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Menaka was a nastika of the Gandharva clan. She was the wife of Gandharva and mother of Shakuntala. She is deceased by the time the current story takes place.

Appearance[]

In her female human form, Menaka appears as a woman with long, dark blue, untied hair and golden eyes. She wears a dress that has frills on the top-side.

She is always shown as either swimming in water or "standing" on water. Her sura part is apparently her "legs", which appears to be a long, black tail with something akin to a shark fin on it.

In her male form, Menaka wears her long blue hair tied back in a loose ponytail. She wears loose blue clothing with a long sleeve only on the right side, which leaves her left shoulder bare. The cloth extends to the ground like a skirt and it is tied around her waist by a sash, flowing behind her.

Personality[]

During Season 1, not much is revealed about her, but she seems to like flowers and has a gentle personality. Others describe her as a clueless pacifist. In Season 3, her selfless and self-sacrificing nature is made apparent.[1]

Notes[]

  • She was originally going to bear the name "Gandharva". [2]
  • In her male form, Menaka was the second strongest of the Gandharva clan.[2]
  • She died on D675.[2]

Plot[]


Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.


History[]

Before Gandharva met her, he was cruel and even feared by other nastikas due to his behavior. However, Menaka seems to have been able to influence him with her pacifism and changed his temper for the better.

She was Shakuntala's mother, and has been shown to play with her on a field of flowers, when Shakuntala was still young. She playfully tells Shakun that her father is sulking because she only made a flower necklace for her mother. Shakuntala gives her flower necklace to her father and starts making one for him right away. Gandharva remembers his wife asking him to take care of their daughter.

She convinced Gandharva not to send help to the Ananta clan for the rescue of Ananta, over Urvasi's objections. Sagara expresses her regret that she did not kill Menaka earlier.[3]


Season 1[]

Chapter 6: The Past I Yearn For/Longing for Yesterday[]

(1) Through a memory, Gandharva recalls baby Shakuntala making a necklace for her mother. When Gandharva sulks, Menaka urges Shakuntala to make another one for her dad. In another separate memory of what seems to be Menaka's last wishes, Gandharva recalls her words urging him to keep Shakuntala safe.

(4) Sagara remarks how she thought that Menaka's death drove Gandharva crazy. She continues to scorn how terrible a king he is with always putting his wife first when she was alive, not remarrying when she died, and now obsessing over his daughter to the detriment of his clan.

(5) Before marrying Menaka and having Shakuntala, Gandharva held the reputation of being extremely cold and heartless to the extent that he struck fear into other strong nastikas. Maruna ponders that after Menaka's death, the only thing stopping Gandharva from reverting back to his old self is Shakuntala, or at least the hope of Shakuntala being alive.

Chapter 11: The Power of the Name[]

1-85 nonviolent Gandharva (detail)

Her family

(2) Sagara tells her army that before Gandharva got married, he was a king worthy of her respect. She then describes both Menaka and Shakuntala as "unrealistic wenches" who ruined Gandharva and his clan.

Season 2[]

Chapter 17: Reflection[]

(1) Menaka is mentioned in the pamphlet on Gandharva read by Teo Rakan. It states that she had been Gandharva's only wife, not including the propagation period at the beginning of the universe.

Chapter 20: Grudge[]

2-55 Menaka

Menaka forbids Gandharva to aid Ananta

(5) Sagara thinks back to a past event, in which a messenger from the Ananta clan requests the Gandharva clan for aid in protecting Ananta. Menaka tells Gandharva to forbid the clan members from joining in on the fight and aiding the Anantas, saying that it was better not to get involved. Gandharva does as Menaka tells him.

After being informed of this by the messenger, Sagara is furious, declaring that she should've killed Menaka a long time ago. Manasvin, who had been silent while being informed of this, tells Sagara that rather than complaining, it's better to focus on what to do next. Sagara asks if Manasvin is angry at all, to which he responds that he's probably angrier than she is, as he hates those who think selfishly but try and pretend to be virtuous (referring to both Gandharva and Menaka).

Chapter 21: Frozen Tears[]

2-67 G's family

Menaka helped to partially reform Gandharva

(1) According to Sagara, Menaka's death was a result of Gandharva's indecision, much like the death of Teo now. (10)Agni reveals to Gandharva that he has known a way to kill him for a long time now, but hasn't done so because of Menaka's pacifistic influence on him.

