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The daughter of Sumali and Tataka, the sister of Maricha and Subahu, the wife of rishi Vishrava, the mother of Ravana, Kumbakarna,  Vibhishana and Shurpanaka, step mother of Kubera, grandmother of Indrajit, Akshaya Kumara, Atikaya, Narantaka, Devantaka, Trishira, royal mother of Lanka. She is Kaikesi.

Kaikesi was the beloved daughter of Sumali and Tataka. Some versions of the epic mention her as the daughter of Kethumati, another wife of Sumali while some other versions mention that Kethumati was the first name of Tataka.  She belonged to the daitya clan and had two brothers, Maricha and Subahu who were defeated by Rama. 

She along with her parents to marry Vishrava and through him produce powerful offsprings. And as a result of their plan, Vishrava left his first wife Ilavida and son Kubera to marry Kaikesi. Kaikesi then became the mother of Ravana, Kumbakarna, Vibhishana and daughter Shurpanaka.

She had to bear the separation from her husband years later, when her eldest son dethroned her husband's first son Kubera from the throne of Lanka and crowned himself. She was left heartbroken by it but was helpless and stayed with her sons in Lanka. It is said that she was a great devotee of Shiva and there are some tales saying that Ravana tried to bring Kailash for her mother but failed. 

It is also said that she advised Ravana to return Sita back to Rama, but Ravana was adamant with his decision and declined the advice. After she got to know that Rama had reached the Lanka, she knew that it was the end of her clan and therefore advised her another Vibhishana, who was in the path of righteousness to join the camp of Rama and help him, thereby saving at least one son of hers. 

There are nothing in detail mentioned about how she spent her life after the war between Rama and Ravana, where all her sons, grandsons died except Vibhishana in the epic by Valmiki. But southern tales say that Kaikesi witnessed the crowning of Vibhishana and returned to Vishrava where she left her last breath.

A/N: A mother just wishes the best for her children and can do anything for them. Same way, even she tried to save her sons but at last was successful in saving only one son of hers. It is heart breaking to live a life without a husband who was alive. Physical separation was not as painful as separation of hearts, but she lived through it. Nothing much is mentioned about her life, but with the available information about her, we have a lot to learn. Respect!

17th August 2021

Tuesday