takes place when Ravana tries forcibly to wake
Kumbhakarna to fight. They beat him and scrape
him in every way; they have elephants drag him;
they beat a thousand drums; and so on, but
Kumbhakarna continues to snore. Finally, hit
with trees and doused by thousands of pitchers of
water, Kumbharakarna awakes. This done, he is
asked to fight and agrees, but first he must be fed
vast wagon loads of food, which he takes whole
into his voracious mouth. His endless hunger
sated, he goes into battle. After wreaking havoc, he
eventually is slain by Lord Rama himself.
Further reading: S. P. Bahadur, trans., The Complete
Works of Gosvami Tulsidas (Varanasi: Prachya Prakashan,
1978–2005); Robert Goldman, ed., The Ramayana of
Valmiki, 6 vols. (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 1984–2005); C. Rajagopalachari, Ramayana
(Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1972).
Kumbha Mela
The Kumbha Mela (pot festival) is held once every
three years, moving in rotation among four river-
side sites in India: Prayag (ALLAHABAD), HARIDVAR,
Ujjaini, and Nasik. The first two of these loca-
tions are in Uttar Pradesh, Ujjaini is in Madhya
Pradesh, and Nasik is in Maharashtra.
The Kumbha Mela may have originated in
great antiquity when various seeds were taken
to river banks, dipped into the water, and then
sown for a bountiful harvest. One myth of the
festival’s origin begins with a pot of the nectar of
immortality; it was carried away by Jayanta, the
son of INDRA, with the gods and demons in hot
pursuit. As he carried the pot for 12 divine days
(12 human years) a little was dropped in each of
the four festival locations. Hence the name Pot
Festival.
The Kumbha Mela festival at Allahabad
(Prayag), held every 12th year and called the
Maha (great) Kumbha Mela, is the largest festival
in India and perhaps in the world. According to
astrologers, the Maha Kumbha Mela takes place
when the planet Jupiter enters Aquarius and the
Sun enters Aries. Millions of people assemble
together at this sacred site for ceremonial proces-
sions, devotional singing, religious discourses, and
other special activities for the religious. Monks
and holy men and women from every Hindu sect
converge together at this site to participate in this
sacred and festive gathering.Further reading: Jack Hebner and David Osborn,
Kumbha Mela: The World’s Largest Act of Faith (La Jolla,
Calif.: Ganesh, 1990); D. K. Roy, Kumbha: India’s Ageless
Festival (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1955).kundalini
The kundalini is envisioned in Tantric Yogic prac-
tice as a serpent at the base of the spine with her
head turned downward. She is the embodiment
of the GODDESS. When the practioner has learned
to control the breath in its channels (NADIS) in
the proper way, the serpent is made to turn her
head upward and begin the ascent up the spine,
piercing as she goes the energy centers or CHAKRAS
in their various locations along the spine. This
piercing activates energies of the body to create
occult powers and spiritual awakening. When the
kundalini goes beyond the body to a place 12 fin-
gers above the head called SAHASRARA, or the place
of the thousand lotuses, it joins in erotic embrace
Lord SHIVA, engendering complete enlightenment
and liberation in this world.Further reading: Harish Johari, Chakras: Energy Centers
of Transformation (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2000);
Sir John Woodroffe, trans. and ed., The Serpent Power,
4th ed. (Madras: Ganesh, 1950).Kundalini Research Foundation (est. 1971)
A number of gurus have introduced KUNDALINI
methods to the United States for dissemination.
One such yogi is Gopi KRISHNA (1903–84), who
led a life of MEDITATION in search of liberationK 252 Kumbha Mela