The battle reached a crescendo, and Ravan found it exceedingly difficult against Ram’s army, which he had scoffed at a few days ago. One casualty after another jolted Ravan from his hubris-induced state. He realised it was time to wake up the sleeping giant, his brother Kumbhakaran.
Long ago, Kumbhakaran prayed to Brahma with the intent of capturing Indra’s throne. Indra requested that Brahma find a way to counter this threat. Brahma sought Saraswati’s assistance. While asking for a boon, Kumbhakaran found his tongue tied by Saraswati. So, instead of ‘Indrasan’ (Indra’s throne) as he had intended, he blurted out ‘Nidrasan’ (bed for sleeping). However, thanks to Ravan’s intervention the curse was altered. Kumbharkaran would now sleep for six months and relapse into sleep from his awake state only when his appetite was satiated.
Meanwhile, Kumbhakaran slept, blissfully unaware of the carnage taking place on the battlefield. Even as Ravan sent his emissaries to wake up Kumbhakaran, the king of Lanka knew that it would be a gargantuan task.
There was no response from Kumbhakaran, despite the drums rolling near his head. Even when the bugles blew, he continued snoring. It took a thousand elephants to finally wake Kumbhakaran up. He tried to instil sense in his brother’s head. Nevertheless, he agreed to fight in the battle when he found Ravan unrelenting. Kumbhakaran fought fiercely, though he was eventually killed by Ram.
We don’t realise that Kunbhakaran’s snores still resonate within us. We are perennially in deep slumber, on multiple levels. On a societal level, we’re asleep despite the innumerable problems surrounding us. When a neighbour is in distress, we’re asleep, as we call it a ‘personal problem’. When a person battles for life on the road, we’re asleep with a sense of profound apathy as we sermonise on the futility of getting entangled in ‘unnecessary hassles’. Children are abused and we’re asleep when we say… well, we say nothing. Hardly surprising that we have nothing constructive to offer on the ill-treatment of animals. On a personal level, we don’t realise missed opportunities in the material world. Or, the divine energy moving past us. We’re invariably caught napping, as opportunities to assist others—and ourselves—go begging. Before we laugh or scorn at Kumbhkaran, let’s realise his presence inside us and listen to those scary snores. Let’s shake ourselves out of this self-destructive slumber before it’s too late.