Shloka 11
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Consolation to the King: Exempla of Rāma and the Efficacy of Allies (मार्कण्डेयाश्वासनम्)
कुम्भकर्ण शारीरिक बलमें सबसे बढ़ा-चढ़ा था। युद्धमें भी वह सबसे बढ़कर था। मायावी और रणकुशल तो था ही, वह निशाचर बड़ा भयंकर भी था
Kumbhakarṇaḥ śārīrike balena sarvebhyaḥ pradhānaḥ atiśayavān āsīt. Yuddhe 'pi sa sarvebhyaḥ śreṣṭhataraḥ āsīt. Māyāvī ca raṇakuśalaś ca āsīt eva; sa niśācaraḥ atibhayaṅkaraḥ api āsīt.
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Kumbhakarṇa surpassed all others in sheer bodily strength, and in battle too he stood above the rest. He was not only a master of stratagems and skilled in the arts of war; as a night-roaming rākṣasa he was also profoundly terrifying.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that extraordinary strength and battlefield skill, when coupled with deception and a fearsome disposition, can magnify harm. It implicitly warns that power without dharmic restraint becomes a dangerous force.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing Kumbhakarṇa’s exceptional physical might and superior prowess in war, emphasizing his cunning (māyā) and tactical expertise, and portraying him as a terrifying rākṣasa presence.