Kumbhakarna

Kumbhakarna is also an important character in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is a Rakshas (demon) as well as brother of Ravana, king of Lanka. Kumbhakarna literally means the person with ears like a pot (Kumbha means pot and Karna means ear). Kumbhakarna was a giant in size and depicted as large as mountain. Despite his monstrous size and great hunger, Kumbhakarna had an innocent mind and good character though he killed many sages and ate them to show only his power.

Kumbhakarna undertook a penance to get the blessings of Lord Brahma. Brahma was pleased with Kumbhakarna and offered him a boon. But that time Saraswati tied his tongue firmly. So instead of asking for Indraasan (sit of Indra) Kumbhakarna uttered Nindraasan (bed for sleep). Brahma granted his request. Ravana realized that the boon was a curse in reality and so he asked Brahma to undo his boon. In another version of the story Kumbhakarna did another austerity to ask Brahma to take his boon back and make him alert always. Thus Brahma decided that Kumbhakarna would sleep for six months at a stretch and remain awake for another six consecutive months. However when Kumbhakarna woke up from six months sleep he felt very hungry and ate whatever he got in the vicinity including humans.

When Ravana was humiliated in the war with Rama he decided to seek his brother Kumbhakarna`s help. When Kumbhakarna was informed he was preparing to go for sleep. In the other version of the story Kumbhakarna was made awakened from the sleep with a great difficulty. However Kumbhakarna had no mood to fight. He tried to pursue Ravana to stop the war as he thought Ravana was wrong and was inviting unnecessary trouble by his useless insistence to marry Sita. He also advised Ravana to release Sita and put an end to the conflict with Rama.

But Ravana insisted Kumbhakarna to join the war. Kumbhakarna was very loyal and patriotic. He was also boastful about glory of demon rule and prosperity of Lanka. Ravana knew this weakness of Kumbhakarna and hence he appealed Kumbhakarna in the name and honor of the Rakshasa clan and dynasty. Kumbhakarna was charged and agreed to terminate Rama forever. He was full of enthusiasm and energy and drank before leading the Rakshasa army in the battlefield.

A fierce fight started between the Rakshasa and Vanara army. Kumbhakarna killed and ate many monkeys. Even he injured Hanuman, knocked Sugreeva down to unconsciousness and imprisoned him. Therefore Rama took the charge of the battle by himself. Kumbhakarna had magical power and he was adept with many illusive forms to confuse the enemy. It was difficult to hit Kumbhakarna`s true body as many Kumbhakarna appeared in front and all the missiles and arrow missed him.

Kumbhakarna engulfed a large portion of the monkey army and created `Rain of fire`. This resulted in confusion and chaos amongst the monkey battalion. Rama in turn created `rain of fire` to extinguish the fire. Kumbhakarna created `rain of stones` and Rama countered the attack by creating an appropriate protective cover. The battle continued for quite a long time. Finally Rama attacked Kyumbhakarna with his most powerful arrow strengthened with deadly divine missile. When this missile hit Kumbhakarna he was heavily injured and his life came to an end.

On the deathbed Kumbhakarna uttered the name of Rama and thus he was liberated from the instincts and tendency of mortal world.

Kumbhakarna had two sons Kumbha and Nikumbha who also fought in the battle against Rama and were killed.

Kumbhakarna awakened by the rakshasas by the order of the demon king Ravana of Lanka. After Ravana was spared by Rama in a fight when Rama saw Ravana fainting, Ravana returned to Lanka humiliated and with lots of anger and planning for revenge from Rama. He decided to awake his younger brother Kumbhakarna who stays awake for six months and sleeps for six months. Since Kumbhakarna was patriotic and a very good fighter among the rakshasas, Ravana thought it suitable to awaken his brother in order to assist him in his war against Rama and Lakshmana. Thus, he ordered his rakshasas to wake Kumbhakarna and to inform him about the condition of Lanka.

