The different paths to Dharma

The path trodden by one person may not be similar to the other. But the scale applied to one cannot be applied to the other. For, the paths differ.

The Ramayana gives us an interesting mix of brothers, of whom we have so far studied two - Bharata and Kumbakarna. A brother of Rama and another of Ravana. We saw how Bharata acted as a trustee in the absence of Rama and subordinated himself to the sandals of Rama and ran the administration through them. And we also saw how Kumbakarna, though unable to agree with what his brother did, fought on his behalf and gave his life up in the end, despite the fact that he knew it was futile to wage a war against Rama - whom he esteemed high and held supreme in his mind in prowess and in following the path of rectitude.

The epic also shows us other brothers like Sugriva and Vibishana. And of course, the self-effacing Lakshmana who is described by the Poet as the alter ego of Rama himself, functioning outside his body. Each has a unique personality, unique way of thinking and approach in playing their role as a brother. One devotes his entire life in the service of his elder brother and accepts even death penalty at the end of the epic in Uttara Kanda. In fact, he begs to be punished since he violated the stern order of Rama. Rama had stipulated that there should be no intrusion in his discussion with the Lord of Death and any violation of the order would not be tolerated and would be punished with death sentence. Lakshmana was not able to adhere to it since it was Dhurvasa, the Rishi known for his proclivity for losing his temper and cursing in a trice.

But for this last incident, Lakshmana had nothing to regret in being the brother of Rama. And even the last incident was not a matter of regret for Lakshmana. He insisted that he be punished. He saw eye to eye with Rama. And since Rama stood for Dharma and Lakshmana also stood for Dharma there was no room for any conflict between them.

It was not so simple in the case of Vibishana and Sugriva. Vibishana stood for Dharma and could not approve of what his brother did - of coveting the wife of somebody else and imprisoning her against her will. Kumbakarna had a similar point of view but he chose a different stance - of doing his duty as a warrior. Vibishana could not do that. His dharma was different - that of a minister, a counselor and was not bound by the norms specified for a soldier. This was acknowledged by Kumbakarna himself and we saw that Kumbakarna openly told Vibishana the correctness of his stance as well as the aptness of his own stand.

Sugriva had a different plight altogether. He was misunderstood and driven out of the land. His brother chased him all over the globe to kill him. He had to live in the land that had the protection of a curse on Vali. And Vali did not stop with that. He went to the extent of forcibly coveting Ruma, the wife of Sugriva.

Each brother had a different situation. Different kinds challenges and different kinds of conflicts. Each had to adopt a different path, pursue a different Dharma. Even though it appears that one pursued a different path, it would not be possible to say one pursued a lesser path than the other. What applies to one cannot be applied to another. They all stood by Dharma.

We have already seen Vibishana in bits and pieces whenever the study of others demanded his presence. Now let us go into his character fully, and see dharma through his eyes.

Preordained to follow Dharma.

Vibishana was entirely different in his pursuit as compared to his brothers, Ravana and Kumbakarna

It seems that Vibishana alone among the rakshasas would trod the path of Dharma was preordained. The Uttara Kanda gives a detailed account of the birth Ravana and his brothers. It may be noted that in Tamil Uttara Kanda was not written by Kamban. Ottak Koothar did it in Tamil. But unlike the work of Kamban, Uttara Kanda of Valmiki and Ottak Koothar do not vary to any considerable extent.

The Uttara Kanda says that there were three Rakshasa brothers – Mali, Sumali and Malyavan. Sumali had a daughter, whose name was Kaikasi. Sumali could not give his daughter in marriage to anyone and therefore advised her to accept Visrava, born in the family of Brahma and considered to be the best of all sages, as her husband. As advised by her father Kaikasi went to Visrava. The sage asked her the reason for her coming to him. Being shy, she says:

“O sage, you should read my mind by your spiritual insight. O Brahmarsi, I am Kaikasi by name; known me to have come at the behest of my father; the rest you should comprehend for yourself.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Uttara Kanda, Canto IX, verses19 and 20)

But it happened to be an inauspicious time when she uttered these words and therefore Visrava said, “O auspicious one, I have divined the intention in your mind. O lady, whose gait is like that of an elephant in rut, you are eager to have sons by me. But since you have approached me at an inauspicious time, know, therefore, the kind of sons you will give birth to; they will be cruel-minded, fierce-looking and fond of people equally cruel. O lady of shapely limbs, you will bring forth Rakshasas given to cruel deeds.” (Ibid, verses 21 and 22)

And Kaikasi begged of him saying that she did not wish to beget such cruel sons and wanted to have a son like Visrava, who has inherited his father’s qualities and not the qualities of the family of the mother. Visrava then affirmed her that her youngest son would be pious-minded and fully in accord with his family.

