Indrajit

Rama & Lakshmana Bound By Indrajita's Nagapasha

On the first day of his battle with Rama's army, Indrajita was fast with his weapons. Angada did defeat Indrajita and forced him to retreat .[11] However, he swiftly wiped out the armies of Sugriva, calling on Rama and Lakshmana to come in a direct combat by his illusion tactics of sorcery, so he could avenge the deaths of his paternal uncle and his brothers. When Lakshmana appeared before him, he fought fiercely and used his most nefarious weapon Nagapasha (a trap made of a million snakes). Rama and Lakshmana fell on the ground breathless. They were rescued by Garuda on behest of Hanuman. Garuda was the uncle of Jatayu and Sampati and the enemy of the serpents and also the flying vehicle of Vishnu, of whom Rama was the seventh avatar.

When Indrajita discovered that both Rama and Lakshmana had been rescued by Garuda and were still alive, he was livid and vowed to kill at least one of the brothers on that day. When the battle started, he used all his force to cast a havoc on the armies of Sugriva. At this Lakshmana appeared before him and fought him fiercely. Indrajita used his supreme magical powers, darting across the clouds and skies like a bolt of lightning. He combined his skills of sorcery and illusion warfare, repeatedly vanishing and reappearing behind Lakshmana's back. He was invisible but his arrows injured Lakshmana. Indrajita used the Vasavi Sakthi against Lakshmana, and upon being impaled Lakshmana fell unconscious, poised to die precisely at the following sunrise. His life was saved by Hanuman, who brought the whole mountain of Dronagiri from the Himalayas to Lanka overnight to find the remedy (the magical herb - Sanjivani) for the weapon used by Indrajita and cured him. Although there is false speculation that Rama fought, too. Dharma does not allow multiple warriors to fight against one and it was only Lakshmana who was injured because it is against moral duty to fight against an invisible warrior.

Lakshmana Fights Indrajita

Killing Of Indrajita Painting by Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi

When Indrajita learned that Lakshmana had survived again, he went to his native deity's secret temple to perform the yagna that would make him a warrior who can't be killed by anyone. Vibhishana, Indrajita's paternal uncle who left Ravana to join Rama, learned of his nephew Indrajita's plans through his spies and alerted Rama. Lakshmana and Vibhisana took the opportunity to face Indrajita in the "Yagnaagaar", where Indrajita would not touch any weapons. As the Valmiki Ramayana quotes, upon his Yagna being destroyed by the armies of Lakshmana, Indrajita became enraged and stormed out of the Temple Cave. Seeing his uncle Vibhishana at Lakshmana's side multiplied Indrajita's fury manyfold. He vowed to kill his uncle Vibhisana along with Lakshmana once and for all, letting loose the Yama-astra which he had been conserving for punishing Vibhishana's perceived treason. At this juncture, Lakshmana protected Vibhishana, countering the Yama-astra owing to an earlier warning by Kubera. Indrajita realised that Lakshmana was not an ordinary human and had met the criteria to defeat Indrajita, i.e. blunder the yagna and not sleep for more than 12 years. Indrajita vanished briefly from the battlefield, returning to Ravana at the royal palace, and reported the developments, proposing that his father make peace with Rama. Ravana, blinded with pride, was unrelenting and annoyed, claiming that Indrajita was a coward for having fled the battlefield. This accusation provoked Indrajita who briefly lost his temper, striking fear even at the mighty Ravana's heart before apologizing and clarifying to his father that his primary duty as a son was to serve his father's best interests and that even in the face of death, he would never abandon Ravana. Preparing to return to the battle and knowing that he indeed faced death at the hands of a heavenly incarnation, Indrajita said his last goodbyes to his parents and his wife. He returned to the battlefield and fought Lakshmana with all his skill at both illusion warfare and sorcery. The arrows of Indrajita refused to harm Lakshmana because Lakshmana was the incarnation of Shesha. Lakshmana slew Indrajita by beheading him with the Anjalikastra. It was possible only because of a curse given to Indrajita by Shesha for marrying his daughter without his permission. Shesha incarnated as Rama's brother Lakshmana, to kill Indrajita, didn't have any sleep for more than twelve years during their exile so that he would be able to serve Rama and Sita efficiently and meet the criteria to kill Indrajita.[7]