Ketumati

Ketumati was a celestial Gandharva princess in Hindu mythology and the wife of the powerful Rakshasa king Sumali. She is best known as the mother of Kaikesi (Kaikasi) and the grandmother of Ravana.

Ketumati was the daughter of a Gandharva woman named Narmada. She had two sisters, Vasudha and Sundari. Vasudha married Malyavana, while Sundari married Mali, the two brothers of Sumali. Sumali himself was the son of the Rakshasa king Sukesa and the Gandharva princess Devavati.

Ketumati married Sumali, the Rakshasa king who had once ruled Lanka before being driven out by the Gods. Following their defeat, Sumali and his brothers lost control of Lanka and sought refuge in the nether regions, known as Rasatala. Ketumati accompanied her husband into exile there.

According to the Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana, Ketumati and Sumali had fourteen children together, specifically ten sons and four daughters. Their ten sons were Prahasta, Akampana, Vikata, Kalikamukha, Dhumraksha, Danda, Suprasva, Sanhradi, Praghasa, and Bhaskarna. Their four daughters were Raka, Pushpotkata, Kaikasi, and Kumbhinasi.

Among Ketumati's sons, Prahasta and Akampana became particularly notable. Prahasta later became a maternal uncle of Ravana, as well as the chief commander of Lanka's army and one of Ravana's most important military leaders. 

Akampana was another prominent son of Ketumati and Sumali and a maternal uncle of Ravana. He survived the devastating battle involving Khara and Dushana, escaping the carnage along with Shurpanakha. After reaching Lanka, Akampana encouraged Ravana to abduct Sita, an act that ultimately contributed to the conflict between Ravana and Rama. Akampana later fought against Rama's forces and was killed by Hanuman. 

Ketumati's most famous child was her daughter Kaikesi, also known as Kaikasi. Kaikesi married the sage Vishrava and became the mother of four prominent figures of the Ramayana, namely Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, and Shurpanakha. Through these children, Kaikesi played an important ancestral role in the lineage that eventually ruled Lanka. 

Ketumati's story is therefore closely connected with the history of the Rakshasa dynasty and the events of the Ramayana. Her marriage to Sumali and her children, particularly Kaikesi, Prahasta, and Akampana, linked her to several of the central figures involved in the rise and fall of Ravana's Lanka. Her accompanying Sumali into Rasatala after the loss of Lanka also marked an important stage in the family's history before their eventual return to prominence.