Shloka 56
कुम्भकर्णविबोधनम्
The Awakening of Kumbhakarna
सनागभोगाचलशृङ्गकल्पौविक्षिप्यबाहूगिरशृङ्गसारौ ।निवृत्यवक्त्रंवडवामुखाभंनिशाचरोऽसौविकृतंजजृम्भे ।।।।
sanāga-bhogācala-śṛṅga-kalpau vikṣipya bāhū giriśṛṅga-sārau | nivṛtya vaktraṃ vaḍavāmukhābhaṃ niśācaro ’sau vikṛtaṃ jajṛmbhe ||
Seine Arme ausbreitend – wie Berggipfel, umschlungen von Schlangenwindungen, hart wie felsige Kuppen – wandte dieser Nachtwandler sein Gesicht; sein Mund, wie das unterseeische Feuer, öffnete sich in einem schrecklichen Gähnen.
Kumbhakarna, devoid of any beauty threw out his limbs which were like the coils of cobra and as hard as mountain tops, his mouth was unnatural like a submarine fire as he yawned.
FAQs
The verse uses terrifying imagery to mark adharma’s outward expression: violence and menace manifest even in ordinary acts. Dharma is associated with restraint and auspiciousness; here the opposite aesthetic signals moral danger.
Kumbhakarṇa physically stirs awake—stretching, turning, and yawning—revealing his colossal, fearsome form.
Not a virtue but a trait: overwhelming might (bala) without ethical orientation, foreshadowing destructive action.