Sthūlaśiras

Sthūlaśiras was a ṛshi. His śāpa (a curse) changed Kabandha from a handsome dānava into the headless creature that Rāma and Lakshmaṇa met in the Krauñca forest.

The śāpa on Kabandha

In his earlier life Kabandha had a body of great beauty and strength. He frightened the ṛshi Sthūlaśiras, and the ṛshi’s anger fell on him. Sthūlaśiras gave him a śāpa. His head would sink into his body. His face would be set in his belly. His arms would grow very long.

The śāpa made the fearsome form in which Rāma and Lakshmaṇa met Kabandha. He was a headless trunk with a wide mouth in his belly, and his arms reached a yojana (a long distance) on each side. He was freed from the śāpa only when Rāma cut off those arms and cremated Kabandha’s body.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 70–71