Yuddha-kāṇḍa - Part 6 - Kumbhakarṇa vanquished; Indrajit enters the Battlefield

Kumbhakarṇa took a massive form as he marched ahead. His eyes were as large as a cartwheel and he looked like a moving mountain. As he came to the battlefield, he said to his men, “I will burn the army of monkeys this very day. Well, but they have not caused me any harm and are in fact, ornaments for gardens and parks in our cities. However, they will be slaughtered because of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa.” As he marched ahead dreadful omens appeared all around. Ghastly clouds thundered shedding meteors and streaks of lightning; jackals howled and their mouths emitted flames; birds wheeled in the clockwise direction and the earth trembled. As he walked, a vulture landed on his spear; Kumbhakarṇa felt his left eye and arm throbbing.

Kumbhakarṇa let out a mighty roar that resounded from the ocean and appeared like thunder in the skies. Some vānaras ran and others stood paralyzed with fear. Looking at them in that state, Aṅgada motivated them to fight. Thus encouraged, the vānaras pounced upon the rākṣasa with trees and boulders in their hands. But Kumbhakarṇa shrugged them off and caused havoc in their army. Many vānaras lay bleeding at his feet. They leapt and ran without second thoughts and many dived into the sea, while others flew into the sky. Many fled along the same path by which they had crossed the ocean. Aṅgada again tried to instil courage in the vānaras; he said, “If you flee in fear, the world will look at you with contempt. Your wives will laugh at you. Where have your boasts in the assembly gone? When someone survives by fleeing from the battlefield, the world will ridicule his very being and he will be a subject of censure forever! Our reputation is now at stake! So many of you are being vanquished by a single enemy warrior!” Though Aṅgada tried to invigorate the vānaras once again, most of them fled, scared of the mighty rākṣasa. However, the leaders of vānaras such as Nīla and Hanūmān turned back to attack Kumbhakarṇa. Hanūmān smashed a huge mountain on the rākṣasa; undeterred, Kumbhakarṇa pierced a lance through Hanūmān’s chest and the vānara vomited blood from his mouth. Other important vānaras attacked Kumbhakarṇa one after the other, but they were defeated by the rākṣasa. Smaller vānaras then jumped upon Kumbhakarṇa and climbed upon his body as if he were a mountain; they attacked him with their claws, fangs, fists, and knees; some bit him with their mouths. Kumbhakarṇa, who already resembled a mountain, now looked like one covered with myriad trees. The rākṣasa crammed the vānaras into his huge mouth and they clambered out of his nostrils and ears. Sugrīva tried to tackle the rākṣasa, but Kumbhakarṇa reduced him to a senseless state. He carried the unconscious Sugrīva into the city of Laṅkā almost like a war spoil. The rākṣasas who were thrilled looking at this feat of Kumbhakarṇa showered him with flowers. However, the mighty vānara soon regained consciousness, sprung up, and rented his ears with his claws and his nose with his fangs. He slashed the rākṣasa’s body with his sharp nails and flew into the sky to rejoin Rāma’s army. With blood gushing out of his body, Kumbhakarṇa looked like a mountain covered with red waterfalls.

 Kumbhakarṇa charged back into the battlefield. Lakṣmaṇa observed that the giant rākṣasa, who was intoxicated by the smell of blood, was not able to differentiate between his enemies and allies and was killing them all. Rāma shot the vāyavyāstra upon Kumbhakarṇa and chopped his arm off. The arm, which was as huge as a mountain peak was still holding a mudgara – a war hammer as it fell upon the army of vānaras, crushing many to death. Kumbhakarṇa picked up a huge tree with his remaining arm, but Rāma shot an arrow at it, chopping it off in no time. He also cut off the rākṣasa’s feet by shooting two arrows with half-moon heads. The rākṣasa fell to the ground and Rāma filled his mouth with innumerable arrows. Kumbhakarṇa, thus, unable to speak moaned and lost consciousness. Rāma finally shot the aindrāstra and chopped off the rākṣasa’s head.  The enormous rākṣasa fell into the sea crushing many aquatic beings.

~

When Rāvaṇa heard that his mighty brother was slain, he fell into piteous lamentation. He said, “In my folly, I failed to listen to the sage advice of Vibhīṣaṇa. With Kumbhakarṇa and Prahasta now dead, the words of Vibhīṣaṇa have put me to shame. Now I experience the grievous fruit of my action – I drove away the dhārmic Vibhīṣaṇa.” Triśiras, Atikāya, and the other sons of Rāvaṇa consoled and invigorated their father. Each was eager to avenge the death of their uncle. They could fly through the air and were skilled in the power of illusion. They had crushed the pride of the devas and had never suffered defeat in battle. Pleased, Rāvaṇa embraced his sons and gifted them ornaments. He saw them off to the battlefield and assigned his brothers Mahodara and Mahāpārśva to guard his sons. As the rākṣasas raged through the battlefield, Aṅgada killed Narāntaka by smashing his fist on his chest. Lakṣmaṇa got into a verbal duel and combat of arrows with Atikāya – he chopped the rākṣasa’s head with his arrows in no time.

