("Indra's
Conqueror") Indrajit is the son of the demon-king Ravana and his wife
Mandodari in the Ramayana, the earlier of the two major Indian epics.
He is presented as the son of the deity Shiva himself in
some later versions of the Ramayana, having been born after his mother had
married Ravana.
Indrajit, like his father, is a great Shiva devotee
(bhakta), and as a result of his devotion, Shiva teaches Indrajit how to become
invisible.
This ability is clearly incredibly useful to a fighter, and
it allows Indrajit to conquer Indra's celestial kingdom and return Indra to
Lanka as a prisoner, thus his name.
Brahma travels to Ravana's realm of Lanka to secure Indra's
freedom, in exchange for which Indrajit requests physical immortality.
When informed that this is impossible, Indrajit seeks a
different power: that if he makes a particular sacrifice, he would be given
horses and a chariot, allowing him to kill every opponent he encounters while
riding in the chariot.
Indrajit undertakes this sacrifice as the god-king Rama and
his companions are invading Lanka in an attempt to reclaim Rama's stolen wife
Sita.
Brahma warns Rama of the danger, so he sends his brother
Lakshmana to stop it.
Lakshmana successfully disturbs the sacrifice and kills Indrajit in the subsequent struggle.
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