Of all my brothers, there was none I loved more than Kumbhakaran.
As children, his booming laughter would light up the house.
Born with an insatiable appetite,
he was the greatest of our people,
towering over all others.
Unstoppable...
he was at the forefront of the great battles
I waged against the devas.
No other rakshas would have dared
to take on the mount of Indra himself.
But he dared and was triumphant.
It was that battle that turned the tide of that war,
that led to my greatest victory
and allowed me to conquer the realm of the gods.
Kumbhakaran always aspired to walk in my shadow for I was his hero
and that was his greatest mistake.
Just like me, he performed the ancient tapas
to seek favour from Lord Brahma.
But my brother did not know
that the devas appealed to Goddess Saraswati first,
begging her to strike down
the destroyer of their kingdom.
She made my brother falter his words
at the moment of asking his great boon.
She tricked Kumbhakaran so that his tongue slipped
and said "Nidraasan," the boon of sleep,
instead of "Indraasan," the throne of Lord Indra.
So Lord Brahma cursed him with eternal sleep.
Or would have, but for my intervention.
I begged the Creator to temper his curse
so my brother would still fall into this death-like sleep
but only for six months at a time and wake up for a day.
But the sleeping curse affected my brother's mind and body.
Each year, for hundreds of years, as he slept he grew more and more.
And when my brother woke, his insatiable appetites
brought only terror, fear
and, for me, only shame.
It was decided we would make him sleep all year round.
A potion was created, and Kumbhakaran was sealed away.
For the sake of Lanka, it was an impossible choice,
but I left him to grow and change in a deep slumber. Alone.
But I still hear his laughter in my dreams.
And I curse the gods
for taking it from me.
Who is there? Show yourself!
Don't you recognise my voice?
Very well...
Perhaps you recognise your husband and his brother's handiwork?
Look, Princess! Look carefully.
See what they did to me.
No, Shurpanakha, you did this to yourself.
They were just protecting me, as they were sworn to do.
Would your family not do the same for you?
They are not here to protect you now.
There is no one here but you and me.
Would your husband look at you
with such love if you were disfigured as I am?
Such a pretty nose. And those ears of yours, so fine and delicate.
I must be most careful when I cut them off.
Don't struggle, Princess.
It might make my hand slip,
and we don't want to make too much of a mess, do we?
Will Ram take you back, I wonder?
When you are no longer beautiful?
You wished to be with Ram but never understood him.
You think that is what Ram values?
This flesh is the least part of us, of any of us.
The skin wrinkles; the body bends under the weight of its years.
If my youth and beauty was all Ram cared about,
I would never have married him.
He loved me without the jewellery of a princess.
He loved me when I wore rags.
I spent my days cleaning our hut in the forest,
tending our garden, my nails and face covered in dirt.
Everything changed, save his love for me
because this love wasn't between
the Prince of Ayodhya and the Princess of Mithila.
It was between Ram and his Sita.
One day the fire will free us from this flesh.
What is released is eternal, and our love will be unburdened by time and mortality.
You lie! Men are not like that! They are selfish,
proud, caring only for their own pleasures!
Do you believe Ravan, a king far greater than your Ram,
would have taken you,
risked his entire kingdom
if you would have been a plain, weather-beaten farmer's daughter?
Nothing matters more than youth, than beauty.
It matters because it is so brief.
Without it, we women are worthless.
Aren't we?
That's what we are told.
No, Shurpanakha.
Whoever told you such things is a liar.
Those who like the form fear the being within.
Each of us is all we need to be and always have been.
Who's there?
If you want to kill me, come out of the shadows and do it yourself.
You mistake my intent, Princess.
I just wished to gaze upon the beauty that has so enraptured my father.
Ah, I see the resemblance.
I'll take your leave for now, Princess.
You've given me much to think about.
But this is not over.
Take this nephew of yours who brought you here.
I see in you Ravan's cunning.
His ruthlessness and his pride.
But none of the honour he once had.
None at all.
Come, Ahiravan. We should leave.
One moment.
The Princess has been kind enough
to grant me her insight into my soul.
I should return the compliment.
I can understand why my father finds you so intriguing.
But does he not recognise the perfume? I do.
Death.
For you are the cause of so much of it.
So much suffering and pain just for one human woman.
You see, I know death's scent well.
It's time you recognise this venom within you
and accept this garden as your home now.
Where is he?
I thought he was going to dodge that one.
Much more of this and Hanuman will be too injured
for any real fighting.
The real fight will be far worse than this, Angad.
But... with all this noise, he can't even hear the attack coming.
How can he fight being blind and deaf?
He must find a way, Angad.
There. He stands. Time to continue the training.
-Hanuman needs to-- -Come with me.
It's a matter of life and death.
What is it?
