The intentions behind this post are to create an article which can be used as a debating resource by myself & others that have interest in the story of Ramayan.
One warrior that gets downplayed, underestimated, underrated, ignored, sidelined, or misportrayed in popular fanfiction presented on television screens is Kumbhkarn, one of Ravan's brothers.
Part 1 will discuss the battles kumvakarna had against devas & anyone before the lankan war. Part 2 will detail his achievements with evidence from Mahabharat. Part 3 is about his yuddh kanda achievements but using only valmiki's ramayan as a source.
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PART 1)
Against Yama:
1-"He is the powerful Kumbhakarna, the son of Visravasa. He conquered Yama and Indra in battle. There is no other demon, corresponding to the size of his body."
2-"Seeing that demon of terrific eyes who could not be destroyed by Yama the lord of death the monkeys ran away."
3-"Anyone who even stands before me, the god of death, holding forth a weapon in a great battle here, is venerable. What to tell about a person who bestows battle on me?"
Quotes for his battle against Indra.
1st:
"Seeing that demon of terrific eyes who could not be destroyed either by Indra the lord of celestials or by Yama the lord of death or by Varuna the god of water, the monkeys ran away."
2nd:
"Indra also gets frightened of me, having a mountain-sized body wielding a sharpened pike, having pointed tusks and even as I roar. Without using a javelin or a mace or a sword or sharp arrows, I myself, on getting excited, can kill even Indra, with my bare hands."
3rd
"That Mahendra wielding a thunder-bolt was enraged and struck Kumbhakarna with his weapon of the white thunderbolt. The great souled Kumbhakarna struck by Indra's thunderbolt was quite agitatated at it and roared loudly with anger. Enraged as he was on Mahendra, the mighty Kumbhakarna then pulled out a tusk of Airavata, Indra's elephant & struck it into Indra's chest."
"That Devendra, tormented by the hit of Kumbhakarna, was burning with rage. The celestials, Brahmanical sages and demons were suddenly aggrieved. Even Indra with his people went to the abode of Brahma the Lord of creation."
4th
"He is the powerful Kumbhakarna, the son of Visravasa. He conquered Yama and Indra in battle. There is no other demon, corresponding to the size of his body."
5th:
"Even the powerful Indra, the lord of celestials, who mounted Airavata the elephant and accompanied by all celestials, did not ever stand before me in battle."
6th:
"O brave demon! You are telling that while you show your prowess, the heroes like Indra and others feel unbearable; it is true. Just now, I have seen your prowess."
Uttar Kanda version;
Kumvakarna's involvement in the battle against Indra & other devas.
[Quote]
"And the wicked Kumbhakama, brandishing weapons of every kind, came there, O King, unaware with whom the conflict was taking place; using his teeth, his feet, his hands, lances, picks, mallets or anything whatsoever in order to assail the Gods in his fury. Having attacked the formidable Rudras, it went ill with that Ranger of the Night, who, in an instant, was riddled with wounds; and the army of the Rakshasas, hard pressed by the Gods, assisted by the Hosts of Maruts and armed with every weapon, were completely routed and, in the struggle, some fell on the earth mutilated and palpitating, whilst others remained clinging to their mounts."
Next quote; "Meantime Dashagriva, seething with anger on seeing his army entirely overthrown by the Gods, hurled himself with one bound into that sea of warriors, slaying the Celestials in the fight and challenging Shakra himself."
The lines ''hard pressed by the gods" & "it went ill with that ranger of the night" {other word for Rakshasa/daitya} & "seeing his army entirely overthrown" clearly hint at the fact that (at least according to Uttara Kanda) the devtas/rudras defeated Kumbhkarna. Of course because this paragraph comes from Uttara Kanda its reliability is disputed/debatable.
Cause in Uttara Kanda the antagonist Ravan was vulnerable to getting killed by a character called Yamraaj. Yet according to Yuddh Kanda the character of Kumbhkarna was immune to death against Yamraaj.
Cross References.
Word of Ravan again;
"Earlier, together with you I conquered the celestials in a battle between the celestials and demons. You also conquered them."
Note - Here when Ravan said 'together with you' he was talking to more than just 1 single character, he was actually adressing a group of his courtier's, ministers, friends & servants. In much simpler terms he said that "all of us together defeated the devas" the claim "together with you" was not a reference to Kumbhakarna alone.
Ravan believed he could only annex Indra through the support of Kumbhkarn (that's probably the way he waged war against the devtas before):
"O Kumbhakarna! Now that you are dead, how can I conquer Indra the lord of celestials?"
Vibeeshan's quote hints at a Indra vs Kumvakarna duel.
{Begin}
"Kumbhakarna, my elder brother born after Ravana, who is valiant and highly powerful, has enough strength to fight against Indra in battle."
{completE}
Comment - Parenthesis text (lord of celestial's) was in the way so it has been deleted by me. This line does not prove he defeated indra but rather that he could compete with/duel vs indra.
