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Hindu stories
Kumbakarna, the sleeping giant and his ravenous appetite
Kumbakarna: It was play time for this Raksasa to harass and taunt men and gods. The gods and men supplicated to Brahma. Brahma laid a curse on Kumbhakarna for him to sleep like a hibernating bear for six months at a time and to wake up for one day only just to eat and go back to sleep for another six months. Guess where he slept. You guessed it right. He slept in an underground cavern like a hibernating bear. Kumbakarna, the brother of Ravana and Vibhishana, was known for his ravenous appetite.
The Glutton Extraordinaire was woken up for war. His stomach was a bottomless pit and a black hole.
Ravana, his brother, had a humiliating defeat at the hands of Rama, the day before. Ravana abducted and was holding Rama's wife, Sita - the paragon of virtue. Ravana sent raksasas to wake Kumbakarna up and get him ready for the battle. The raksasas had a hard time opening the huge and heavy gates at the entrance of the cavern. They could hear him snore from afar and as they neared him, they were blown off their feet by his thunderous breathing. This pot-bellied and pot-eared raksasa was humongous. The cavern walls were studded with gems of all kinds. The raksasas had to figure out a way to wake him up without annoying him too much. Since he was a Glutton Extraordinaire, they hit upon the idea of waking him up with the aroma of his favorite foods. They piled up carcasses of antelopes, boars, and buffaloes around him. They brought in gargantuan pails of blood. Splashes of perfumes were slapped on him. Aromatic Sandalwood paste was smeared on him. The raksasas made all kinds of noises and literally ran over his body. But he won't stir. They brought in a thousand elephants and made them run over him. He yawned, he stretched, he stirred, and he opened his eyes. His yawning mouth was like a deep cavern. As he stretched and stirred, the elephants fell off his body. His eyes were blazing as he opened them.
The Gargantuan Raksasa / devil goes to war
Ravana dispatched him to kill Rama and his simian army. Vibhishana, Ravana's and Kumbakarna's brother joined Rama's camp for moral reasons. Vibhishana gave Rama great details of Kumbakarna's mighty prowess. Kumbakarna had this innate ability to grow or shrink to any size. He grew to a gargantuan size. Kumbakarna, fitted with protective gear, left for battle with a pike. He moved like a mountain. The monkeys were in a panic. They screeched, screamed and scattered in all directions. Rama, on Vibhishana's suggestion, told the monkeys that the gargantuan raksasa is a thingamajig and not a living being. That put the monkeys at ease. The monkeys threw anything - trees, rocks, etc - that they laid their hands on. Nothing deterred Kumbakarna. Kumbakarna scooped thousands of monkeys in one sweep of his hand and smashed them on the earth. As the gargantuan Kumbakarna moved, the earth and the mountains shook. He stuffed the monkeys into his mouth and ate them. Scared, beaten , mauled, and bleeding, the monkeys scattered in all directions. Even Hanuman, the monkey god, was beaten down by his pike. Sugriva, the monkey king, hurled a huge rough rock on Kumbakarna's chest. That crag broke into pieces. The demon got very angry and threw the pike on Sugriva, which was caught by Hanuman and broken into pieces between his legs. Demon became more angry, tore and threw a huge piece of mountain peak on Sugriva. Sugriva fell unconscious. He was picked up - like a ragged doll -and carried under the arm by Kumbakarna.
Sugriva, the monkey king mutilates the giant
Kumbakarna went back to his city, where people showered him with flowers and scented water. The water woke up Sugriva and immediately he, in one swift body motion, sank his teeth and bit off his nose and tore both his ears off with his hands and nails. Kumbakarna dropped Sugriva in a fit of pain and roared. Sugriva jumped off his feet and scooted back to his friends.
Rama uses celestial weapons and kills Kumbakarna
Kumbakarna returned to the battlefield with a mace. Lakshmana, brother of Rama challenged him and sent scores of flaming arrows in a continuous stream at Kumbakarna. Kumbakarna laughed, and said that he would fight only with Rama and destroy him. Rama having heard this, came raining down arrows on kumbakarna's mace, and body. His body, pierced by the arrows looked like a humongous porcupine and rivers of blood ran down his gargantuan body. He ran hither and thither in an excruciating pain that he smashed friend and foe alike under his feet. Thousands of monkeys, seeing a chance to bring him down, clambered on him, but were shook off like insects by the lumbering but nimble giant. Rama, having seen this, decided that it was time to bring the giant down, once for all. He shot arrows at lightening speed only to be brought down by Kumbakarna's club. Then Rama started using his celestial weapons. The celestial arrow, infused with the force of wind god tore Kumbakarna's one arm holding the club. The demon's severed arm and the club came crashing down killing a thousand monkeys and his fellow demons. His thunderous roar shook the sky and shattered the mountains. He yanked a tree and came rushing towards Rama. Each step was quaking the earth and the trees were falling at distant forests. Rama sent three arrows, one infused with the force of wind and the other two with crescent-shaped heads powered by Indra's thunderbolt, which tore his other arm and his two legs. With blood squirting out of the stumps of his limbs, he uttered a thunderous cry out of his cavernous mouth. Rama immediately silenced him by sending a shower of arrows into his mouth. Rama took another arrow and empowered it with the force of Brahmastra - Bramah's weapon - and shot. This arrow streaked and glowed like a comet, lighting up its path and severed Kumbakarna's head. His mountainous head looking like a luminous moon in the night sky with dazzling earrings, sped through space at lightning speed, knocking down the city's northern gate, and rolling down the highway. The head, impacted by the tremendous force of the celestial missile, was lobbed into the ocean, causing tidal waves.
Rama is praised by gods and rishis
A pantheon of gods and rishis, appearing in the sky, showered adulations on Rama. The monkeys huddled close to him. The remaining raksasas took to their heels in wonder and awe.