Upon hearing that his sons and brothers were dead, Rāvaṇa fell into despondency once again. Indrajit, the most powerful of Rāvaṇa’s sons reassured his father of his strength and went ahead to the temple of Nikumbhilā. He performed homa in Agni to the accompaniment of mantras, seeking victory in battle. He infused his weapons and chariot with divine energy. He vanished from the place and reappeared amidst his army; he plunged into the army of the vānaras and raged havoc upon them. After vanquishing innumerable vānaras, Indrajit pelted Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa with a torrent of arrows, but the brothers regarded them no more seriously than showers of rain. Indrajit shot the brahmāstra upon the brothers and laid them low.

Looking at their heroes fallen, the vānaras were terrified and even Sugrīva, Nīla, Aṅgada, and Jāmbavān were helpless. Vibhīṣaṇa instilled courage in them and asked Jāmbavān to summon Māruti. Hanūmān who had valiantly fought his foes appeared there and Jāmbavān instructed him, “I can see no one else who can help Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, who are mortally wounded. It is time for you to show your prowess, the greatest of vānaras! You must fly high above the ocean and reach the Himālaya. There, between the mountains Ṛṣabha and Kailāsa, you will see the mountain with healing herbs, which glow with unparalleled radiance. From there, you must gather four healing herbs – mṛta-sañjīvanī, viśalya-karaṇī, sauvarṇa-karaṇī, and saṃdhānī.[1] You must head right away and swiftly return!”

Hanūmān, upon hearing the words of Jāmbavān was filled with a great upsurge of strength. He went upon the slope of the mountain and grew in size. As he prepared to leap, the mountain crushed under his weight. With her gigantic archways trembling and buildings crumbling looked as if she were dancing. He let out a roar, paralyzing the inhabitants of Laṅkā. Paying his obeisance to Rāma, Hanūmān leapt into the sky. He reached Himālaya in no time and saw the innumerable āśramas there. He then spotted the mountain that had healing herds upon it; it was glowing as if it contained flames of fire. However, recognizing the reason behind the vānara’s coming, the herbs went invisible. Unable to find them, Hanūmān bellowed in his fury – “Why have you thus resolved not to show compassion towards Rāghava?” This very day, you will find yourself smashed to pieces.” He forcibly seized the peace of the mountain and violently tore it off the ground. Blazing like the sun, he sped across the skies and looked like Bhagavān Viṣṇu holding aloft his fiery, thousand-bladed cakra.

 Hanūmān landed on the top of the Mount Trikūṭa amidst the cheers of the vānaras. As soon as Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa caught the fragrance of the healing herbs, the were relieved from the injury caused by the arrows. The other vānaras stood up revitalized as well. Then, the immensely powerful vānara swiftly took the mountain back to the Himālaya. After placing it in its original spot, he rejoined Rāma in the battle.

~

Upon Sugrīva’s instruction, the vānaras marched towards Laṅkā holding torches of fire, in the dread of the night. The vānaras unleashed fire on gateways, towers, streets, and mansions and the blazing fire consumed Laṅkā’s residences along with its inhabitants. Most rākṣasas were drunk, as they were under the illusion that their foe was defeated. As the fire spread across the city, the shrieks of the womenfolk could be heard to very long distances. Within the city, war animals ran helter-skelter. Whenever a terrified elephant came across a fleeing horse, it would run away even more terrified; when a scared horse saw a scared elephant, it would shy away. The furious vānaras pounced upon rākṣasas who were trying to escape from fire, although their bodies were ablaze. Enraged, Rāvaṇa sent forth Kumbha and Nikumbha, the sons of Kumbhakarṇa, to defend the city. Kumbha greviously injured Aṅgada in the battle, but Sugrīva slew the rākṣasa. Hanūmān tore off the huge head of Nikumbha and killed him in combat. Rāma killed Makarākṣa, Khara’s son by striking him with āgneyāstra.

Rāvaṇa commanded Indrajit to fight Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa once again. Indrajit headed to the yajña-bhūmi wearing red garments and offered āhuti to Agni. He seized the throat of a live, black goat. As he offered caru to Agni, the smokeless fire with its huge flames displayed signs of victory. Agni himself rose up and received the havis that Indrajit offered. After finishing his ritual to the accompaniment of mantras, special to the rākṣasas, he appeared on the battlefield. Looking at the torrent of arrows shot by Indrajit, Lakṣmaṇa declared that he would shoot the brahmāstra and exterminate all rākṣasas. However, Rāma advised him, “You must not slaughter all rākṣasas on account of the misdeed of a single one. You must not slay a foe who seeks refuge, flees, or is caught off guard. Thus, let us strive to slay Indrajit only. Let us invoke our divine weapons to strike him!”