Atikaya
| Atikaya | |
|---|---|
 Atikaya, a son of Ravana | |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents |
|
| Siblings | Meghanada Akshayakumara Narantaka Devantaka Trishira |
Atikaya was the son of Ravana and his wife Dhanyamalini (second wife of Ravana) in the Ramayana epic.[1] Atikaya was the younger brother of Meghanada and was extremely powerful. Once upon a time when he infuriated Lord Shiva atop Mount Kailasha, the God hurled his Trishula (divine trident) at Atikaya, but Atikaya caught the Trishula in mid air and folded his hands before the lord in a humble manner. Lord Shiva was pleased at seeing this, and benevolently blessed Atikaya with the secrets of archery and divine weapons.
Due to his extraordinary skills and superiority, he had to be slain by Lakshmana by using a Brahmastra, the supremely powerful arrow obtained by the blessings of Lord Brahma. The secret was revealed to Lakshmana by the elemental God of Wind, Vayu at the behest of Lord Indra, that an otherwise invincible armour of Lord Brahma was granted to Atikaya, that could only be pierced by a Brahmastra.
Atikaya and his uncle Kumbhakarana are believed to be incarnations of the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, who were killed by Vishnu at the creation of the world.
References
- ^ James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8.
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