Dundubhi Kathā

The Dundubhi Kathā is a short account inside the Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. Sugrīva tells it to Śrī Rāma to show how strong Vāli is. Dundubhi was an asura in the form of a buffalo (mahisha), and he was very strong and very proud. He challenged the ocean, then the Himālayas, and at last Vāli of Kishkindhā, and Vāli killed him.

When Vāli threw Dundubhi’s body away, blood from it fell on the āśrama of Mataṅga Muni. The ṛshi’s śāpa (a curse) then made Ṛshyamūka mountain a place that Vāli could never enter. That mountain became the refuge that kept Sugrīva safe during his long exile.

Dundubhi’s pride and his challenge to the ocean

Dundubhi was a rākshasa of huge size, born in the form of a great buffalo. He had the strength of a thousand war elephants. He had received varas (boons) from the devas, and he became drunk with the thought that nothing in creation could match him. Because of this pride he went down to the shore of the great ocean. With a thunderous roar he challenged the ocean to come out and fight.

The deva of the ocean rose from the waters and spoke to him calmly. He said: “I am not fit for such a battle with you, great one. The fight would bring you no honor. The oceans are the home of countless beings. I am their keeper, not a warrior. If you want a fight, go to Vāli, the vānara king of Kishkindhā. He can give you a true battle.” With these words the ocean withdrew.

Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 11 gives this part.

The challenge to Himavat

Dundubhi was not satisfied. He still burned to find an opponent worth fighting. Next he went to Himavat, the great range of the Himālayas, who is the lord of mountains. He roared his challenge at the peaks and demanded a fight.

Himavat came out and spoke in peace: “O great asura, I protect all the beings, plants and rivers that live within me. I am not a warrior. I was not made for battle. You will find no honor in fighting me. But I can tell you where to go. Vāli, the son of Indra, king of the vānaras, lives at Kishkindhā. He is the first among all warriors in creation. Go to him.”

So Dundubhi turned south toward Kishkindhā. This is also from Chapter 11.

The battle with Vāli

Dundubhi reached the gates of Kishkindhā in the dead of night. He let out a roar so loud that it split the earth under his hooves and made the animals flee in every direction. He struck the palace gates with his huge horns.

The noise woke Vāli, and he came out. He wore his divine golden garland and shone with the fierce energy of a warrior who has just been roused.

There was no long fight. Vāli seized Dundubhi in his arms, overpowered him by force, and killed him. The battle was quick and one-sided. For all his boasting before the ocean and the mountains, Dundubhi was no match for the son of Indra.

Vāli then took the huge body and threw it with all his strength. It flew through the air for one yojana (a measure of distance) and crashed down far away. Chapter 11 tells this as well.

Mataṅga’s śāpa and Ṛshyamūka

The body flew into the forest where the sacred āśrama of Mataṅga Muni stood. Blood from it was still flowing, and it spattered the trees, the ground and the holy space of the āśrama. Mataṅga was a great tapasvin (one who practises tapas) with great stored spiritual power. He was angry that his āśrama had been made impure.

He learned who had done it and spoke a śāpa against Vāli: “You who made this holy ground impure: if you set foot on this mountain, your head will split into a hundred pieces.” The śāpa could not be undone. From that day Vāli could not enter the region of Ṛshyamūka mountain without certain death.

This śāpa later saved Sugrīva. When Vāli drove Sugrīva out of Kishkindhā and tried to destroy him, Sugrīva fled to Ṛshyamūka. It was the one place in creation that Vāli’s power could not reach. What had seemed an act of careless strength became the means by which the divine plan unfolded, because Rāma and Sugrīva were to meet on Ṛshyamūka. Chapters 11 and 12 of the Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa give this part.

Rāma shows his strength

When Sugrīva had finished, he pointed to Dundubhi’s dry skeleton, which still lay where it had fallen. The sun and the seasons had bleached it, the flesh was gone, and it weighed much less than before. To test Rāma’s strength, Sugrīva asked whether Rāma could move it.

Śrī Rāma kicked the dry skeleton with his foot. It flew through the air for ten yojanas, which is ten times the distance Vāli had thrown the fresh body. Sugrīva saw this, but he said honestly and with care that the skeleton was now dry and light, while the fresh body had been far heavier with blood and flesh.

Rāma then drew his bow and shot one arrow. It pierced seven great sāl trees (called maddi) standing in a row. It went on through the mountainside, down through the earth to the lower worlds, and then returned by itself to Rāma’s quiver.

Sugrīva was now fully satisfied about Rāma’s power. His fear gave way to complete trust, and the alliance between Rāma and Sugrīva, sealed with Agni as witness, went forward. This part is from Chapter 12.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 11-12