Shloka 6
Pṛthā’s Atithi-Sevā and the Gift of the Deva-Āhvāna Mantra (पृथायाः अतिथिसेवा तथा देवाह्वानमन्त्रप्रदानम्)
बल॑ं चण्डबलाख्यं च वज़बाहुं च बानरम् | वानरोंके प्रहार करनेपर वह जोर-जोरसे हँसने और उन्हें पकड़-पकड़कर खाने लगा। देखते-देखते बल, चण्डबल और वज्रबाहु नामक वानर उसके मुखके ग्रास बन गये ।। ५६ || तद् दृष्टवा व्यथनं कर्म कुम्भकर्णस्य रक्षस:
Balaṁ Caṇḍabalākhyam ca vajrabāhuṁ ca bānarām | tad dṛṣṭvā vyathanaṁ karma Kumbhakarṇasya rākṣasaḥ ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “He seized the monkeys named Bala, Caṇḍabala, and Vajrabāhu. When the monkeys struck at him, he burst into loud laughter and began catching them one by one and devouring them. In a short time, Bala, Caṇḍabala, and Vajrabāhu became morsels in his mouth. Seeing this cruel deed of the rākṣasa Kumbhakarṇa, the others were shaken with anguish.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical contrast between righteous restraint and demonic cruelty: delight in violence and the consumption of the helpless is portrayed as adharma, evoking moral revulsion and distress in witnesses.
Kumbhakarṇa overpowers the monkey warriors; when they attack him, he laughs, seizes them, and devours Bala, Caṇḍabala, and Vajrabāhu. Those who see this act are shaken with anguish at his brutal deed.