Episode 01 - Chapter 5 - Canto on Dundhubi.

Chapter 5 – Canto on Dundhubi - துந்துபிப் படலம்

Retreating from the Maraamaram site, the party – Rama, Lakshmana, Sugreeva, Hanuman and others came upon the (dead) gigantic torso of a demon – Dundhubi – in the form of a buffalo, lying enroute. Rama, curious, enquired of Sugreeva whose body this was and why it was lying thereabouts. Sugreeva related Dundhubi’s tale:

“This was a colossal asura named Dundhubi, powerful and mighty, unconquerable and humongously big. Drunk with his invincibility and battle-hungry, he went about seeking and inciting adversaries for a fight. He first approached Thirumaal, who directed him to Lord Siva as the right adversary for him. கங்கையின் கணவன், அக் கறை மிடற்று இறைவனே உங்கள் வெங் கத வலிக்கு ஒருவன்‘ அக் கறை மிடற்று = one with the tainted (blue with the Aalaahaala poison that the churning of the Thirupparkadal threw up) neck. Lord Siva, declining the challenge, directed him to Indra. Indra, in turn, sent him to Vaali, saying that he was the one who could provide him a matched challenge and a durable battle. Thus it was that Dundhubi arrived at the threshold of Kishkinta and called on Vaali for a fight.

(Kamban makes a significant omission at this point of the epic: the AAadi Kaavya narrates that Vaali, while accepting Dundhubi’s challenge and joining him in battle, put on his chest the glorious golden pendant that Indra gifted him. This pendant had the mystical power of drawing from any adversary, half of that adversary’s energy and power, thus enfeebling the adversary. This was the main secret of Vaali’s invincibility.)

तम् एवम् उक्त्वा संक्रुद्धो मालाम् उत्क्षिप्य कांचनीम् |

पित्रा दत्ताम् महेन्द्रेण युद्धाय व्यवतिष्ठत ||

tam evam uk{}tvaa saMkruddho maalaam utkShipya kaa.ncaniim |

pitraa dattaam mahendreNa yuddhaaya vyavatiShThata || 4-11-39

Responding that way to Dundubhi that highly enraged Vali heaved around his neck the golden chest-pendant which was given to him by his father Mahendra and stood battle-ready. [4-11-39]

Kamban also makes a very significant divergence from the Aadhi Kaavya hereabouts: he would have Dundhubi challenge Sri Maha Vishnu, Lord Siva and Indra – no less; the AAadi Kaavya presents the Lord of the Oceans (Samudra Raja) first and then Himavaan (the Lord of Himalayas)  approached by Dundhubi – for durable, ‘endless’ battles. Both excuse themselves and Himavan it was who sent him Vaali-wards. Why would Kamban make this divergence and bring down the Grace and Might of Maha Vinshnu, Sankara and Indra by making them unwilling, unequal, challengers of Dundhubi? Possibly to scale up Dundhubi’s prowess in that context, and make him eventually beaten and vanquished by Vaali and thus present to Rama, the true scale of his oncoming adversary?

The epic is considered an ithi haasa – it happened like this, a faithful chronicle of what actually happened. The episode of Dundhubi would make the epic appear somewhat contrived; the only purpose of this Dundhubi character seems to present to Rama, a physical evidence of what Vaali was capable of; till that point, he had heard only stories about Vaali’s invincibility. Appropriately spices up the narrative, doesn’t it now?

Sage Valmiki – in this (Dundhubi) sarga – defines those who shall not be challenged or engaged in battle through Dundhubi:

यो हि मत्तम् प्रमत्तम् वा भग्नम् वा रहितम् कृशम् |

हन्यात् स भ्रूणहा लोके त्वद् विधम् मद मोहितम् || ४-११-३६

yo hi mattam pramattam vaa bhagnam vaa rahitam kR^isham |

hanyaat sa bhruuNahaa loke tvad vidham mada mohitam || 4-11-36

"He who kills a drunken one, unvigilant one, defeated one, or one without weapons, one engaged in amorous pursuits with his women, or an atrophied one, he incurs the sin of feticide, and your present state is drunken, unvigilant and unarmed." Dundhubi also points out that Vaali at that time was cavorting with his lAadies and considered prising him out of that pleasure as sinful.

Kamban presents the duel between Vaali and Dundhubi in fiery, gripping, eight verses. Let us consider just one:

தீ எழுந்தது, விசும்புற; நெடுந் திசை எலாம்

போய் எழுந்தது, முழக்கு; உடன் எழுந்தது, புகை;

தோய நன் புணரியும், தொடர் தடங் கிரிகளும்,

சாய் அழிந்தன; அடித்தலம் எடுத்திடுதலால்.

As the two stomped their feet in this raging duel, sparks of fire reached the heavens; the battle-cry of the duo reverberated throughout all the eight directions; smoke emitted from the friction of this body-to-body battle. The otherwise lovely seas and tree-clad mountains lost their composure and were disheveled.

The narrative concluded; the party paused at the site where they found Dundhubi’s dead remains. Reading the situation precisely, Rama bade Lakshmana to kick off Dundhubi’s monstrous dead torso – sending an appropriate response to Sugreeva & Co. about this second mental test they were toying with. Lakshmana prodded this humongous torso with his toe and that mass reached the land of Brahma and fell down.