Besides the devas he had other opponents but they do not receive any worthwhile attention in Ramayana. Kumbhkarn also had many off-screen battles against danavas but none are described in great detail at all.
So a theory has to be made here, its possible the danavas he had beaten were Maya (father to Mandodari) or Madhu (cause he was labelled the Danavendra of that era).
Quote:
devadaanava darpahaa = who humbles the pride of the celestials and demons
Gandharva Yudh.
Quote;
[etena = by him; sahasrashaH = thousands of;] [yakSaaH = a class of demi-gods; bhujangaaH = serpent-demons; pishitaashanaashcha = ogres; gandharva vidyaadhara pannagaashcha = celestial musicians; celestial artistes & kinnaras yudhi = in battle.
It's commonly believed that Kumbhakarna was able to scare BRAHMA (from the tridev club) as much as i would like for that to be the truth (so their could be villains outside of the purans that could beat the tridevs) its actually a mistake by a translator.
Quote:
vitatraasa = was frightened;
Screenshot:
Logic - This's from a authentic dictionary with credible information.
Not just the danavs but even the asuras were defeated by him.
[quote]
bahushaH = for several times; prativyuuhya = attacking; devaah = the celestials; asuraaH = and demons; daivaasureSu yuddheSu = in battles between celestials and demons nirjitaaH = were defeated tvayaa = by you
Theory; It is possible that asuras who were his victims (they lost but were not killed) are "Bali" (the vishnu-bhakt) or "Vana" (father of naraka). Cause Uttara Kanda says he married the sister of Vana who is Bali's duaghter.
Also cause Bali had no mention of being involved in a relevant incident after Ramayana it is possible he died before Mahabharat. But i doubt his killer was Kumbhakarna. Unless the indra (who vibeeshan claimed LOST vs Kumbhakarna) was actually Bali (since he got promised Indra's position).
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PART 2
1st] Slew three vanar elites.
Quote;
"Kumbhakarna only laughed at them and began to eat them up. And he devoured those foremost of monkeys known by the name of Chala, and Chandachala, and Vajravahu. And beholding that fearful act of the Rakshasa, other monkeys were frightened and set forth a loud wail of fear."
[End]
Logic - hanuman claim's that everyone in Sugriva's circle/council or vicinity is equal to hanuman or above hanuman, so my belief is that kumbhkarna killed 3 Hanumans as they were Hanuman's equal in battle power. They did nothing to prove they were stronger so i can't place Vajrabahu, Chandachala & Chala as individuals stronger than him. But its fair to consider them to be at least equal to hanutati.
Quote; "As directed by Raghavana, Neela the commander-in-chief and the foremost of the monkeys, ordered the monkey-troops suitably. Then, Gavaksha, Sharabha, Hanuma and Angada looking like mountains, reached the gate, taking the mountain-tops."
Logic; hanutati's rank was below Nila's. Mahagandu hanuman followed the orders of Neela.
2nd]
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Durability.
1] Withstood attack of king Sugriva.
[Quote]
"that high-souled king of the monkeys swiftly approaching the Rakshasa, violently struck him on the head with the trunk of a Sala tree. And though the high-souled Sugriva always prompt in action broke that Sala tree on the head of Kumbhakarna, he failed to make any impression on that Rakshasa."
[End]
Logic - don't forget how much blood got shed from Vali's body due to Sugriva's attacks as per Kishkinda Kandam.
Sugriva vs Vali:
"Vali and Sugriva rushed to the encounter, fighting with Sala and Tala trees and stones. And they struck each other down on the earth. And leaping high into the air, they struck each other with their fists. And mangled by each other's nail and teeth, both of them were covered with blood."
Logic; Unless u believe Vali was covered with Sugriva's blood instead of his own u have to admit Kumbhkarn's durability was better than Vali's.
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Magical power.
1] Regrowing of limbs.
[quote]
"But as soon as the two arms of the Rakshasa were thus cut off, double that number of arms soon appeared on his person. Sumitra's son, however, displaying his skill in weapon, soon by means of similar arrows cut off those arms also, each of which had seized a mass of stone. At this, that Rakshasa assumed a form enormously huge and furnished with numerous heads and legs and arms."
[end]
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PART 3)
Valmiki compared Kumbhkarn to Vishnu himself:
"Seeing that paramount demon, whose appearance was in the form of a mountain and looking like Lord Narayana."
Again he got compared to Vishnu: "Adorned with all ornaments to all his limbs and with a spike in his hand, that demon shone like Narayana, the all-embracing Lord, enthusiastic to take the three long strides."
According to Ramayana he was drunk before the battle occurred;
"Having drunk two thousand pitchers, Kumbhakarna prepared to set out and slightly inebriated."
His physical condition below:
nidraamada samaakulaH = but filled with an intoxicating drowsiness
Kumbhkarn's armour was heavy so it reduced his physical speed/movement.
[Begin]
"Secured with a golden armour, carrying a great load, impenetrable by weapons and as if blazing with its own splendour with flashing like lightning, Kumbhakarna shone as a king of Mountains, enveloped by clouds at sunset."
