Ramayana: Surpanakha was married to Vidyujjihva; Ravana killed him in battle

Humiliated and enraged, Surpanakha ran to brother Ravana, complained about the incident and provoked him to abduct Sita. Ravana later succeeded in kidnapping Sita away by disguising himself as a sage, setting in motion the chain of events that culminated in the great war of the Ramayana.

Why was Surpanakha in the Dandaka forest in the first place?

But when Surpanakha met Rama, she was not simply a woman wandering through the forest. According to the Uttara Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, she was a grieving widow. So, what was the sister of the king of Lanka doing in the Dandaka forest?

With filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari now bringing his own version of the Ramayana to the big screen, it appears that he has explored chapters of the epic that have traditionally received little attention in cinematic adaptations. The film’s introduction to Ravana presents him as an outsider who wages war against Kubera, the king of Lanka, defeats him and takes control of the kingdom. Ravana also claims everything that once belonged to Kubera, including the Pushpak Vimana—the celestial aircraft he later uses to abduct Sita.

While unveiling several characters through the film’s title announcement and a comic book at San Diego Comic-Con this year, the makers introduced Vivek Oberoi as Vidyujjihva. Many viewers were surprised—and some even shocked—to learn that Vidyujjihva was Surpanakha’s husband.

Did you know Surpanakha was married?

But did you know that if not for Vidyujjihva, Surpanakha may never have been living in the Dandaka forest or encountered Rama in the first place? The Uttara Kanda is the seventh and final book of the Valmiki Ramayana. It chronicles Rama’s reign in Ayodhya, the birth and upbringing of his twin sons Lava and Kusha, and the backstories of several major characters, including Ravana. It also explores Ravana’s rise to power and how he became the king of Lanka—an episode that Nitesh Tiwari has incorporated into his adaptation.

The status of the Uttara Kanda has long been debated, with several scholars arguing that it may have been added to the epic at a later stage because the central narrative appears to conclude with Ravana’s defeat and Rama’s return to Ayodhya. However, it is this final book that provides important details about Surpanakha’s life before her encounter with Rama.

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In Sarga 23 of the Uttara Kanda, Valmiki mentions that Surpanakha was married to Vidyujjihva, a powerful Danava from the Kalakeya clan. The Kalakeyas were hostile to Ravana and the Rakshasas.

According to the account, Surpanakha fell in love with Vidyujjihva while Ravana was establishing himself as the ruler of Lanka. Since Vidyujjihva belonged to a rival clan, the two married in the Gandharva tradition—a form of marriage based on the mutual consent and choice of the couple, without the formal involvement or approval of their families.

When Ravana learned about the marriage, he was initially furious. However, after Surpanakha pleaded with him, he accepted the union.

When Ravana killed Vidyujjihva

Later, Ravana launched a campaign against the Kalakeyas in his attempt to win over the Pataal Lok—the habitat of the Danavas. During the battle, Vidyujjihva was killed by Ravana. Some later interpretations suggest that Ravana deliberately killed him because he opposed his sister’s marriage to a member of an enemy clan. Other versions maintain that Vidyujjihva’s death occurred amid the chaos of battle and that Ravana did not immediately recognise him.

The Valmiki Ramayana presents Vidyujjihva’s death in the context of Ravana’s war against the Kalakeyas, rather than explicitly stating that Ravana killed him as punishment for marrying Surpanakha.

When Ravana sent Surpanakha to live in the Dandaka forest

When Surpanakha learned that her husband had been killed, Ravana was overcome with remorse. Seeing his sister grieving and widowed because of his actions, he gave her a place to live in the Dandaka forest and placed her under the protection of his half-brothers, Khara and Dushana, who commanded an army of 14,000 Rakshasas.

It was during her time in the Dandaka forest that Surpanakha encountered Rama at Panchavati.

While the Aranya Kanda introduces Surpanakha as Ravana’s sister and focuses on her encounter with Rama, it is the Uttara Kanda that provides the backstory explaining why she was living in the forest in the first place.

Her encounter with Rama eventually ignited the chain of events that led to Sita’s abduction, the war in Lanka and Ravana’s downfall.

Later traditions also suggest that the women of Lanka blamed Surpanakha for making them widows by provoking Ravana to abduct Sita and setting off the war that destroyed their clan. However, these accounts are not part of the Valmiki Ramayana.

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi as Lord Rama and Goddess Sita, is set to hit theatres this Diwali. Actor Rakul Preet Singh will be seen playing Surpanakha in the film.