Atikaya was the son of

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

and his second wife

Dhanyamalini In Hindu scriptures, Dhanyamalini or Dhanyamala () is the second wife of Ravana. Her true identity is unknown, but some stories refer to her as the daughter of Mayasura and a sister of Mandodari. In some versions of the Ramayana, Dhanyamalai ...

in 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 ...

epic. Due to his extraordinary skills and superiority, Atikaya had to be slain by

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

by using a Brahmastra, a powerful weapon of the god

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

. The wind-god

Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the '' Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...

at the behest of the god Indra, revealed to Lakshmana the secret that an otherwise invincible armour of Lord

was granted to Atikaya, that could only be pierced by a Brahmastra. Atikaya and his uncle Kumbhakarna are believed to be incarnations of the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, who were tricked and killed by

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

at the creation of the world. In another instance, Kumbhakarna said to the incarnation of Vishnu's cursed gatekeeper Viaya.

References

Rakshasa in the Ramayana Characters_in_the_Ramayana Mythological archers {{Hindu-myth-stub