Shloka 19
कुम्भकर्णविबोधनम्
The Awakening of Kumbhakarna
एषःकेतुःपरंसङ् ख्येमुख्योवैसर्वरक्षसाम् ।।।।कुम्भकर्णःसदाशेतेमूढोग्राम्यसुखेरतः ।
eṣaḥ ketuḥ paraṁ saṅkhye mukhyo vai sarvarakṣasām | kumbhakarṇaḥ sadā śete mūḍho grāmyasukhe rataḥ ||
Dies ist das ausgezeichnete Feldzeichen im Kampf, wahrlich der Anführer aller Rākṣasas: Kumbhakarṇa. Doch verblendet liegt er stets im Schlaf, dem derben Genuss des Schlummerns ergeben.
Overcome by humiliation from the high souled Rama, Ravana remained like an elephant rejected by a lion and a serpent rejected by Garuda.
FAQs
Strength without discipline becomes unusable; dharma values self-control and readiness to act rightly rather than being ruled by indulgence.
Rāvaṇa identifies Kumbhakarṇa as the key warrior but laments that he is perpetually asleep and difficult to mobilize.
By contrastive teaching: the virtue of indriya-nigraha (mastery over senses) is implied, as Kumbhakarṇa’s lack of it becomes a strategic and moral weakness.