What is "shurpanakha"

Shurpanakha (; lit. "sharp, long nails") or Surpanakha is a pivotal character in Valmiki's epic, the Ramayana, and is the sister of the main antagonist, Ravana, King of Lanka. Valmiki comes close to claiming that if there had been no Shurpanakha and Kaikeyi (the hero Rama's stepmother) or any one of them, then there would have been no story. She is thus considered the catalyst of the chain of events leading directly to her brother's demise, and like Kaikeyi is often blamed by Hindus for causing the Battle of Lanka.

She is known as Sarpakanaka in Indonesian, Surpanakhar in Khmer, Surapandaki in Malay, and Sammanakkha in Thai.