Another day of the war was a stalemate. There was no decision and both the parties came to know that they are dealing with strong enemies who would take cunningness and a well-thought plan to defeat them. Ravana was proud that even though Rama did manage to shoot arrows at him, he was unscratched and good as he can be. However, he also discovered that Rama was no ordinary warrior and defeating him would take all that Ravana has in him. He thought that there is no time to waste and now, he should take the help of his mightiest and strongest brother- Kumbhakarna.
Kumbhakarna and Ravana had performed a strong penance that had impressed Lord Brahma. Kumbhakarna was a mighty warrior who had the desire to take the throne of Indra- Indrasan. As the penance got over, Lord Brahma appeared to the two brothers and asked them what they wanted in return. Kumbhakarna wanted to say Indrasan but Indra knew this and had requested Goddess Saraswati to prevent this from happening. Hence, Kumbhakarna spoke Nindrasan instead of Indrasan. Nindrasan means a bed to sleep in.
He also wanted Nirdevatam, which means the annihilation of the devtas but he spoke Nidravatam instead. Nidravatam means to sleep blissfully and without any disturbance. Brahma was delighted and amused to know such desires and he instantly granted this boon. Later, Ravana requested Brahma to make sure that Kumbhakarna only sleeps for six months and is awake for the rest six. Brahma changed the condition and granted the boon to Ravana.
Hence, Kumbhakarna was in his deep sleep while Ravana called for him. The soldiers first tried simply to wake the mighty demon. Kumbhakarna was giant in size and the soldiers were the size of his fingers. They had to go to his ear and shout. This had no effect on the giant with blissful sleep. They tried shouting, playing musical instruments, and all sorts of noises. They also tried tickling the giant. However, the giant gave no response. It was as if there was a feather on his body and he was not even aware of it being there.
They had given up all hopes and had no way to wake the mighty demon. They even tried doing everything such as tickling, making noise and jumping on him but it was ineffective. They were hopeless now. They could not go to Ravana because Ravana would scold them and almost kill them or punish them in a hideous manner. They were now thinking as to how to wake Kumbhakarna. One of the soldiers asked what Kumbhakarna did after he woke up. The soldier answered that the only thing Kumbhakaran ever does is eat and sleep. Then, they immediately thought of tempting the giant with delicious food. The smells would tempt him and wake him up.
The trick was working. The smell reached his nose and he reacted to it. The smell of sweets woke him up and finally, he was awake. The soldiers immediately told him that Ravana called him and he was now ready to meet him.
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