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Continued
from yesterday's instalment
 As could be expected, Kumbakarna pulverised the mountain hurled on him by Sugriva.
‘Etru oru kaiyinaal’ taking the mountain by a hand,
‘idhu kol nee ada aatriya kundram,’ is this the mountain that you hurled on me, ‘endru’ so saying
‘neetru iyal nuNugurap pisaindhu’ he turned into to powder and
‘neengu enaa nootrinaan,’ blew it off, saying ‘be away’. Before Sugriva could think of the next step, Kumbakarna flung his unfailing trident at him. Maruti, who had taken a vow not to fight with Kumbakarna, jumped up and caught it up while it was still in flight and broke it into two.
Kumbakarna and Sugriva then started a bout of wrestling. Very soon Sugriva went unconscious and Kumbakarna did not fail to encash this wonderful opportunity.
‘maNdu amar indrodu madangum.’ Kumbakarna thought, ‘If I take him to Lanka as captive, the war would come to an end this day.’
‘man ilaa thaNdal il perum padai sindhum.’ And the vast army of Vanaras would become confused, unorganised and lose its focus, when its king (Sugriva) is captured by me.
‘eN tharu karumam matru idhanin il ena’ There is nothing more worthwhile than doing this. So thinking,
‘koNdanan pOyinan nirudhar kO nagar,’ he took Sugriva, who was unconscious, to Lanka. He put Sugriva under his armpit and walked back to the palace. Sugriva was precariously hanging from there, his body from head to torso and from waist to feet sticking out under the massive arm of
Kumbakarna.
Maruti was in a fix now. What he was afraid of has happened now. He could not go and fight with Kumbakarna, for he bound himself by a vow, not to fight with him if the mountain that he hurled at the latter had no effect on him. Squeezing his palms - as Kamban would describe them
‘kaalan vaazh perum karam pisaindhu,’ squeezing the massive palms where the very Yama resided - he walked behind Kumbakarna, not knowing what to do now.
Valmiki says, for a moment Hanuman was impelled to fight with Kumbakarna and thought of intercepting him. But it was not that easy for him to break his vow. His word was important to him. Not only that. There is something else to be considered. “I shall undoubtedly do that which is fit to be done by me. Growing to the size of a mountain, I shall kill the ogre. When Kumbakarna, who is endowed with extraordinary might, has been killed by me in a duel, his body being shattered with my fist, and the king of monkeys delivered, let all the monkeys feel rejoiced. “ (Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, Canto LXVII, Sloka 74, 75)
 When a war is in progress, such things matter more. It sends shock waves all around and breaks down the morale of every individual warrior, leading to the destruction of team spirit. Esprit de corps. It is the supreme command that has been captured. The person who is supposed to take charge - Angada - is very young for the job. There was no time for discussion or decision making for declaring the new leader. Of course Rama was there. But it is the commander-in-chief and the King, Sugriva, who owns all the loyalty of the forces, more than anyone else. The reporting relations of these days are an example. The emotional bonds are stronger with the direct boss than with the Chairman of the company.
What a contrast! A supremo who doesn’t think of the consequences and throw him into the fray, in the name of boosting the morale of his forces and a deputy who is better in all respects than the Chief who thinks of a hundred things and possibilities before taking an action. And, thinks on the toe! Not stopping even while thinking of alternatives and possibilities.
More follows...
Hari Krishnan
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