Even with the most powerful people, there lies a soft corner wherein they take all their emotional strength from, and which is very dear to them than life. To the mighty Ravan, such soft corner was his mighty son Indrajeet.
Just as himself, Ravan wanted a powerful son. As he had all the planets under his authority, he ordered the planets to be in the perfect constellation for an auspicious time for his son to be born. All planets fear Ravan and align themselves in the correct position except for Shani. Ravan gets furious at Shani, but had to accept it. Hence, although powerful, Ravan’s son Meghanad had to die in the hands of Lakshman.
The son born to Ravan and Mandodari roared like a black cloud of thunder, and thus named Meghnad. (Megh meaning cloud, Nad meaning sound) .When Meghnad was of age, he mastered all the skills of weaponry and warfare under his guru Shukracharya. Pleased by the dedication of Indrajeet, Shukracharya also taught him the art of sorcery and magic in war which was a very difficult skill to acquire for any warrior. Indrajeet married Sulochana, the daughter of Sesh Naag and a very devoted and pious wife to Indrajeet.
Most of the victories of Ravan can be attributed to Indrajeet, but his greatest victory came when Meghnad defeated Devraj Indr and took him captive, which earned him the title of Indrajeet (conqueror of Indr). Brahma Ji intervenes and requests Indrajeet to free Devraj Indr. Meghnad obliges and asks the boon of immortality from Brahma. But Brahma remarked that immortality is against creation and instead grants him that he would become invincible after he completes a Yagn to their deity Nikumbhila, after which a celestial chariot and weapons would come and once on the chariot, none could defeat Indrajeet. But Brahma also cautioned him that whosoever would destroy this Yagna, would also kill him. Indrajeet agrees to this and thus he always performed the Yagn before he went to war and thus could not be defeated. He becomes one of the greatest strength of Ravan and he prides in Indrajeets’s powers and might.
However Ravan’s pride is at stake with Shri Ram laying siege on Lanka with the monkey army and showing them the taste of defeat on the first day. When Indrajeet sees many of the powerful warriors of Lanka die in the hands of Shri Ram, Indrajeet decides to end it fast, and he plays a sorcery trick on Shri Ram. He creates an illusory Sita and gets her into the
battlefield in his chariot. He goes in front of Shri Ram and beheads the illusory Sita her in front of Shri Ram. Witnessing this, Shri Ram collapses on the ground. But Vibhishan provides relief to Shri Ram mentioning about Indrajeet’s conjuring tricks and comforts Shri Ram that Mata Sita is very much alive and Indrajeet would not dare to kill her. Indrajeet then fights a great battle in the following days with his sorcery and magic, but is killed by Lakshman at the end.
The personality and character of Indrajeet is torn between the shades of good and bad. As a dutiful son, he always abides to his father’s command and there is never an instance that he goes against his father’s command. However, his greatest fault lies as he supports Adharma and Ravan’s sins and that puts him into a gray shade and leads to his downfall.