Originally posted by: mohit_raja
can someone please tell me about meghnath in detail...i see some voting for him
Meghnad was the first son of Ravan born of his first queen, Mandodari. When he was born, his birth cries made the sound of thunder. Hence, he was named Meghnad. He married the daugther of Sesh-Nag, the Naga princess Sulochana, who was a virtuous devoted wife whose virtue and faith in her husband earned her fame.
Due to severe tapasya, Meghnad received all the magical weapons, such as the Brahmastra and such, and he became even more powerful than his father, Ravana.
Once, Lord Indra received a curse from someone that he would he defeated by a rakshasa, and later on, Indrajit defeated him in a battle with the devas, and won Indra-Lok, making Lord Indra a vessel king to Ravan. Thus he received the title Indrajit.
When Ravan kidnapped Sitaji, Indrajit, who realized later on that Ravan would be killed for his sin, still sided with his father, because he felt that serving one's father should be one's utmost duty, even if the said father was an adharmi.
In a fair fight, Lakshmanji killed Indrajit, after being defeated by him twice (once by a naaga weapon, and the second time by the Shakti Weapon). It was prophesied that one who was twice defeated by Indrajit, but survived both encounters, would be the one to kill him.
Shri Ram appreciated Indrajit's valour, and his devotion to his father, so when the vanar army suggested that they mutilate Indrajit's dead body and send it to Ravan, Shri Ram chastised them and told them that after death, one's enemy ceases to be an enemy, because the soul already left, and the dead body should be treated with respect. So he placed his own cloth over Indrajit in a sign of respect for a warrior who fell doing his duty (and who thus achieved heaven), and sent the body like that to Ravan, so that Indrajit can get a proper funeral.
Can someone please post the speech Shri Ram gave to the Vanar-Sena about respecting Indrajit's corpse? I remember that it was posted somewhere, but I don't recall the exact spot.