Māṇḍakarṇi (Sanskrit माण्डकर्णि) is a sage mentioned in book III (Aranya Kanda) of the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

. His story is told to

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

by Sage

Dharmabhrit Within Hinduism, Dharmabhrit (Sanskrit dharmabhṛt) is one of the anchorites who accompanied Rama from Sutīkṣṇa's hermitage on his journey through the Dandaka forest. He tells the story of sage Māṇḍakarṇi on the bank of Panchāpsaras, ...

during the prince's journey through the

Dandaka forest Dandakaranya is a historical region in India, mentioned in the Ramayana. It is identified with a territory roughly equivalent to the Bastar division in the Chhattisgarh state in the central-east part of India. It covers about of land, which inc ...

, when Rama, standing on the bank of the forest lake, asks about the origin of wondrous music coming from an unknown source.

Legend

Māṇḍakarṇi is said to have performed austere rites by staying in a stream and feeding on nothing but air for ten thousand years. Through these rites he gained great power, which alarmed the

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

. Frightened by his tapas, they sent five lovely

apsara An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, literat ...

s to beguile him and seduce him from his vows. They succeeded in their mission, and became bound to Māṇḍakarṇi as his wives. Through his holy power, he created a wondrous palace under the lake for the heavenly dames to enjoy. The lake is called

Panchāpsaras Panchāpsaras (Sanskrit: ''pañcāpsaras'') is a lake mentioned in Book III (Aranya Kanda) of the ancient Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic Ramayana. Its name means he lake ofFive Apsaras, female spirits of the clouds and waters in Hindu mytho ...

( he lake offive

s). When wanderers come to the bank of the lake, they sometimes hear heavenly strains and charming music coming from beneath the water. This, Ramayana tells, is the sound of apsaras playing with their zones and bracelets for Māṇḍakarṇi's pleasure, who also restored his youth through his exceptional penance.Lonar Crater Lake (Special Volume No.1) Proceedings: Symposium on Multi Disciplinary Approach to Understand the Lonar Lake (12–14 December 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandakarni Characters in the Ramayana Sages in the Ramayana