Shloka 57
कुम्भकर्णविबोधनम्
The Awakening of Kumbhakarna
तस्यजाजृम्भमाणस्यवक्त्रंपातालसन्निभम् ।ददृशेमेरुशृङ्गाग्रेदिवाकरइवोदितः ।।।।
tasya jājṛmbhamāṇasya vaktraṃ pātāla-sannibham | dadṛśe meru-śṛṅgāgre divākara ivoditaḥ ||
Als er gähnte, erschien sein Mund—dem Pātāla, der Unterwelt, gleich—als wäre die Sonne über dem Gipfel des Berges Meru aufgegangen.
As he yawned his mouth resembling the underworld, it was like the Sun rose over the top of Mount Meru.
FAQs
By contrasting cosmic grandeur with an ominous underworld image, the verse suggests how power can be morally ambiguous: greatness without dharma becomes terrifying rather than beneficent.
The poet describes the sheer scale of Kumbhakarṇa’s yawn with cosmic comparisons.
Implied ideal virtue is dhārmic radiance (tejas guided by righteousness). The imagery evokes tejas, but in a form that alarms rather than protects.