He promised to get me those for my breakfast,
and I'm hungry. It'll be a matter of life and death
if I don't eat on time.
Get you breakfast?
There are a million vaanars right here who could grab those fruits!
But I asked Hanuman to get them, and he promised.
And where I come from, a person's word is their bond.
I thought you were going to duck that last swing.
Didn't you hear it whistling through the air?
My ears were ringing with the banging of drums.
Now they're filled with sand.
Look at them. Arguing again. They're meant to be the wise ones.
Maybe I should go back. Stop them from squabbling like children.
Forget them.
See that big rock on the beach?
I bet I can get there and back first.
How can we expect Hanuman
to reach his full potential with him climbing trees?
He needs to be pushed to his limits, and beyond. We need to...
-You're not listening at all, are you? -We're getting old, Vibheeshan.
Too old to recognise when our wisdom has become foolishness.
Look.
Today's lesson is over.
Now that you mention it, it's been a long time since I had coconuts.
You there. Come here.
Who? Me?
I... We have a very important mission for you.
A matter of life and death.
We are running out of time, Jambhvan.
That is why I push Hanuman so relentlessly. I know my brother.
He'll be growing impatient for victory, especially with these setbacks.
They are not something he is used to.
Surely, by now, he has unleashed his entire army's strength against us.
No, what we have faced is a mere fraction of Lanka's power.
There is another, a rakshas who dwarfs even the might of Ravan.
My other brother, Kumbhakaran.
Kumbhakaran.
That is a name I've not heard for many years.
It's said that Kumbhakaran has not walked this earth in many lifetimes.
That is what I'm afraid of.
Ravan has kept him asleep,
knowing the devastation it would cause to all sides.
If he awakens Kumbhakaran,
the three lokas will witness untold destruction.
Once awake, he will devour all in his path.
For the moment, let's focus on our hunger, shall we? There he is.
Hanuman!
Jambhvan kaka, Vibheeshan?
Now that you're suitably refreshed, we have work for you.
Those coconuts were delicious,
but a little dry for my tastes. What do you think, Vibheeshan?
Indeed... very dry.
But I know of an orchard with the finest, ripest mangoes
on the far side of the island.
But there is an army of rakshasas between us and that orchard.
How many do you want?
Why, Hanuman, we want all of them.
How go your nefarious plans, brother?
Coming to fruition marvellously.
Please, brother, no call for deceit with me.
So, the child thinks he no longer needs his big brother, eh?
You see through all my deceptions?
I see through the lies you are feeding our father.
He has given you a task; best you perform it.
He gave you a task too, one to be carried out if I failed.
Yes. Yes, he did.
Then let us not linger.
We have work to do and our father isn't as patient as he once was.
Who are these people?
Survivors. Much of this area had been destroyed, burnt by that vaanar.
What's his name?
Father is rebuilding as we speak.
They will trust him to protect them.
Because he has handled things so well up till now, eh?
Brother, watch your tongue.
I was merely asking a question,
I meant no offence.
They think they have survived the worst.
Poor fools.
I'm weary of your cryptic blathering. Explain yourself.
All in good time, brother.
Here we are.
I think this is where you come in.
It is unfortunate we need to disturb him.
Father wants this done. That is all that matters.
Such a loyal son.
Splendid, Indrajit.
Your skill and power are unmatched.
You shall make a great ruler one day.
Perhaps the greatest Lanka has ever known.
If there is any Lanka left after this.
Brahma's curse is in full effect.
Breaking it will not be easy.
And once broken, there will be no going back.
Have you thought of the cost, the sacrifices necessary for this?
It doesn't matter. All that matters is that Father wishes it done.
Now, brother.
So be it.
Ahiravan!
I knew he'd be hungry, but not this hungry.
How do we stop him?
Isn't he aware he's eating his own people?!
He's only aware of his immense hunger.
He has been asleep a long time.
There's no stopping him. That's the whole point.
I'll advance with the chariots, preparing for a charge.
I shall crush the monkeys under my wheels.
Excellent. They will retreat,
but Virupaksha will cut them off with his elephant battalion.
Those that you do not crush,
I will trample.
We shall cover the battlefield in their broken remains. Let us--
An attack? Sounds as if an entire army is marching.
My Lord, seek shelter further in the palace.
Leave this to us.
No, whatever approaches, we should go out and greet it.
This will be a sight worth seeing.
There's something out there, Lord.
The mist is too thick, but it's getting closer.
Shall I give the command to prepare for battle?
Unless they are carrying food rather than weapons,
I would keep our men safely behind the wall.
He may still be hungry.
My Lord, it is dangerous to expose yourself here.
Whatever it is that approaches is taller than even our watchtowers.
It must be a terror summoned by your brother Vibheeshan perhaps?
It is a terror, but not summoned by that brother,
but rather bringing home another.
Welcome home, my brother!