Ramayana — Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 60, Shloka 55
कुम्भकर्णविबोधनम्
The Awakening of Kumbhakarna
सपात्यमानैर्गिरिशृङ्गवृक्षैरचिन्तयंस्तान्विपुलान् प्रहारान् ।निद्राक्ष्यात् क्षुद्भयपीडितश्चविजृम्भमाणस्सहसोत्पपाप ।।।।
sapātyamānaiḥ giriśṛṅga-vṛkṣair acintayaṃs tān vipulān prahārān | nidrākṣayāt kṣudbhaya-pīḍitaś ca vijṛmbhamāṇaḥ sahasotpapāpa ||
Struck by massive blows from falling mountain-peaks and trees, he paid them no heed; but as his sleep wore off and hunger pressed him, he yawned and suddenly sprang up.
Tormented by hunger and hit by mountain peaks and huge trees he sprang up suddenly descended and awakened.
FAQs
The episode underscores that unchecked appetite (kṣudhā) can drive action more powerfully than reason. In Ramāyaṇa ethics, mastery over impulses supports dharma; slavery to them tilts toward adharma.
Kumbhakarṇa is awakened through violent external shocks, yet the decisive turning point is internal—sleep fading and hunger intensifying.
Implied virtue is self-control (dama). The verse shows its opposite: a being moved primarily by bodily compulsion rather than moral deliberation.