gatekeeper, who has been cursed to be
reborn three times as a demon, killed
by the god Vishnu each time.
Kumbhakarna and his brothers have
performed harsh asceticism(tapas) in
their youth to gain boons from the gods.
When the god Brahmafinally comes to
give him boons, Kumbhakarna means to
demand “nirdevatvam” (that he cannot
be conquered by any of the gods). At the
critical moment he is foiled by the god-
dess Saraswati, who has power over
speech. She dances on his tongue and
confuses his speech, causing him to
request “nidravatvam” (sleepiness).
Because of this slip of his tongue,
Kumbhakarna will sleep for six months
at a time, wake up to gorge himself with
food and drink for a short time, and then
fall asleep again. Some of the dramatic
tension in the battle portions of the
Ramayanapertains to the violent efforts
to rouse Kumbhakarna, so that he can
take part in the battle. Once awakened
he fights valiantly, but is eventually
killed by Rama.
As is true for all the demons,
Kumbhakarna is not wholly evil. Before
engaging in battle with Rama’s army,
he rebukes Ravana for kidnapping
Rama’s wife, Sita. He also notes that as
the younger brother it is his duty to
uphold the family honor. Here we find
the demon Kumbhakarna upholding
idealized Indian family values—the
younger brother is supposed to sup-
port and defend his elder brother’s
interests as a way to keep the family
intact. This same virtue is in Rama’s
younger brothers, Lakshmana and
Bharata. Despite their enmity, the
epic’s “heroes” and “villains” have sig-
nificant shared values.
Kumbhakonam
One of the many temple-towns in the
Tanjoredistrict of the state of Tamil
Nadu, reflecting the district’s impor-
tance as the home of the Chola dynasty
kings. Kumbhakonam has several large
temples. Built in the Dravidaarchitec-
tural style, the temple buildings are of
modest height, cover an immensely
large area, and are surrounded by a
boundary wall with massive towers
(gopurams) over each wall’s central
gateway. Kumbhakonam’s most famous
site is not a temple, but a temple bathing
(snana) tank. A festival is held at the
tank every twelve years, at which time
the water in the tank is believed to
become the Ganges. An estimated
400,000 people attended this event in
1992; tragically, forty-eight people were
killed in a stampede. Outside the town is
the Swami Malaitemple, one of the six
temples to the god Skanda.Kumbha Mela
(“Festival of the Pot”) A religious festival
celebrated in four different locations:
Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain, and
Nasik. The first two sites are by far the
most important, with Allahabad consid-
ered the holiest of all. Attendance at
these festivals is great. In 1998, ten mil-
lion people were in Haridwar on the cli-
mactic day. Both of these sites also host
an Ardha (“half”)Kumbha Mela, gener-
ally six years after the full Kumbha Mela,
which are smaller in scale, but can still
draw millions of pilgrims. At Ujjain and
Nasik, the full Kumbha Melas are not as
well attended than at the other two sites.
The Kumbha Mela is a bathing
(snana) festival; it is for this reason
that all the Mela sites are found near
rivers. The Kumbha Mela’s primary
actors are ascetics from all over South
Asia who come to bathe in the sacred
waters. According to tradition, the
Kumbha Mela was organized by the
great philosopher Shankaracharyato
promote regular gatherings of
learned and holy men, as a means to
strengthen, sustain, and spread
Hindu religious beliefs. The Kumbha
Mela is also a time for these ascetics
to display their status vis-à-vis one
another. At each site, the order in
which the different ascetic sects
bathe is strictly enforced—the most
important sects bathe first. In more
recent times, this order has beenKumbha Mela