Kumbhakarna

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Kumbhakarna (Sanskrit: कु भकण, lit. pot-

eared) is a named rakshasa and younger
brother of Ravana in the famous Hindu
Legends in the events of Ramayana.
Despite his monstrous size and great
appetite, he was described to be of good
character and great warrior in those
times, though he killed and ate many
monkeys only to show his power.
 Kumbhakarna

Kumbhakarna yawns as he is roused from

Dhyana

Information

Species rakshasa

Spouse Vajrajwala
Karkati

Children Kumbha
Nikumbha (from
Vajrajwala),
 Bhimasura (from
Karkati)

Relatives Ravana (older brother)

This article contains Indic text.

Without proper rendering support, you
may see question marks or boxes,
misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts
instead of Indic text.

He was considered so pious, intelligent

and unchallenged warrior in battle that
Indra, the king of gods, was worried and
jealous of him and his strength. Along
with his brothers, Ravana and
Vibhishana, Kumbhkarna performed a
major yajna and penance to please Lord
Brahma. When the time came for asking
a boon from Brahma, his tongue was tied
by goddess Saraswati, who was acting
on Indra's request; because of which,
instead of asking Indraasana (seat of
Indra), he asked for Nidraasana (bed for
sleeping). It is also said he intended to
ask for Nirdevatvam (annihilation of
Devas) and instead asked for
Nidravatvam (sleep). His request was
granted. However, his brother Ravana
asked Brahma to undo this boon as it
was in reality a curse. He slept for six
months and when he awoke, he ate
everything in the vicinity, including
humans.He is also known as Bukuroshja
e Fjetur in Albanian
Origin
In the Bhagavata Purana, Kumbhakarna
is said to be the incarnation of the
gatekeeper deity Vijaya, who was
punished by the Four Kumaras for
impiety while they guarded the sacred
realm of Vishnu. Vijaya was initially
sentenced to mortality, but after
appealing to the deity Vishnu for
assistance, Vishnu agreed to reduce their
sentence to just three lifetimes as his
enemies before allowing them to return
to the sacred realm Vaikuntha (place of
eternal bliss). While his brother Jaya
became Ravana, Vijaya became the godly
demon Kumbhakarna during their second
incarnation of three on Earth.

War
During the war, Ravana went into battle
and was humiliated by Rama and his
army. He decided he needed the help of
his brother Kumbhakarna, who was
awakened with great difficulty. He woke
up only after one thousand elephants
walked over him (Rāmāyaṇa 6.48.47).
 

Kumbhakarna Enters Warfront, Painting by

Balasaheb Pandit Pant Pratinidhi

When he was informed of the

circumstances of Ravana's war with
Rama, he tried to convince Ravana that
what he was doing was wrong. However,
he chose to fight in the battle due to his
loyalty to his brother. After becoming
drunk, Kumbhakarna went into battle and
devastated Rama's army. He knocked
Sugriva unconscious, took him prisoner,
but was ultimately killed by Rama. When
Ravana heard of his brother's death, he
fainted and proclaimed that he was truly
doomed.

Death of Kumbhakarna, c. 1670, Malwa pianting,

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kumbhakarna had two sons, Kumbha

and Nikumbha, from his wife
Vajrajwala,the daughter of Bali and
granddaughter of Virochan who too
fought in the war against Rama and were
killed. He had another son named
Bhimasura from another wife Karkati
who was the princess of sayadri. Later
when she heard about her husband's
death, rather than to take avenge from
Rama, she ordered her son to perform
harsh penance of Bramha and take a
boon to remain invincible. But Bhimasura
was later killed by Shiva.

Jain tradition
Kumbhakarna attained Moksha from
Barwani.[1]
 

The demons try to rouse the giant Kumbhakarna, by

hitting him with weapons and clubs and shouting in
his ear, 17th century, British Museum.

Characterization
Appearance

Kumbharana is depicted in various Indian

paintings.[2][3] He is portrayed as a giant,
sometimes with horns.

Personality
Kumbhakarana is portrayed as a virtuous
character, despite his monstrous size
and appearance. He had asked his older
brother Ravana to apologize for
kidnapping Sita, however, Ravana did not
heed this advice.

He used to sleep for months at a time.

See also
Ravana
Notes
1. Barwani - Census of India (PDF)
2. "The Demon Kumbhakarna Is
Defeated by Rama and Lakshmana:
Folio from a Dispersed Ramayana
Series" . Metropolitan Museum of
Art. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
3. Wight, Colin. "Ramayana: Pages 51
and 52" . www.bl.uk. Retrieved
25 October 2019.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media

related to Kumbhakarna.
 Sri Lanka, Virtual Library.
KUMBHAKARNA
Pot-Ear's Awakening . From the
Ramayana, as translated by Arthur W.
Ryder

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