Kumbhakarna Wakes and the Three Worlds Tremble
Bala Kanda, Chaupai 180
Doha 180 · Movement 1 of 2
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Happiness, wealth, sons, allies, armies, victory, fame, strength, wisdom, and greatness gather around Ravana. Each grows daily, not into contentment, but as gain continually enlarges greed.
Beside him stands Kumbhakarna, a warrior without equal. After eating he sleeps for six months. When that mountain of appetite wakes, fear moves through all three worlds. Had he eaten every day, the universe itself would quickly have been consumed.
Countless other champions fill Lanka, and foremost among the next generation is Meghanada, Ravana's eldest son. No warrior can face him. Day after day he strikes the realm of the gods, extending his father's terror into heaven.
After six months of silence, Kumbhakarna opens his eyes and three worlds begin to shake.
Read the passage from the Manas
AI-created devotional illustration · Chaupai 180
Kumbhakarna sleeps six months after drinking, not eating or feasting
Source reference and artistic choices
Gita Press code81 undated · PDF pages 182, 183 · printed pages 180, 181. Reader passage: bala-kanda-chaupai-180. Printed numbering may differ.
Source facts
- All eight parts retained: Ravana's happiness wealth sons army allies victory glory strength intelligence renown increase daily as greed with each gain. Ten-item/ten-head mirroring is an editorial inference, not verified author intent. Kumbhakarna is his powerful unmatched brother.
- Selected fourth: करइ पान सोवइ षट मासा, DRINKS then sleeps SIX MONTHS; local Hindi explicitly मदिरा पीकर. When awake he terrifies the THREE WORLDS. Sleeping portion shown; prior drinking retained, no invented feast.
- Fifth IF he ate every day the world would quickly be ruined, conditional not depicted carnage. His battlefield steadiness cannot be described and innumerable similarly mighty warriors exist. Baridanada/Meghanada is Ravana's eldest son, first among fighters; none faces him, and gods' city is in recurring alarm/flight, not daily conquered.
- Earlier C177: Brahma prompts Sarasvati to alter Kumbhakarna's mind, after which he ASKS six months of sleep; not unasked gift/free indulgence.
Artistic choices
- Approved D123/D177 Kumbhakarna model retained: warm brown broad muscular body, thick black moustache, clean beardless jaw, long wavy black hair, tall gold crown, gold jewels, cream dhoti, rust shoulder drape.
- Reclining on a cream/gold couch with head on a pillow, two closed eyes, one hand on own chest and the other resting beside own waist, two arms/two coherent hands. Lower legs below crop. Brass cup, pillow, floral glass arch, imagined pavilion/garden and light are artistic props/site conventions; cup contents not visually certified, no food/feast depicted.
An imaginative interpretation, not a historical portrait or documentary evidence.
सुख संपति सुत सेन सहाई। जय प्रताप बल बुद्धि बड़ाई।। नित नूतन सब बाढ़त जाई। जिमि प्रतिलाभ लोभ अधिकाई।। अतिबल कुंभकरन अस भ्राता। जेहि कहुँ नहिं प्रतिभट जग जाता।। करइ पान सोवइ षट मासा। जागत होइ तिहुँ पुर त्रासा।। जौं दिन प्रति अहार कर सोई। बिस्व बेगि सब चौपट होई।। समर धीर नहिं जाइ बखाना। तेहि सम अमित बीर बलवाना।। बारिदनाद जेठ सुत तासू। भट महुँ प्रथम लीक जग जासू।। जेहि न होइ रन सनमुख कोई। सुरपुर नितहिं परावन होई।।
Happiness, wealth, sons, armies, allies, victory, glory, strength, intellect, and renown: all kept growing ever new. Just as greed swells with every fresh gain, so did his fortune multiply without end.