♢ ♢ ♢

Season 3[]

Chapter 38: Devastation[]

3-020 blog1

Menaka believed that Gandharva can change

(1) In a flashback, Menaka holds Gandharva's hand and insists that he can take his time to learn to change. She adds that it will be a difficult process, but in the end he will have time, a future, and a happiness that she will never have. He asks what she means by time, because they are nastikas who were given infinite time. Menaka looks back at him with a sad look on her face. In the present, Gandharva states that Menaka was deceived and that she should never have traded her time for his current pitiful reality.


3-025 past conversation

Menaka and Agni

(2) Agni describes Gandharva as someone who still does not realize the gravity of slaughtering humans, and who still has not fully changed under Menaka's influence. He adds, however, that the nastika's attack on Kalibloom was not killing for fun, and he believes that change was due to Menaka. A brief image of Menaka suggests that Agni had personally spoken with her in the past.

(6) When Agni ceases his attacks because of Brilith's collapse, he tells Gandharva that he cannot fully trust him in spite of all the times he tried, but he will still delay killing him, and he should thank Menaka for his final chance. Now it is clear that Menaka had spoken with Agni in the past.

Chapter 42: Crossroads[]

3-057 Menaka

Hello, Agni!

(5) In an indeterminate time in the past, when Agni finally learned of a way to kill Gandharva, he searched among most of the watery planets to find him. He encounters Menaka on one planet and initially expresses concern that she is vulnerable to hostile nastikas while in her human form, then asks if she knows where Gandharva is. She realizes immediately that he has finally found a way to kill him. When he declares that he must end the senseless killings and remove his sins from the universe, she confesses that those sins are hers to bear, and reminds him that Brahma once told him that someone else had sworn to carry the burden of Gandharva's sins.


(6) In another flashback, about ten million years after the destruction of the original human race and the creation of the new one, Menaka is seen attempting to convince Visnu that Gandharva should be kept alive, but Visnu is undeterred, stating that this was a good thing, and now they only had to wait for Gandharva to finally pay the price of his sins. He did not care about Gandharva's actions; only Menaka's survival for the best possible future, in which she would be the new King of the Gandharva clan after switching into male form and Gandharva's death. If Menaka continued in such a manner and became the first nastika to reach enlightenment, she would help the gods defeat Kali. Menaka, disliking this plan, questions Visnu's actions, but he does not relent, and Menaka is left alone to weep.

3-058 Menaka and Primeral Gods

The primeval gods tell Menaka that Kali deceived her

After Menaka continues weeping for a long period of time, 'Visnu' appears, taking back his original plan and offering a new one instead; in exchange for Menaka's future, he would give her the power to convince Gandharva to reform, but until Gandharva was completely reformed, Menaka would bear the weight of Gandharva's sins. Menaka agrees to this. Menaka then informs the other gods about the confirmed change of plans, but to her surprise, the primeval gods knew nothing about this. They reveal that it was not Visnu that she had met, but Kali, and reprimand her for not differentiating between the two. However, there was nothing that could be done; Menaka and Kali had made an unbreakable deal, and now Menaka was to die instead of Gandharva. Menaka would not even succeed in fully reforming Gandharva by the end of her life; the task would have to fall upon her daughter. Menaka would have to repent for this error on her part for the rest of her life.


3-058 Menaka's death

Her funeral

When Menaka finishes telling Agni what had happened, he is frustrated that Menaka was given this role, and is infuriated that she must take all the blame for Kali and Gandharva's actions, but Menaka believes that this is a fate she deserved. It is then shown that Menaka passes away in D675, her clan surrounding her in deep mourning.


3-058 Kali collects on her deal

Time to pay up

After death, Menaka finds herself in an unknown area, unable to remember anything about who she was and why she was there. The only thing she could recollect was the name, "Gandharva," though she did not know why. Menaka is then approached by Kali, who informs her of the deal they had made which Menaka had forgotten, and tells her that she has a new job- becoming the parent of Kali's son. Menaka is then transformed into a new being, Taraka.

(7) Agni informs Brahma of Menaka's death (which she had already been aware of), then says that if Menaka had not made a deal with Kali and taken on the sins of Gandharva, hers could have been the first nastika soul to survive the 0th dimension. Brahma is mildly surprised that Menaka had told Agni of this, revealing that the penalty of informing a creature lesser than Kali must have been severe; and that too to an outsider among the gods.