She bore three sons and a daughter, Surpanaka. Ravana, Kumbakarna and Vibishana. True to the predictions of the sage-father, the first two were cruel-minded. Ravana acquired power through penance and wreaked disaster everywhere, taking by force whatever he pleased – be it the realms of the celestials or their women. It was his habit right from the beginning to have an eye for other women. One of his violations was that of Rambha, wife of Nalakubara, son of Kubera. Now, Kubera was born to Visrava through his first wife and was the half-brother of Ravana. In all fairness, Rambha was none other than Ravana’s daughter-in-law. Even when Rambha pointed this out, he was in no mood to listen and took her by force. Nalakubara then cursed Ravana that his head would be split to pieces if he tried to molest any woman. And then there was Vedavathi who suffered an almost similar fate and cursed Ravana. Kumbakarna was cruel. But not weak of character. Vibishana was entirely different of the three.

A rebel in the making

Vibishana was able to influence the decision of Ravana for once, and only once.

As we said, Vibishana was of a different mould among the trio. When Ravana and Kumbakarna – whenever he was not in his long spell of stupor – were conquering the three worlds and oppressing everyone, Vibishana was pursuing the path of rectitude and was the very embodiment of mercy in Lanka.

Kamban introduces Vibishana to us through the eyes of Hanuman. In the Sundara Kanda we see Hanuman walking into the palace of Vibishana, in his search for Sita. Kamban says, ‘veLithu vaigudhal aridhu ena avar uru mEvi oLiththu vaazgindra dharumam annan.’ Dharma was not able to live in the midst of the rakshasas and assumed the form of one among them, to live in their midst in a clandestine manner, so that the rakshasas do not know its existence among them. On the very first sight of the sleeping Vibishana, Hanuman decides that this is an unblemished soul and quickly moves out without any further search there.

It is only when Hanuman is ‘captured’ by Indrajit and produced in the court of Ravana we see Vibishana in action, for the first time. Ravana was infuriated at Hanuman and orders his killing and that is where Vibishana interposes and speaks against the killing of an ambassador. His initial attitude towards Ravana seems to be very polite and respectful. He actually speaks such words that would find the favour of his brother. He starts his speech with a liberal dose of praise for Ravana and adds, ‘We have heard of kings putting even women to death. But never yet have we heard of princes killing ambassadors. Even the gods will mock at us if we stoop to this sacrilege.”

We see a cool minister with all sincerity of purpose acting in the council of Ravana, restraining him from wanton killing. He knew very well that Ravana would not listen to it if he speaks from the position of morality alone. He should be convinced that if Hanuman were to be left alive, it would be to his (Ravana’s) advantage.

‘Ilayaval thannai kollaadhu iru sevi mookkodu eerndhu vilaivu urai endru vittar veerar.’ Have you not seen that those humans did not kill our sister Surpanaka but merely maimed her by cutting her nose and earlobes? Just because she was alive, she could come and report to us what they did to her. It is therefore on the part of wisdom O King, to leave this monkey alone so that it can reach those ‘humans’ and report to them about our strength, the fortifications that we have and make them understand how powerful we are.’

Ravana was more than convinced by that argument. He however was fascinated by the idea of maiming an ambassador – from the example of Surpanaka that Vibishana cited – and that is why he ordered that the tail of Hanuman be burnt. Vibishana was able to influence the decision of Ravana for once, and only once.

