The story of Ravana getting boon from Shiva to marry Goddess
Parvati is part of folklore in many regions in India. There are numerous
versions of the story and here is one of the popular versions that involves a frog.
Ravana was an ardent devotee of Shiva. He once heard from the sages that Shiva’s wife Parvati was the most beautiful woman in the world. He developed and intense desire to possess her.
To achieve his goal, he performed a very harsh penance. Pleased with his devotion, Shiva granted him a boon.
As boon, Ravana demanded to take away Goddess Parvati to
Lanka. Shiva had no choice but to allow him to take her to Lanka.
When Parvati heard this, she decided to teach Ravana a
lesson for coveting on another person’s wife. She caught a female frog and transformed it into a damsel who
looked quite similar to her.
Ravana saw the damsel and thinking her to be Goddess
Parvati, carried her away to Lanka and made her his chief queen Mandodari.
Manduka means a female frog.