Raghuveera Gadhyam: Yuddha KhAndham --Part 11

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GS 59 kumbhakarNa kula giri vidhaLana dhambhOLi

bhootha nissanka: kankapathra ! Jaya ! Jaya !

 

(Meaning ) : O Raghuveera with the arrow of unquestioned

power to break apart the family mountain of RavaNA known as

KumbhakarNA ! Hail to Thee ! Hail ot Thee!

 

(Background ) : After his humiliating encounter with Rama in

the battle field , RavaNA retired to his palace. He thinks of his

slumbering brother KumbhakarNa as the one , who can destroy

Rama and his retinue. With great effort , RavaNA succeeds in

waking his brother from his deep sleep and sends him to battle.

The nine cantos of Yuddha Khaandham of Srimadh RAmAyanam

9Cantos 60 to 68 ) cover the incidents realted to KumbhakarNA

and his loss of life a tthe hands of Rama . Swami Desikan's

fifty ninth salutaton of Raghuveera Gadhyam covers the heroic

deeds of Rama in dispatching KumbhakarNA to his permanent rest .

Swami Desikan states that the unmatched power of Rama's

arrows broke into two the mighty and proud chest of KumbhakarNa

and finally severed his royal head . The salutation here is to the

heroism of Rama and the unassailable power of his arrows .

They tore open the chest of the ogre like the Vajra weapon of Indra broke

the mountains into two . Swami states that there was no doubt

whatsoever on the capabilities of Rama's arrows .

 

KumbhakarNA was the younger brother of RavaNA . Due to

Brahma's curse , he slept for six months at a stretch and was

awake only for aday. Then he went right back to sleep for

anothersix months. He was asleepa t the time of RavaNA's battle

with Rama . The humilated and brooding RavaNA thought over

all the curses of the gods and celestials that he had offended

ealier such as Brahma , Vedavathi , Nandileswara , Rambha and

PunjikasthalA . Brahma's boon to RavaNA gave him immunity

from death from every class of beings except by " a human being ".

Nandikeswara"s curse made sure that RavaNA's kingdom will be

destroyed by the monkeys. The curses of Vedava, Parvathi ,

Rambha and PunjikasthalA made RavaNA vulnerable to death

from his offensive behavior to women . Reflecting over all of these

incidents from his past , RavaNA came to the conclusion that

his mighty younger brother would be the right agent to engage the

army of monkeys and Rama in battle and save him .

 

RavaNA woke up his slumbering brother with great effort and

warned KumbhakarNa about the danger posed by Rama and

urged him to destroy the princes of AyodhyA along with the simian

army. The just and brave KumbhakarNA criticized RavaNA for his

past misdeeds as a ruler and gives a piece of his mind :

 

" Spedily enough has the fruit of your sinful deed ( the abduction

of Sita ) has come upon you,even a sthe damnation would viist a

person of sinful deeds .Initially ,of course , was this course of action

(returning Sita and askin gfor Rama's apology) not weighed by you.

Nor was the consequence taken into account in the sheer pride of

your prowess . " RavaNa did not like the beratings of his brother and

yet needed his help . He said : " A kinsman is he , who is able to render

help to those , who have deviated from the right course." recognizing the

agitated state of his elder brother, KumbhakarNA calms him down and

agrees to engage Rama and his retinue in battle. He entered the battle

field and terrorized the army of monkeys and its chieftains . Hanuman ,

AngadA , NilA fought valiantly with KumbhakarNA and could not stop

him. LaksjhmaNA tok on the ogre , who praised the valour of the younger

brother of Rama and yet bypassed him seeking his battle with Rama .

The intrepid Rama rushed towards KumbhakarNA with a quiver full of

powerful arrows and listened to latter's braggadocio . Rama's arrow

severed the mace-wielding arm of the boasting ogre . Now KumbhakarNa

lifted a palmyra tree with his other hand and rushed towards Rama.

Rama cut that arm too with a missile presided over by Indra . With two

more crescent shaped arrows , Rama severed the legs of the rushing

KumbhakarNA . With Yet another arrow shining with its effulgence in

all directions , Rama severed the head of kumbhakarNA . Thus the mighty

KumbhakarNA was reduced to a headless, limbless mass by Rama"s

unquestionable arrows.

 

Saint Thyagaraja in his Saveri Krithi " Rama BhANa thrANa sowrya

mEmani telupathurA O manasA " pays his tribute to the power of

the arrows of Rama . He says : " O my mind ! How can I describe

the saving valour of Rama's arrow, the arrow that killed the army of

RavaNA , who desired Sita Devi .; when LakshmaNA lay senseless

on the battle field and RavaNA rejoiced and Indrajith exhorted and

his hosts rose up to attack at that opportune moment , Rama aimed

that arrow with the thundering noise of the bowstring , and saw his brother

LakshmNA getting up woth his senses restored. " The Saint salutes the

thundering noise (dankAra Dwani ) of Rama"s Kodhandam

this way : " KodhandapujyAghoshamu lasanulu jesi " .

 

Swami Desiakn's next salutation (GS 60 ) focuses on the episode

of Indrajith and his fateful encounter with LakshmaNA witnessed by

the proud elder , Rama .

 

DakshiNE LkashmaNO dhanvee

vamathO Jaanaki SubhA I

purathO mAruthiryasya

tam namAmi Ragootthamam II

 

Sri VaishaNava Daasan ,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan