Mandavi

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Wife of Bharata in epic Ramayana

title: "Mandavi" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["solar-dynasty", "characters-in-the-ramayana"] description: "Wife of Bharata in epic Ramayana" topic_path: "general/solar-dynasty" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandavi" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Wife of Bharata in epic Ramayana ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox deity"]

FieldValue
typeHindu
textsRamayana and its other versions
affiliationAvatar of Lakshmi's conch shell
abodeAyodhya
imageThe marriage of Bharata and Mandavi (6125129180).jpg
captionThe wedding ceremony of Mandavi and Bharata.
parentsKushadhvaja (father)
Chandrabhaga (mother)
spouseBharata
childrenTaksha
Pushkala
siblingsSita (adoptive cousin)
Urmila (cousin)
Shrutakirti (sister)
dynastyVideha (by birth)
Raghuvamsha-Suryavamsha (by marriage)
birth_placeMithila, Videha
death_placeAyodhya
::

| type = Hindu | texts = Ramayana and its other versions | affiliation = Avatar of Lakshmi's conch shell | abode = Ayodhya | image = The marriage of Bharata and Mandavi (6125129180).jpg | caption = The wedding ceremony of Mandavi and Bharata. | parents = Kushadhvaja (father) Chandrabhaga (mother) | spouse = Bharata | children = Taksha Pushkala | siblings = Sita (adoptive cousin) Urmila (cousin) Shrutakirti (sister) | dynasty = Videha (by birth) Raghuvamsha-Suryavamsha (by marriage) | birth_place = Mithila, Videha | death_place = Ayodhya

Mandavi () is a princess of Videha in the Hindu epic Ramayana. She is the wife of Bharata and is considered an incarnation of the conch shell of goddess Lakshmi. Mandavi is known for her sacrifice and perseverance.

Etymology

The name Mandavi is of Sanskrit origin. Her name means 'fit and competent'.

Legend

Birth

Sunayana and Chandrabhaga, the wives of Janaka and Kushadhvaja, gave birth to Urmila and Mandavi. Chandrabhaga later gave birth to her second daughter and Mandavi's younger sister, Shrutakirti. She is considered as the incarnation of Lakshmi's conch shell. Her father was the ruler of Samkasya, but Mandavi and Shrutakirti were brought up in Mithila, along with Sita and Urmila.

Marriage to Bharata

After Rama won the hand of Sita at her svayamvara, his father, King Dasharatha arrived in Mithila for his son's wedding. King Dasharatha noticed that Lakshmana had feelings for Urmila, but according to tradition, Bharata and Mandavi had to marry first. King Dasharatha arranged for Bharata to marry Mandavi and for Shatrughna to marry Shrutakirti, allowing Lakshmana to marry Urmila. Ultimately, all four sisters married the four brothers, strengthening the alliance between the kingdoms. The wedding ceremony was conducted under the guidance of Shatananda.

Mandavi and Bharata had two sons named Taksha and Pushkala. While, Taksha founded the city of Taksha-sila, to the east of Indus, Pushkala founded Pushkala-vati, to the west of the Indus.

Bharata's exile

When her mother-in-law Kaikeyi, compelled Dasharatha to make Bharata king and forced Rama to leave Ayodhya and spend a period of exile. Sita and Lakshmana willingly renounced the comforts of the palace and joined Rama in exile. Bharata decided to lead a life in exile at Nandigram, till the completion of Rama's exile. On his request, Mandavi stayed back in Ayodhya to look after her husband's aging parents. Mandavi then decided to not meet her husband for those fourteen years, so that he could devotee his time for the welfare of Ayodhya and fulfill his brother's responsibilities.

Death

According to a legend in Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, Mandvi along with her sister Shrutakirti, became Sati with her husband, and died after her husband's samadhi. While, Urmila stayed in Ayodhya to look after her son's Angada and Chandraketu, and Sita's sons Lava and Kusha.{{cite book |last=MacFie |first=J. M. |title=The Ramayan Of Tulsidas Or The Bible Of Northern India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AbG4yfdE1b4C&pg=PA115 |date=1 May 2004 |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |isbn=978-1-4179-1498-2}}

Assessment

Though she finds little mention in the original epic, Mandavi is known as a pious woman and an ideal wife. She dedicated herself in the service of her husband and his parents.{{cite web |title=Revisioning Subalternity: A critical study of Ramayana through Mandavi and Urmila |url=https://rupkatha.com/v13n243/ |work=Rupkatha Journals}} Kavita Kane said,

Worship

In the Medak district of Telangana, there is a temple called Sri Kalyana Ramachandra Sannadhi that is dedicated to Bharata and Mandavi. This temple is the only one in India that has installed statues of Rama's brothers and their wives.

In popular culture

Films

The following person portrayed Mandavi in the film adaptation of Ramayana.

Television

The following people portrayed Mandavi in the television adaptation of Ramayana.

Books

  • Mandvi by Shri Uma, published in 1996

References

References

  1. Dawar, Sonalini Chaudhry. (2006). "Ramayana, the Sacred Epic of Gods and Demons". Om Books International.
  2. (20 April 2022). "LakshmiLa : The Eternal Love Story". Om Books International.
  3. [https://valmikiramayan.net ''Valmiki Ramayana'', English verse translation] by Desiraju Hanumanta Rao, K. M. K. Murthy et al.
  4. www.wisdomlib.org. (2015-09-21). "Mandavi, Māṇḍavī: 9 definitions".
  5. Praśānta Guptā. (1998). "Vālmīkī Rāmāyaṇa". Dreamland Publications.
  6. "Sita's Sisters: Conversations On Sisterhood Between Women Of Ramayana". Outlook India.
  7. "Ramayana {{!}} Summary, Characters, & Facts".
  8. Debroy, Bibek. (2005). "The History of Puranas". Bharatiya Kala Prakashan.
  9. Valmiki. "The Ramayana".
  10. "The Ramayana and Mahabharata: Conclusion".
  11. (2020-08-05). "Ramayana: Check 13 lesser-known facts".
  12. Moor, Edward. (1810). "The Hindu Pantheon". J. Johnson.
  13. (2022-01-18). "The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: The Complete English Translation". Princeton University Press.
  14. (3 December 2017). "Sri Kalyana Ramachandra Swamy temple: Small wonder on a hillock". Deccan Chronicle.
  15. (17 April 2016). "This unique Rama temple near Hyderabad where Hanuman finds no place". The News Minute.
  16. (17 April 2020). "Ramayana cast and characters: A full list".
  17. (8 May 2017). "Mera naam Prithvi hai, aur main ek ladki hoon' - Times of India".
  18. (1996). "Mandvi". Ayan Prakashan.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

solar-dynastycharacters-in-the-ramayana