Chapter 47: Words That Never Reached You[]

3-110 Menaka and Gandharva

They met again

(8) When Gandharva enters Shess's mind, he finds himself on a planet in the human realm, 3rd stage Shess with a nastika he does not recognize. Menaka addresses him and asks what he is doing there.

(10) Menaka tells Gandharva not to cause trouble here, and advises him to not act here because of the Kinnaras, Agni, and the strong humans of this planet. Gandharva briefly wonders what would've happened had he opened his heart to Menaka this early, only to remind himself that this Menaka was simply a construct of Shess' memories, and that he simply needed to go along with what she said. Gandharva then tells Menaka he wished to join the gathering, shocking Menaka.


3-111 ancient human weapon

The ancient human race's weapon to kill Gandharva

(11) As Gandharva and Menaka watch Agni's betrothed direct operations on a giant humanoid machine intended to be used against Gandharva, the latter is surprised that it was created to stop him. Menaka corrects him, stating that the scientist is not trying to stop Gandharva, but kill him. She explains that humans hold their memories in their souls and reincarnate, so everyone is interconnected. They feel angry when someone even on a distant planet dies. Gandharva thinks they are nothing but monsters whose vengeance grows and technology advances with each lifetime, and the only way to break the cycle is to eliminate either the suras or the humans. Menaka suggests that the suras should apologize for the harm they have done and try to live in peace. Gandharva considers this impossible. Looking at Agni, Menaka wonders if the gods will side with the humans, but Gandharva says that Agni is an exception and most gods have sided with the humans only for strategic reasons.


3-112 Original Airavata arguing with Gandharva

Gandharva meets the original Airavata

(12) Menaka tries to convince Airavata that Gandharva is here to apologize and make peace with the humans, which Airavata accepts. The Kinnara suras notice that the attackers are mostly 3rd-zen and lower gods, except for Indra and Chandra, and wonder why they are suddenly attacking them. Gandharva states that they saw the future of technology-advanced humans with their Insight, and that this is just the beginning of a complete genocide of humans. Menaka fears that the situation may be serious if sura clans cooperate with the gods, but Airavata believes that not more than two could possibly support such a task and that they could handle that many.


(13) A fiery giant resembling Agni appears on the horizon, and Chandra warns Gandharva that he should flee since everything is about to evaporate. Menaka tells him that he should do as Chandra says, but Gandharva declares that he cannot leave Shess, and walks towards him and Kinnara.

Chapter 48: Separation[]

(4) A sura asks if Sagara has decided to head to Kalibloom since the dragon could overwhelm the Ananta clan rakshasas there, and she replies that there is no need for her to go. She then looks at Taraka and tells her to go in her stead, calling her "Menaka".

3-130 Kali switching Menaka and Teo's souls

Kali reserved Menaka's soul for Teo's resurrection

(10) When Teo begins to go on about how the universe is not worth saving, Laila asks if Teo got these strange ideas from Siera. This prompts Teo to think back about her very existence, and who she really was. A flashback reveals Kali and Menaka overlapping with Hura in the scene where Hura suggested how to resurrect Teo to Gandharva, Kali grinning and stating that this "Teo" exists nowhere.

(27) After Kadru crumbles away, and since the fragment experiment went successfully, Chandra starts to look around. He sees that Kali is in no so state to move. Then he looks at Taraka, and to his surprise, he sees Menaka in her place. But before he can think more deeply on this, he starts losing his desires and fading away.

(28) Gandharva uses his soul-destruction skill on Taraka (whom at this moment has Menaka's soul) and she dissipates.

3-149 Male Menaka saving Teo

Menaka's guide Teo to the light

(29) The soul of Teo Rakan speaks of how she wandered aimlessly when suddenly Menaka called upon her, urging her to run faster before she is caught. Teo races towards the light despite not knowing what she is running from. The last thing she remembers is Menaka's dissipating body, her smile, and her voice telling her that she will take away all her sins and asking her to live happily and recognize the one who truly loves her. Later in the episode, Sagara mentions that Menaka was the first soul she had found suitable for Ananta's resurrection. However, Sagara decided not to go with this option because of the ridiculous amount of sins that Menaka carried. Agni gets rather fired up and asks for an explanation. Sagara reveals that Menaka had just got annihilated while they were speaking. Her thoughts reveal that if Taraka got sent to Kalibloom, the chance she would get annihilated was 90 %. Out loud, Sagara continues that getting annihilated was better for Menaka.

References[]

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