Kumbhakarṇa
Sign in to saveKumbhakarna (Sanskrit: कुम्भकर्ण, lit. pot-eared) is a powerful rakshasa and younger brother of Ravana from the Hindu epic Ramayana. Despite his gigantic size and appetite, he is described as a virtuous character and a great warrior in Hindu texts. He is said to have slaughtered 8,000 vanaras over the course of Rama's mission to rescue Sita.
Key facts
- Deity.type
- hindu
- Deity.children
- Kumbha and Nikumbha (from Vajrajvala)Bhimasura (from Karkati)Mulakasura (from TaritamalaAswanikumbha (from Aswani)Devabhi (Stepson from Karkati and Anuloma)
- Deity.affiliation
- Rakshasa
- Deity.parents
- Vishrava (father)Kaikashi (mother)
- Deity.siblings
- Ravana, Vibhishana (brothers)Shurpanakha (sister)
- Deity.texts
- Ramayana and its versions
- Deity.name
- Kumbhakarna
- Deity.image
- The Demon Kumbhkaran finally wakes up and eats (6125069010).jpg
- Deity.caption
- Depiction of Kumbhakarna
via Wikipedia infobox
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
9 sectionsContents
- Life
- Origin
- Personality
- Family
- In the war
- See also
- Literature
- References
- External links
Kumbhakarna (Sanskrit: कुम्भकर्ण, lit. pot-eared) is a powerful rakshasa and younger brother of Ravana from the Hindu epic Ramayana. Despite his gigantic size and appetite, he is described as a virtuous character and a great warrior in Hindu texts. He is said to have slaughtered 8,000 vanaras over the course of Rama's mission to rescue Sita.
Vibhishana narrated that Kumbhakarna had been born with immense strength, having subdued both Indra and Yama, striking the former in the chest with the broken tusk of Airavata. At the bequest of Indra, Brahma cursed the rakshasa to "sleep like he is dead". On Ravana's request, he commuted the curse to have the rakshasa sleep for six months at a time, and wake up for other six months to wreak havoc and devour to his heart's content.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Kumbhakarṇa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.