Ravana quickly went to fetch his brothers, only to find Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana in the middle of an earsplitting argument.
"Traitor! Imbecile! You are doomed for a reason, you horrid beast. Your blood-tainted lips disgust me and I refuse to hear any word from your being." Vibhishana was screeching pretentiously.
"QUIET YOU FOOL!" boomed the larger figure, in his great deep voice. "I ought to behave like the monster you describe and smash you to bloody bits, you babbling dimwit!"
Ravana set his gaze on the scene, pensive. He recalled a time long ago when his brothers were closer and didn't argue as often. When they were young, they had all taken care of each other. They lived, studied, and traveled together. The three of them had even meditated together for a century, in an attempt to achieve tapasya, the apex of meditation, and gain the attention of their grandfather Brahma.
They had succeeded in gaining Brahma's attention, and were each granted a boon. Ravana supposed that was the start of their severance. Their bond was not completely gone, but there was certainly a rift between the brothers that had grown in the years after they met Brahma. Ravana blamed it primarily on Vibhishana's gift of "dharma." Kumbhakarna's cursed gift of sleeping all but two days of the year didn't help either, but Ravana still couldn't believe that out of all the things to ask for, his snobby baby brother had asked for the ability to always stand for dharma (essentially goodness). What a fool. What a ridiculous, nonsensical thing to request. In Ravana's opinion, if a person really cared so much about righteousness, morals, and upholding dharma, they wouldn't have to ask to be granted virtue. Yeah, that incident had definitely influenced Ravana's opinion of his brother. And not in a good way.
Clearing his thoughts from his head, Ravana interrupted them. "Kumbhakarna! I woke you for a purpose, and that was not to argue with our youngest brother. Ignore Vibhishana. Have you forgotten we are in the middle of a war?"
The giant Kumbhakarna looked at him, scowling. "It is not my fault our brother is a goody-two-shoes, know-it-all who thinks himself superior to us simple creatures." He looked back at Vibhishana. "Sorry brother, some of us didn't have to ASK for the ability to uphold dharma."
"And some of us didn't get tongue-tied when speaking to Brahma and accidentally ask for eternal sleep!" Vibhishana snarled back.
"Vibhi you know that wasn't my fault! I was affected by someone's ill omens. You ought to have more sympathy for me, your older brother who has always defended you! I don't know how you manage to be so vindictive and disrespectful even after asking Lord Brahma for the gift of virtuousness."
Kumbhakarna continued to rant, but Ravana cut him off. "Kumbhakarna, for the love of Lanka, be quiet! We are all aware that Vibhishana is an arrogant child. Now cease this petty fighting, for we have serious matters to discuss." He looked at Vibhishana. "Vib, that goes for you as well. Kumbhakarna only gets to be awake for two days a year. Do you really have to be an ass to him? I don't even want to hear your excuses. Both of you follow me." With a sweep of his cloak, he strode out the way he had come, leaving the other two glaring disdainfully at each other. After a brief moment, Kumbhakarna turned and followed Ravana. Vibhishana lingered, trailing behind grudgingly.
Ravana led them to the throne room, where Shurpanakha was waiting idly. Upon seeing them she said, "Finally. Now are you going to tell us what this is about, brother dearest? I would rather not be here all night. Please do tell what is so urgent."
Ravana sat on his throne, and took his time in responding, while watching the others amusedly. "You mean you aren't happy to spend time with your king, Shurpanakha?" he tutted, "I thought we discussed your respectfulness, or lack thereof."
Shurpanakha bowed stonily. "Not at all, great king, beloved older brother. I am, of course, delighted as always to be in your fabulous presence." Her words oozed with the perfect amount of false sweetness, just fake enough to be sassy, yet not so obvious as to warrant punishment.
"Oh shut up, Shurpanakha," Ravana laughed mockingly. "You foolish girl. Listen closely, all of you."
He began to tell them of his plan to defeat Rama.
"As Shurpanakha already knows, I have kidnapped the wife of Rama. I am using Sita to lure Rama here. My spies informed me that he is already on his way. He will risk it all to reclaim her. This is not because he actually cares about her but because he is proud, arrogant, and will never willingly concede a thing, or in this case a person, to me." He drummed his fingers slowly on his throne. "We must not lose this battle. Rama is not strong enough to defeat me, yet alone all of us, but he is blessed with good luck and the aid of the gods, and for that reason we must be cautious. Kumbhakarna, this is why I have woken you. You will ensure Rama does not get in our way."
