Vibhishana and dharma

Valmiki’s Ramayana has been the subject of many debates. Are those who are portrayed as good persons, really so, is one of the questions asked. Vibhishana is criticised for turning against his brother Ravana. But we cannot cherry pick what we want to believe in Valmiki’s work and what we don’t want to believe, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse.

Suppose a man owns a hen, whose eggs fetch him a good income. He cuts off one half of the hen for meat. And then he says, “I have used one half of the hen. But the other half can still lay eggs.” Would we accept this explanation? To choose some characterisations in the Ramayana and say we believe them to be true, but we disbelieve the rest, is similar to cutting up a hen and claiming that one half of it will still lay eggs.

The traits of the three asura brothers — Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana are evident from the very boons they sought. Ravana wanted immortality. When Brahma said that could not be granted, he asked that he should not be killed by devas or animals. But he forgot to include humans in the list, and so Rama came in human form and killed him. Kumbhakarna wanted to ask for a world without devas. But Saraswathi made him ask for never ending sleep. Vibhishana prayed that no matter what happened, he should never move away from dharma. So, he advised Ravana to return Sita to Rama. When Ravana refused, Vibhishana could no longer stay in Lanka.

Published - October 24, 2024 05:10 am IST