doe eyed, with the sway of an
elephant, grace of a red lotus, fresh as a dew drops, tall like the palm trees,
smelling sweetly like the jasmine, skin glowing like fresh honey, soft as the
flower of kapaas and features that of
a young girl.
She approached Raama with a soft smile and a sway in her
gait, and her anklets made music. She introduced, “I am sister of Raavana,
conqueror of Kailasha and king of Lanka. My brothers Kumbhakarna and Veebhishana
are renowned warriors. The lord of this region Janasthaana, are my other
brothers Khara and Dooshana. My name is Kaamavali.” Rama asked, “What brings you
here?” “It is not proper for a woman to speak her troubled mind. And yet I need
to speak it out. God of Love has invaded my heart. And you should save me.” Raama
remained silent. “There is not another man like you nor a woman like me, this
is a match God has taken some pain to make, and I would like you to marry me
and take me as your wife. You can search the three worlds, and you will not
find a beauty equal to me”. Raama knew she was a maayavi raakshasha, and wanted to tease her. Seetha and Laakshmana
were nearby attending to daily chores of forest life. He said, “I am already married, and there is
my wife. I love my wife and cannot accept you. For a woman as beautiful as you,
it would be sorrow to have a rival wife. My younger brother, there, is still
unmarried. His name is Laakshmana. He is of good character, handsome, powerful,
majestic and will make a good husband. One suited to such beauty as you.” She
promptly considered it and went to Laakshaman, “I shall make a lovely wife,
befitting your beauty and together we shall roost in Dandakaranya.“
He entered into the humour of the situations and responded eloquently, “Why
would such a beauty be the wife of a devoted slave to his brother? I am
subjected to the will of my brother, so my wife will also be a slave to him.
You should be the junior wife to Raama. He is prosperous, and so he will keep
you happy.” Again she turned to Raama, for a raakshashi knew no other way. She pleaded the benefit of the union,
leading to friendship and support of her powerful brothers, and thus the need
for reconsideration of her proposal.
She did not understand that Raama was making a joke of her,
and neither of the brothers were interested in marrying her. She reasoned that
she was not accepted by Raama because of Seetha. In her nature as a raakshasha, she did not understand the
sanctity and sacredness of a marriage bond. She could find no other reason why
she was refused, and not taken as a wife by two eligible men.
Raama laughed at her, and just then Seetha came and stood by
him. This sight enraged her. She told, “This girl is a man eating raakshashi, in the form of a human, throw
her out”. Raama said, “Indeed you are wise, you have found out the truth”, and
smiled. This infuriated her. “It is this wretched small insect that stands between
you and me. I will finish her off this instant, I cannot leave without you.
Once I put her away, you and I shall live together happily.”, and rushed
towards her. Seetha, shocked and afraid screamed and hung to the shoulders of
her husband. Raama saw the farce had gone too far and intervened. He shouted,
“Laakshmana, attend to the monster and teach her a lesson.”
Laakshmana at once took out his sword and caught her by
hair. Once attacked, she took her natural form of a raakshashi. She was maimed and mutilated. Surpanakha uttered a loud
wail and ran into the forest.
Bleeding and mad with rage, she flung herself in the court
of her brother Khara. She related the story of two men and a girl roaming in
the jungle, her desire to marry one of them, that she was mutilated and driven
away for no reason. She demanded that the blood of the brothers could be the
reply for the insult to the raakshasha
race. She did not tell the part where she tried to attack Seetha.
Khara ordered his generals to kill the brothers and drag the
woman to him. Later on there was a big battle where Khara, his army and his
brothers were defeated and killed.
After the slaying of Khara and Dooshana by Raama, she found
a match for Raavana in Raama. Her people were terrified by him and so she decided to pit
her brother against Raama knowing that he is powerful enough to kill her brother Raavana.
A raakshasha
warrior Akampana, one of the survivor of Panchavati massacre fled to Raavana and brought
the news of the destruction of the powers of Janasthaana. He was sent by
Surpanakha. He carried the right message to fan Raavana’s ego, “All our people
in Janasthaana are killed by Raama and Laakshmana. Your brother Khara and
Dooshana were killed by the sons of Dasaratha. Listen to me, no one, not even
you can conquer Raama. His arrows are deadly and destroyed the whole army of raakshashas. There is only one way of
killing him. His wife is with him. The whole world holds no one equal to her
beauty. If you can carry her off, separation will kill Raama. So great is his
love for her. Also she should be with you in your court, and not in the jungle.
Consider well before you think of a battle with him.”. Thus, hearing the beauty
of Seetha, a desire to possess her as his queen was seeded in the heart of Raavana.
Surpanakha uses Seetha’s beauty to entice her elder brother. The great episode
of abduction of Seetha thus followed, leading to defeat and ruin of the raakshasha race.
And Surpanakha was able to take her revenge.
Disclaimer: This retelling of Surpanakha is based on my
interpretation at the median of multiple versions of Raamayana stories I have
heard and read. There are many narrations. In all versions she is a Raakshashi,
whose nature was to be anti-morale and with no social rules around for controlling
of her senses. The variations are in how the story teller at various time saw
her as. In one version she is represented as a Bhakt of Vishnu, knows Raama to
be an incarnation and thus desire to be one with the lord, while still retain
the nature of a Raakshasa’s. In one narrations she is beautiful as nature
herself, like a creeper, free to follow her heart’s desire and wrap around any
strong tree she finds suitable. In some she is an ugly looking, flesh eating
form and undesirable. As there are no single Raamayana version, so is there no
single profile of Surpanakha.