Ravana sent a host to waken Kumbhakarna. They found the younger brother of Ravana sleeping in his cave. He lay like a mountain, drunk with sleep, and vast as Hell, his rank breath sweeping all before him, smelling of fat and blood. The rakshasa host who came to awake Kumbhakarna made ready for him heaps of buffaloes and deer, steaming rice and jars of blood, mountains of food piled up as high as mountain; then they prepared to wake him up. They winded conchs and shouted heavily and beat on drums, so that even the birds in the sky fell dead of fear, but Kumbhakarna slept the harder, and the rakshasas were unable to stand against the tornado of his breath.

Then the host of rakshasas girded their cloths the tighter and about ten thousand of them yelled, and struck heavy blows at him with logs of wood, and beat a thousand kettledrums. Then they waxed angrier, and work earnestly to wake him up. Some bit his ears, some poured water in them, some wounded him with maces and spears, and some drove against him thousands of elephants. At last, he woke and yawned, and yawned again, and a very storm was raging; and the pangs of hunger assailed him, and he moved his eyes around him for food.

When Kumbhakarna say the food around him, he fell too heartily, and ate and drank; and when the rakshasas thought that his stomach was filled, they stood around him and bowed, and told him of all that had befallen, and prayed for his help. Then Kumbhakarna, already half asleep again, told that he would regale the rakshasas with an abundant feast of monkey flesh and blood and would swill the blood of Lakshmana and Rama and.

Then Kumbhakarna bathed, and drank two thousand flasks of wine, and marched out like a moving mountain, clad in golden mail, in order to attack the monkeys. The monkeys fled in terror, but the brother of Ravana caught them and devoured them by handfuls, so that the fat and blood dripped from his mouth. Then Rama, with Hanuman and Angada and other brave monkeys fell on him with trees and mountain-tops, swarming round him like clouds about a mountain and he, still half asleep, began to rouse himself and fight in earnest. Hanuman, from the sky, threw down mountain-peaks on him but in vain and Kumbhakarna swallowed twenty and thirty monkeys at a mouthful, and slew hundreds of them at every stroke, and wounded Hanuman, and raged from side to side.

Death of Kumbhakarna at the hands of Rama forms a part of the Yuddha Kanda in the great epic of Ramayana. Kumbhakarna was one of the younger brothers of Ravana who used to stay awake for six months and then sleep for six months. After Ravana was spared in the battle by Rama and was returned to Lanka, Ravana became very angry and was reminded of his brother Kumbhakarna who was the hardest fighter among the Rakshasas. He thus dispatched a host of Rakshasas to wake him up.

Obeying the orders of their Lord, the rakshasa host of Ravana went soon to the cave where Kumbhakarna was sleeping. While sleeping, he looked like a mountain, drunk with sleep, and vast as Hell. At first, the rakshasas placed the feast before Kumbhakarna which included heaps of deer and buffaloes, steaming rice and jars of blood, mountains of food piled up as high as mountain and then started to wake him up, since after awaking from sleep Kumbhakarna would eat up anything that comes before him. Thus, after placing the food before him, they tried their best to wake Kumbhakarna.

At last, the brother of the demon king Ravana woke up and yawned and seeing the food he fell for it and drank and ate. Then the rakshasas told him of the reason for waking him. Kumbhakarna met his brother Ravana and requested him to surrender Sita to Rama and end the war at once. But Ravana insisted on taking revenge from Rama and aroused Kumbhakarna`s patriotic feeling and reminded him of his duty towards his kingdom of Lanka and to his brother.

Thus Kumbhakarna marched towards the battlefield and killed hundreds of monkeys at a stroke. Even Hanuman was unable to resist the demon and Kumbhakarna created havoc in the ground. Kumbhakarna flung a mountain-top at Sugriva and the monkey chief fell down, and he lifted him and carried him away. The monkeys were scattered as they saw their king was captured. But Sugriva roused himself and turned on the demon and wounded him and got away. The battle was joined again, and Lakshmana fought against the rakshasa. Then Rama took up the battle, and wounded the brother of Ravana with many shafts, and shot away an arm of the demon, destroying a hundred monkeys when it fell on them. Then with a second shaft Rama cut away the other arm, and with the help of two keen-edged discs he cut away the two legs of the demon, and at last with a shaft of Indra he struck away his head. Thus, Kumbhakarna fell like a great hill and was crashed down into the sea.