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| Shurpanakha | |
|---|---|
 Rama rejects Shurpanakha | |
| Affiliation | Rakshasi |
| Abode | Lanka |
| Texts | Ramayana and its versions |
| Personal information | |
| Parents | |
| Siblings | Ravana (brother) Vibhishana (brother) Kumbhakarna (brother) |
| Spouse | Vidyutjiva |
Shurpanakha (Sanskrit: शूर्पणखा, IAST: śūrpaṇakhā, lit. 'she whose fingernails are like winnowing fans') is a Rakshasi in Hindu mythology. Her legends are mainly narrated in the epic Ramayana and its other versions. She was the sister of Lanka king, Ravana, and the daughter of the sage Vishrava and Rakshasi Kaikeshi. Shurpanakha's role in the original epic is small yet significant.[1]
Name and appearance[edit | edit source]
The word "Shurpanakha" is made up of two Sankrit words—Shurpa (lit. winnowing fans) and Nakha (lit. nails). According to Monier Monier-Williams, the word means 'having fingernails like winnowing fans'.[2]
Shurpanakha's appearance has drastic differences in the different versions of the epic. Most versions including the Valmiki's Ramayana mention her as an ugly woman. When Shurpanakha first sees Rama in the forest, Valmiki describes her facially unpleasant, pot bellied, wry-eyed, coppery-haired, ugly featured, brassy voiced, deplorably oldish, crooked talker, ill-mannered, uncouth and abominable.[3] In contrast, the various other accounts especially Kampan's Iramavataram mention her taking an attractive form to seduce Rama. According to this account, Shurpanakha thought about goddess Sri and transforms herself into a similar form using a mantra.[4]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Kaikesi, daughter of Sumali, married Maharshi Vishrava and became his second wife. She gave birth to four children — three sons and a daughter. The daughter was named Shurpanakha.
Widowhood[edit | edit source]
According to the Uttarakāṇḍa of the Rāmāyaṇa, Rāvaṇa had killed Śūrpaṇakhā’s husband, Vidyujjihva, in a battle against the Kālakeyas. Vidyujjihva was a Kālkeya. Rāvaṇa tells Śūrpaṇakhā that he killed Vidyujjihva by mistake, as he could not distinguish between allies and enemies in war while being focused solely on victory. He then sends her to Janasthāna in Daṇḍakāraṇya, along with the sons of her maternal aunt — Khara and Dūṣaṇa — so that she can live a lavish life there.[5]
Encounter with Rama, Sita and Lakshmana[edit | edit source]
According to Valmiki, she met the exiled Prince Rama of Ayodhya, during one such visit to the Forest of Panchavati, and was instantly smitten by his youthful good looks. She adopted a beautiful form to entice him, but Rama meanwhile kindly rejected her advances, telling her that he was faithful to his wife Sita and thus would never take another wife. Rejected, Shurpanakha then approached his younger brother, Lakshmana, who said that he is only second to Ram and therefore not worthy of her. Infuriated by their dismissals, the humiliated and envious Shurpanakha returned to her demonic form and attacked Sita, but was thwarted by Lakshmana, who cut off her nose.[4]
Shurpanakha first went to her brother Khara, who sent fourteen Rakshasa warriors to attack Rama, who easily dispatched them. Khara himself then attacked, along with 14,000 soldiers, all of whom were killed except for Akampana, Sumali's son and Kaikesi's brother, who fled to Lanka. She then fled to Ravana's court and spoke to her brother of the disgrace she had suffered. Her brother, hearing of Sita's beauty, decided to kidnap Sita. Akampana too played a key role in instigating Sita's kidnapping by Ravana. Despite opposition from their brother, Vibhishana, Ravana kidnapped Sita, thus triggering the Battle of Lanka.[4]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Johnson, W.J. (2009). A Dictionary of Hinduism (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001. ISBN 9780191726705.
- ↑ Monier-Williams 1872, p. 1017.
- ↑ "Valmiki Ramayana - Aranya Kanda - Sarga 17". www.valmikiramayan.net. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Richman 1991.
- ↑ "Chapter 24 - Ravana carries off a number of Women and is cursed by them". Wisdomlib. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Richman, Paula (29 August 1991). "The Mutilation of Surpanakha". Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-07589-4.
- Monier-Williams, Monier (1872). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Clarendon.
- Ramayana, A condensed prose version of the epic by C. Raja Gopalachari. Published by Bhavan's Book University
- Valmiki. Ramayana: Aranya Kandha
- Valmiki Ramayan by Rajshekhar Basu - Uttarkanda
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