Hindu mythology is full of such female characters that are so impressive, beautiful, and charismatic that sometimes it goes to a point where we start to doubt their existence altogether.
However, if we set our doubts aside, these extraordinary female characters from Indian mythology (mainly, the hindu scriptures) may simply challenge our perception of beauty. These gorgeous female characters not only portray the message of women empowerment but also define the female beauty in terms of their physical appearance.
Mohini (Mentioned In Several Puranas)
According to Hindu literature, Mohini is one of the female incarnations of Lord Vishnu. It’s a Sanskrit term that translates to one who attracts or seduces. In Hindu mythology, she is by far the most beautiful woman ever mentioned.
During the Samudra Manthan, Lord Vishnu manifested himself as Mohini to distract the demons from having the Amrita (the nectar of immortality), when the devas and asuras were fighting for it.
According to legend, the asuras were so enchanted by her beauty that they forgot about the nectar of immortality. This allowed Mohini the opportunity to distribute all of the nectar to the devas.
Ahalya (Mentioned In Ramayana)
In the Ramayana, there is a female character named Ahalya. She is regarded as the second most beautiful woman after Sita. According to legend, Ahalya was cursed by her husband, Gautam Rishi, for having physical intimacy with Lord Indra.
Actually, Lord Indra (the Hindu god of thunder) was so infatuated by her beauty that he took the form of her husband, and fooled her into sleeping with him. Ahalya had no clue that the man she thought was her husband was in fact someone else. Seeing Ahalya with another man, Goutam Rishi then cursed her to transform into a rock state.
Tilottama (Mentioned In Padma Purana)
According to Hindu texts, Lord Brahma once created an apsara (celestial nymph) so enticingly attractive that no asura will be able to resist their lust for her. The word “Tilottama” is made up of two words. “Tila” which means – sesame seed, and “Uttama” which means – better or higher quality.
Lord Brahma’s intention was clear: he wanted to create a beautiful apsara who could cause two demon brothers to fight each other. Sunda and Upasunda, the two demon brothers, once became so powerful that no devas could defeat them, especially when they were together. Tilottama thus came to the rescue. She provoked Sunda and Upasunda to prove their power, which caused their mutual destruction.
Urvashi (Mentioned In Matsya Purana)
Many love stories between an apsara (celestial nymph of heaven) and an ordinary man can be found in the puranas. The story of Urvashi is one such example, in which an apsara falls in love with a king named Vishwamitra.
According to legend, Urvashi (celestial nymph of Indra’s adobe) had been living in Lord Indra’s abode when she decided to visit Earth for a change, because she had always wished to live the life of an ordinary human being.
However, after spending some time here, on her return, a demon kidnapped her. Fortunately, King Vishwamitra heard her screams and came to her rescue. This entire event made Urvashi fall in love with Vishwamitra. So, she then decided to stay with him for the rest of her life.
But Lord Indra was very envious of their relationship. According to the puranas, Urvashi was one of the most beautiful apsaras of Indra’s abode. So Indra devised a strategy and successfully returned her again to his heaven.
Mandodari (Mentioned In Ramayana)
If there were any woman comparable to Sita’s enchanting beauty mentioned in the Ramayana, then it would be the wife of Ravana, the lord of all demons. Her beauty was unrivaled by any other woman in the demon race.
Surprisingly, not many texts actually did justice to describing her beauty as they did with Sita. If you read other versions of the Ramayana, you’d be surprised at how beautiful Mandodari was. This begs the question of Ravana’s motivation for kidnapping Devi Sita in the first place.
Damyanti (From Mahabharata)
Damayanti was the princess of Vidarbha State. She was said to be a stunningly beautiful woman for her time in history. The fact that every prince of the neighboring states wanted to marry her gives you an idea of her beauty. Indra and other demigods traveled from their adobe just to attend and marry Damayanti in her swayamvar.
Damyanti, on the other hand, was in love with Nala, the princess of the Nishad kingdom. They fell in love just by listening to each other’s virtues. Damayanti’s love for Nala was well known to the demigods who took part in her swayamvar.
As a result, they all appeared in front of her as exact replicas of Nala, but she eventually found the original Nala and they married. The description of Damayanti was first found in the Mahabharata, and the story later spread in the form of folk tales throughout India.
Rukmini (from Mahabharata)
According to Hindu mythology, Rukmini was an incarnation of Goddess Lakhsmi who later became one of the wives of Lord Krishna. She was the daughter of King Bheeshmak, and her mention can be found in the adi-parva of the Mahabharata.
Despite being a human being, her beauty is comparable with that of apaswas, because it is said that apsawars are the most attractive and no human being can match their level of beauty.
Rukmini, on the other hand, was so beautiful that almost every king desired to marry her. Even gods like Indra and Varuna (god of the air) remarked on her entrancing beauty.
Sita (From Ramayana)
Devi Sita is at the bottom of my list of the most beautiful women in Indian mythology because she is very well-known and her beauty is evident to everyone.
This popular female character from the epic Ramayana was incredibly beautiful. This unparalleled attraction of Devi Sita eventually resulted in her kidnapping by Ravana, the lord of demons.