Kumbhakarna responded slowly. "Brother, you know that I am loyal to you and our family and kingdom. I know you are wise, brave, and powerful. You are a great ruler, and I will do whatever you command. However, I am uncertain of this plan. It does not seem right to kidnap and taunt Sita like this. It is cruel and evil, but we are supposed to be good, despite what that snob thinks." This last part was said in a raised voice, and directed at Vibhishana, who had slunk in after them, and was standing near the entrance.
Ravana raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, Shurpanakha stepped forward. "Kumbhakarna is right. It is unwise to bait Rama in this way. It is asking for unnecessary trouble. I want them dead as much as you do. Although it might be fun to keep Sita as a prisoner, I don't think we are ready to face Rama and his allies. It's too risky."
"Shurpanakha, why do you care? This is out of character for you, to worry about risks when we are discussing the destruction of our nemeses. What is your ploy?" Ravana asked her.
"There is none, your highness. I am merely trying to convince you not to make any more dangerous decisions." Shurpanakha murmured coyly.
Ravana was not convinced of this. "Shurpanakha, I know better than to trust you. Kumbhakarna, you have been asleep for too long to know how this world works, or to understand my motives for this. Vibhishana, don't even start. I know what your opinion on the matter is, and I don't give a damn. You will all assist me because I am your older brother, your king, and I am ordering you to. I don't want to hear any more objections. Listen closely while I go over the plan." He began to lay out the details of his plan for when Rama arrived, not noticing Vibhishana sneaking out.
To be continued...
Author's Note: This chapter is supposed to show more of the relationship between the siblings, who are the focal point of this project, while also following the plot of them being in the middle of the war against Rama.
Ravana is the eldest and the king.
Kumbhakarna is the second oldest, the giant whose strength is counterbalanced by his lengthy sleep, from which he wakes very rarely.
Shurpankha, is the sister, the beautiful, powerful, shapeshifter, who detests Lakshmana and Rama.
Vibhishana, the austere, the virtuous.
In the past, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana all completed Yajnas, or sacrificial offerings to please Lord Brahma.
Because of these Yajnas, they were each granted a boon, or a favor, from the gods.
Ravana asked to become impervious to harm from living creatures other than men, and Kumbhakarna asks for invincibility but accidentally mixes his words up and ends up asking for eternal sleep. Kumbhakarna is cursed to sleep forever, but Ravana convinces Brahma to allow him to wake for a short time every now and then.
At the time of this story, Ravana wakes Kumbhakarna up to help him fight the war against Rama. The details of Kumbhakarna's sleep curse vary in different versions of the Ramayana. In the version I read, "he would sleep for six months and then awaken for one day only. Each time he awoke he devoured a great meal, after which he was again overpowered by slumber." In my version, Kumbhakarna stays awake until he goes to sleep again. So as long as he stays up, he will not return to his deep sleep. So for my story, I imagined that Ravana woke Kumbhakarna up before the six months was up. It is very difficult to wake Kumbhakarna up, but Ravana is a powerful being with many creatures at his disposal. At the time of this story, Kumbhakarna has been awake for about one day, which he mostly spent eating, drinking, and getting reoriented to the waking world, as well as reuniting with his siblings (immediately clashing with Vibhishana). Here is a story I wrote about Kumbhakarna's curse.
Vibhishana is the youngest sibling, and is supposed to be morally good and extremely pious. Vibhishana was also granted a boon, and asked for a pure mind and total faithfulness to his lord. He also emphasized an ability to always uphold dharma, which is basically like the ultimate morality. Ravana and Kumbhakarna found his request bizarre and a bit pretentious.
In this story, Vibhishana plays a different role than in the original Ramayana. My story was intended to imagine the relationship between the four siblings. They are all such powerful, unique individuals. What if we could hear their point of view of the war with Rama, which took place during the Ramayana? In order to tell their story, I took some creative liberties, and I altered some aspects of the characters and their actions. In the Ramayana, Vibhishana immediately helps Rama and his friends; he is already on their side when they arrive. In this story, he still plans on being on their side, but because he lives with his siblings, this means he becomes more of a "bad guy" because the story is shown from the opponents' side, and because his betrayal is portrayed.
Shurpanakha is said to have fallen in love with Rama, only to be rejected. She then tries to seduce his brother, Lakshmana, who attacks her and brutally slashes her face. She suffers agonizing pain and the scars never heal, leaving her with a mutilated visage. However, she can use her shapeshifting powers to appear healed. Shurpanakha hates Rama and Lakshmana after this. She hates Sita by association, but not with the same passion. Here is a story I wrote from Ravana's point of view about his motivation (revenge for Shurpanakha) to kidnap Sita.
Bibliography:
The Ramayana: Uttara Kanda by Valmiki trans. by Manmatha Nath Dutt
Ramanya online edition, Valmiki
The Ravana Leela by Radha Viswanath
The Divine Archer, Gould