Mandodari in the Ramayana: Ravana's Queen

Quick answer: Mandodari is the chief queen of Ravana and the mother of Indrajit. In Valmiki's Ramayana she appears twice: in the Sundara Kanda, when Hanuman sees her asleep in Ravana's palace and for a moment takes her for Sita, and in the Yuddha Kanda, where she laments over Ravana's body. In that lament she says she had warned him not to make an enemy of Rama, and she recognises Rama as the eternal Vishnu.

This page follows Valmiki, with kanda, sarga and verse numbers from the edition on IIT Kanpur's site, and marks what comes from later works.

Hanuman mistakes her for Sita

Searching Ravana's palace at night, Hanuman came to the inner chamber where Ravana slept among his wives. Apart from the rest, on a splendid couch, lay a woman of great beauty, adorned with jewels. Hanuman, seeing her, thought she must be Sita, and leapt about in joy (Sundara Kanda, sarga 10). Then he reflected: Sita, parted from Rama, would neither sleep at ease, nor eat and adorn herself, nor be near another man. This could not be Sita. He went on searching, and found her at last in the Ashoka grove.

The lament over Ravana

After Rama killed Ravana, the women of Lanka came to the battlefield, and Mandodari mourned her husband (Yuddha Kanda, sarga 114). Her lament is one of the most striking passages in the epic.

She asks how a mere man could have killed one whom even Indra could not face (6.114.13). Then she answers herself: Rama must be the great yogi, eternal, without beginning, middle or end, the supreme being who holds the conch, discus and mace, with the Shrivatsa mark on his chest (6.114.14 to 17), that is, Vishnu.

She tells Ravana that once he had won the three worlds by mastering his senses, and now his senses had taken their revenge (6.114.18). She reminds him that she had advised him not to make an enemy of Rama, and that he would not listen (6.114.21). And she says he had dishonoured her and his other wives by carrying off Sita, whose virtue she praises (6.114.24 to 25).

After the lament, Vibhishana performed Ravana's funeral rites (sarga 114).

From later tradition

• Daughter of Maya. The Uttara Kanda, which many scholars regard as a later addition, says Mandodari was the daughter of Maya, the builder of the asuras, and the apsaras Hema, and tells of her marriage to Ravana.
• Her warnings before the war. In the Ramcharitmanas and other later Ramayanas, Mandodari pleads with Ravana several times to return Sita. In Valmiki we hear of her warning only in her own words after his death.
• Panchakanya. A well-known later verse names five women, Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti or Sita, Tara and Mandodari, whose remembrance is said to destroy sin. The verse is not part of Valmiki's Ramayana.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Mandodari?

Ravana's chief queen and the mother of Indrajit.

Did Hanuman think Mandodari was Sita?

For a moment, yes, then he reasoned that Sita would not be sleeping at ease in Ravana's palace (Sundara Kanda, sarga 10).

What did Mandodari say when Ravana died?

That Rama must be the eternal Vishnu, and that she had warned Ravana against making Rama his enemy (6.114.14 to 21).

Whose daughter was Mandodari?

Maya's, according to the Uttara Kanda.

Is Mandodari one of the panchakanya?

Yes, in the later panchakanya verse.

Related reading

• Ramayana: The Complete Guide
• Ravana in the Ramayana
• Indrajit (Meghanada) in the Ramayana
• Sundara Kanda summary

Sources

1. Valmiki Ramayana, Sanskrit text with English translation (Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati), IIT Kanpur: heritage.iitk.ac.in/VRAM. References are kanda, sarga and verse in this edition.

Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.