Akampana
The name Akampana belongs to two figures in the itihāsa. One is a king of the Kṛtayuga in the Mahābhārata, whose grief for his son opens Nārada’s account of the birth of Mṛtyu (Death). The other is a rākshasa general in Khara’s army in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, who brought Rāvaṇa the news of the fall of Janasthāna.
Akampana the king, in the Mahābhārata
Akampana ruled during the Kṛtayuga. He is the frame figure of the Mṛtyu-Prajāpati Saṃvāda (the talk of Mṛtyu and Prajāpati). This account is in the Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 256 of the Mahābhārata.
His grief
In a battle, his enemies captured Akampana. His chariot was destroyed and his forces were overwhelmed. Worse than his own capture was the death of his son Hari in the same battle. Hari was known for a strength like that of Nārāyaṇa himself. He fell together with all his followers.
Akampana was struck by two griefs at once: śatru-vaśa (being held by the enemy) and putra-śoka (grief for a son). He looked for śānti (peace). In this state he met Nārada Maharshi. He told Nārada everything: the loss of his chariot, his capture, and above all the death of his son.
Nārada’s answer
Nārada did not comfort him in the usual way. He gave Akampana an account of how Mṛtyu came to be. Nārada’s account runs in this order.
- Brahmā faced a crisis. Beings who never died were filling the three worlds, and the worlds were in danger of collapse.
- Anger came out from Brahmā’s eyes, and Mṛtyu was born from that anger.
- Mṛtyu refused to kill.
- She performed tapas (austerity).
- She accepted the task only after Brahmā assured her that karma, and not she, was the true cause of death.
The teaching was meant for Akampana’s own grief. Death is the ordered working of the decrees of karma through an instrument that did not choose its own task. In this way the king’s sorrow found a place where it could be borne.
The frame of the account
The account is told in nested steps. After the Kurukshetra battle, Yudhishṭhira asks Bhīshma about death. Bhīshma then recalls Akampana’s question to Nārada. Nārada then tells the story of Mṛtyu and Prajāpati.
Akampana the rākshasa, in the Rāmāyaṇa
Akampana was a rākshasa general in Khara’s army at Janasthāna. He survived the great battle in which Rāma alone destroyed all 14,000 rākshasas, together with Dūshaṇa, Triśiras and Khara. He was the only one who escaped.
Survival and flight
When Rāma single-handedly destroyed Khara’s army of 14,000 rākshasas at Janasthāna, Akampana was the only warrior who got away. He fled south to Laṅkā and stood before Rāvaṇa. This is told in Chapter 31 of the Araṇya Kāṇḍa.
Report to Rāvaṇa
In Rāvaṇa’s court Akampana gave a report that astonished all who heard it. He said that Rāma alone had destroyed the whole army of Janasthāna. Rāma had done it not by magic or divine help but by plain skill in arms. His arrows struck like lightning, and he moved with a speed and power that no rākshasa could face. Akampana described Rāma’s looks and qualities. He compared the speed of Rāma’s arms to the wings of Garuḍa. He made it clear that Rāma could not be beaten in open fight.
His advice was this. Rāvaṇa should not meet Rāma in battle. He should take Sītā away from him. A man parted from his dear wife, Akampana argued, would waste away and die of grief. This was the plan to kill Rāma with the poison of separation and not with the sword. It was the very plan Rāvaṇa then followed. His report and counsel are in Chapters 31–32 of the Araṇya Kāṇḍa.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 256
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 31–32