Shloka 72
कुम्भकर्णवधः
The Slaying of Kumbhakarna
ततस्तमादायतदा स मेनेहरीन्द्रमिन्द्रोपममिन्द्रवीर्यः ।अस्मिन् हतेसर्वमिदंहतंस्यात्सराघवंसैन्यमितीन्द्रशत्रुः ।।।।
tatas tam ādāya tadā sa mene harīndram indropamam indra-vīryaḥ |
asmin hate sarvam idaṃ hataṃ syāt sa-rāghavaṃ sainyam iti indra-śatruḥ ||
അവനെ പിടിച്ചെടുത്ത ഇന്ദ്രശത്രു—ഇന്ദ്രനോടു തുല്യമായ വീര്യശാലി—ഹരീന്ദ്രനെ ഇന്ദ്രോപമനെന്നു കരുതി ഇങ്ങനെ വിചാരിച്ചു: “ഇവൻ വധിക്കപ്പെട്ടാൽ, രാഘവന്റെ സൈന്യം ഉൾപ്പെടെ എല്ലാം വധിക്കപ്പെട്ടതുപോലെ ആവും।”
Then Kumbhakarna, an enemy of Indra, who was equal to Indra in heroism seizing Sugriva, the Indra of monkeys, who is equal to Indra, thought, 'If Sugriva is killed it is like killing all the army including Rama.'
FAQs
The verse foregrounds rāja-dharma and social ethics: the leader’s welfare is tied to the community’s stability, so protecting leadership becomes a collective duty in righteous governance and war.
Kumbhakarṇa reasons that killing Sugrīva would effectively break Rāma’s entire army by destroying its leadership and morale.
Sugrīva’s stature as a pillar of the alliance is emphasized—his leadership value is so central that his death is equated with the army’s ruin.