Trijata

Trijata
Trijata, depicted as Vibhishana's daughter in a Sundanese Wayang golek puppet
Devanagari	त्रिजटा
Sanskrit transliteration	Trijaṭā
Affiliation	Rakshasi
Abode	Lanka
Genealogy
Parents	Vibhishana (father)
Siblings	Taranisena

Trijata (Sanskrit: त्रिजटा, IAST: Trijaṭā) is a rakshasi (demoness) in the Hindu epic Ramayana who is assigned the duty of guarding Sita who was kidnapped by the demon-king of Lanka Ravana.^[1] In later adaptions of Ramayana, Trijata is described as a daughter of Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana.

In the Ramayana, Trijata appears as a wise old rakshasi, who dreams of Ravana's destruction and the victory of Rama, the husband of Sita who wages war against Ravana to rescue Sita. Trijata accompanies Sita on a survey of the battlefield of the war between Rama and Ravana, and reassures Sita of Rama's well-being when Sita sees her husband unconscious and presumes him dead. In later Ramayana adaptations, Trijata becomes the daughter of Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana who sides with Rama. She plays a much greater role in later versions, especially Southeast Asian ones.

Barring a few exceptions where Trijata is cast as Ravana's agent, she is generally portrayed as a friend and loyal companion of Sita in her adversity. On numerous occasions, she offers solace to Sita and brings news from the outside world; she also dissuades Sita from committing suicide. After Rama's victory and Ravana's death, Trijata is richly rewarded by Sita and Rama. While some Ramayana adaptations mention her being a devotee of Rama, Southeast Asian versions often depict her as the wife of Rama's vanara general Hanuman, whom she bears a son. She is worshipped as a local goddess in Varanasi and Ujjain; both in India.