So he had a restriction (shackle holding the bulk of his power back) during his victory against hanuman/sugreev etc.
Versatility.
Kumbhkarn was an archer too.
[Start]
"If Rama today survives even after facing the rapid blows of my fists, then my flood of arrows will drink the blood of Rama."
First victory against Hanutati:
His roar & entrance was all that was needed to scare Hanuman to the point where Hanuman fled like a rat despite having multiple vanaras with him.
Raam's word
[start]
"He alone with a huge body here on this earth, is appearing like a solitary meteror, by seeing whom all the monkeys are running away hither and thither."
"The highly enraged Kumbhakara devouring the monkeys on is way, is running towards us. Even on merely seeing Kumbhakarna, the monkeys have now fled away. How can the monkeys check him, who is thus enraged in battle?"
QuotE.
"Kumbhakarna emitted a roar, making the sea to reverberate, causing the mountains to quake and drowning the thunder-claps, as it were. Seeing that demons of terrific eyes who could not be destroyed either by Indra the lord of celestials or by Yama the lord of death or by Varuna the god of water, the monkeys ran away."
[Quote]
"Dvipada, Panasa and hanuma marched ahead very quickly, with their faces turned towards the battle."
[done]
Logic - Cause hanuman was among this trio that went back to fight in the war its clear he was motivated by Angada's speech so he was also among the vanaras that ran away like cowards from Kumbhakarna.
[Passage]
"Thereafter, with the coaxing words and inferential arguments by Angada, all those fleeing commanders of monkeys turned back."
[enD's]
Other incident;
"Seeing that slayer of his foes on the royal high way, that monster as high as the peak of a mountain, those monkeys stationed outside the city, as also their leaders, were frightened suddenly. Some gained refuge in Rama who affords protection, some fell down tottering, some fled away perturbed in all directions and some others lay on the ground, confounded with fear. Seeing that colossus appearing like a great peak, having a diadem who seemed to touch the sun with his brilliance, the monkeys were seized with terror and had grown immensely in size, fled hither and thither."
It's a scene which happen's before kumbhakarna talked to Ravan. Prior to the 66th chapter.
Later battle;
"The heroic Rama, enraged with red-hot eyes, as though he was scorching the enemy with his looks, walked with speed, causing delight to all the leaders of the monkey-troops, who were tormented with the fear of Kumbhakarna and quickly marched towards the demon."
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Power difference/comparison with Hanuman:
"As the illustrious Kumbhakarna did not waken from his slumber despite those great sounds, all troops of demons seized hold of bars, pestles and maces towards him."
"Then, the cruel demons struck that sleeping Kumbhakarna on his chest with mountain-tops, pestles, maces, hammers and their fists."
"Even with all their strength, the demons could not stand upright before the breathing winds of Kumbhakarna, the demon."
Result was no damage to Kumbhkarna.
Foot soldier's damaged Hanuman;
"That Hanuma, then being beaten with sticks and fists by the cruel demons, was dragged to the vicinity of Ravana. Then, recognizing that Hanuma, tied with barks of trees and ropes."
Hanuman got dragged around like a toy: "That Ravana, who was endowed with an extraordinary energy, saw Hanuma the foremost of monkeys, being dragged hither and thither by demons."
Clearly Hanuman was tied up by ordinary wood, trees & ropes. I think if Kumbhkarn was in his place then he could easily get rid of such low level restraints.
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He pushed Lakshman aside like a piece of trash:
Hearing in this manner, that mighty Kumbhakarna the demon, brushing aside Lakshmana and crossing him, ran, as though he is causing an earth-quake, towards Rama.
Lakshman was a chirkut infront of Kumbhkarnji.
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Incident which makes no sense.
{Quoted texT}
"They crushed his limbs under piles of heavy logs and pillars, as also maces lifted with all their strength."
Logic - how did kumbhkarn even awaken let alone fight in war after his bones were broken?
But one thing i will clear up is that he was not a machine:
"Let all the monkeys be told that it is a kind of machine, advancing forward. By knowing this, they can become fearless by now."
Note; and his body was not that of a machine controlled by ravan or a brother of ravan either, he was born a giant instead.
Its clearly explained that either Vibeeshan or Raam chose to spread a rumor that kumbhkarna is a machine so the vanars become less intimidated by his entrance.
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Shri Kumbhkarn would have a better chance at defeating Ram if he fought him first instead of fighting Angad initially.
Kumbhkarn was injured grievously by Angad, Hanuman, Sugreev, Lakshman to defeated all four of them he needed to suffer wounds first.
Conclusion; yes its 90 percent likely that a untired, fresh kumvakarna would still be defeated by Raam & it might happen fairly too, but clearly kumvakarna was the underdog in his fight with Raam as it was, not fair at all. If the deaths of bhishma, karna, shalya can be classified as unfair ones, then the death of Kumvakarna was much more unfair than theirs.
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