66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

and his horde of monkeys,” he said and got into his chariot
and entered the field.
At this encounter Lakshmana fell down in a faint, and
Hanuman hoisted Rama on his shoulders and charged in the
direction of Ravana. The main combatants were face to face
for the first time. At the end of this engagement Ravana was
sorely wounded, his crown was shattered, and his chariot
was broken. Helplessly, bare-handed, he stood before
Rama, and Rama said, “You may go now and come back
tomorrow with fresh weapons.” For the first time in his
existence of many thousand years, Ravana faced the
humiliation of accepting a concession, and he returned
crestfallen to his palace.
He ordered that his brother Kumbakarna, famous for his
deep sleep, should be awakened. He could depend upon
him, and only on him now. It was a mighty task to wake up
Kumbakarna. A small army had to be engaged. They
sounded trumpets and drums at his ears and were ready
with enormous quantities of food and drink for him, for when
Kumbakarna awoke from sleep, his hunger was phenomenal
and he made a meal of whomever he could grab at his
bedside. They cudgelled, belaboured, pushed, pulled, and
shook him, with the help of elephants; at last he opened his
eyes and swept his arms about and crushed quite a number
among those who had stirred him up. When he had eaten
and drunk, he was approached by Ravana’s chief minister