Mandodari, The Queen of Lanka

The other day I was reading this book, “Mandodari, The Queen of Lanka” by Manini Anandani. The word “Queen”, resonates with someone who is privileged. However, in Mandodari’s case, this belief seems misplaced. Even though she had all the riches, she still had to observe and accept the mistakes of her husband, the mighty, Ravana. This book makes us realise that persons status and financial situation does not guarantee  happiness and satisfaction in our life.Like any other lady, Mandodari too dreamt of a loving husband and a “Happily ever after”, kind of life. When she got married to Ravana, she felt that this dream was turning into a reality. Little did she knew that this joy and exhilaration was short lived. Within a short span of time, Ravana married other ladies. She got to see Ravana’s craving for power, wealth and women. She could see that he was egoistic, short-tempered and proud. At this point one wonders whether this acceptance and composure is really a positive trait.  What would have happened, had she returned to her parent’s place? Their kingdom might have had to bear the wrath of the mighty Ravana. He might have destroyed the entire kingdom. But then, they could have fought, and died, instead of sacrificing the dignity and the honour of their daughter. These are just possibilities. In reality we are aware, that irrespective of the military power of the kingdom, the fact that the daughter is returning to her parents place would not have been accepted. This is irrespective of the extent of the mistake that is made by the husband. One wonders, how much has this mindset changed in the current times.There were times, when Mandodari had to keep a straight face, in order to avoid the pity that people would show her, especially, when Ravana would openly hang out with the courtesans. She had to hide her feelings from her husband, in order to not come across as someone who is too needy. She had to maintain a diplomatic relation with her mother-in-law who opined, that Ravana deserved to have many women at his disposal since he is so powerful. Mandodari also had to maintain a delicate balance with Ravana’s other wifes, in order to maintain harmony in the family. She had to believe in the love of her husband, even though many of the situations hinted otherwise. She had to keep pursuing Ravana to follow the right path, even though she was aware that the egoistic nature of Ravana would not allow him to listen to anyone.Mandodari behaved in the best possible way, in order to survive. She had made peace with her destiny. She did what she could best do in the situation she was in. I think, this is what is meant by the sentence in Bhagwat Gita, “Keep doing good work and do not hanker after the results”. Not sure, whether she got her due in her next birth, however, she did her best, to maintain her peace of mind in the situation that she found herself in.There are many such people whom we encounter in our day to day lives, who may not have done anything great, but they give their best shot, in their current life situation. I think this itself deserves a big salute, as its quite difficult to keep following your Dharma consistently, especially if you are in a fix for a long period of time. Its very easy to take up a wrong path and blame it on the situation that you are in. This becomes the excuses that we give to continue with our wrong habits and actions. The more we keep justifying our mistakes, the more it starts overpowering us. At the end of the day, whatever situation we find ourself in, we need to take the complete onus of our actions and choices. After all, our life is our responsibility!