Vibishana appears to remain by the side of Ravana. His argument is just convincing that Hanuman should be spared so that the news reaches the proper ears. But something else had started working in his mind from that moment. He had been a silent observer and a non-intervening, self-restrained and a good-hearted person all along. He did not have anything to do in the exploits of his brothers. Nor did he attempt to change them for he knew for certain the futility of such an attempt.

Wuthering heights and weathering traits

It is one thing to reach great heights and another to remain there.

It is in the War Council of Ravana that we have an opportunity to see Vibishana’s opinion on what his brother did. He was waiting for an opportunity to give vent to his feelings and to render his duties as a minister to correct the wrong doing of Ravana. But since it was not the habit of Ravana to seek advice from anyone, he could not find a chance to put his ideas forth. Who else did so? Ravana could not be spoken to unless he calls for an opinion. And in all the cases the silent message that he sent to his counsellors was to subscribe to his views and acknowledge what he did was right. He was benevolent enough to permit them to say ‘yes’.

After Hanuman set fire to Lanka and went back, Ravana called for his war council. We have seen the functioning of his council in an earlier article. (Of councils and counsels II and III) We will go into details of the scene now.

Vibishana interposed Indrajit, who due to his lack of wisdom, spoke highly of his father, himself and all the Rakshasas and spoke against the wise counsel of Kumbakarna to march to the main land with their complete strength of army supporting them, before Rama could enter Lanka. Indrajit intervened when Ravana acceded to the advice of Kumbakarna and spoke to please his father. ‘Why should all march there? Am I not the one who overpowered Indra, the Lord of celestials? Suffice be it if I go there. I will win them all single-handed. It is an insult to the Rakshasa race to muster up all our strength to fight men – just two of them – and monkeys.’

Vibishana could not remain silent anymore. Now he did not wait for his turn, or be asked to be spoken. He rose up, stopped Indrajit and turned to Ravana. Vibishana is aware of the golden rule: Praise before you criticise.

‘You are my father; my mother; my elder brother. Not only that. I regard you as the very God. Please listen to me. I am saying these because I am troubled at heart that you are going to lose all that you have earned. ‘indirap perum padam izakkirai endru nondhanen’ I am concerned that you would lose your position as Indra, lording over all the celestials.’

‘I may not be wise enough to offer you advice, by virtue of education. I may not be endowed with that kind of intuition to deduce what the present events portend. But listen to me. ‘Saanaki enum peyar ulagin tham anai aanaval karpin vendhadhu alladhu Or vaanaram suttadhu endru unardhal maatchiyO?’ I am not – nor will anybody for that matter be – able to think that a monkey can burn this entire nation to ashes. Ravana, please realise that it is the fire of chastity of Sita, who is none other than the Mother of this universe, that was the actual cause for this devastating fire.’

‘You have performed great penance to reach this height. Are you going to fritter away all that you earned by such a wanton exercise of allowing your mind to wander behind the wife of another person?’
Yes. Reaching great heights is one thing and retaining the glory is another. Vibishana bases his next question on that.

Reaching there is not remaining there

True. It requires a great effort to reach such heights. But it is also true that retaining that position also needs continuous effort…

There is a question in the minds of people – or at least a part of them. A reader even went to the extent of putting this question in his mail to me. ‘If Ravana represented the evil, then how was it possible for him to reach such heights? How could he be termed evil if he had such great powers to rule over the celestials? Was it not due to his penance that he acquired such powers? If he had performed such great penance and became powerful, how come that he is termed evil-doer?’

Well, Vibishana has answered this query. He says ‘aram thurandhu amararai vendra aaN thozil thiram therindhidin adhu thaanum sei thavam.’ How was it possible for you to conquer the Devas, even though you adopted illicit means to realise your goal? It was due to your penance. ‘niram thirmbaa vagai iaytrum needhiyaal maram thurandhu avar tharum varathin vanmayaal.’ It was due to the boons that they themselves bestowed on you due to your efforts. For, by their very nature they cannot go against natural laws. (‘niram thirmbaa vagai iaytrum needhiyaal.’) ‘theeyavar thirathinaal dhevar aayadhu maayamO, vanjamO, vanmayE kolO?’ How come the evildoers became the equivalent of Devas? Was it due to magic? Was it due to their artful, clever, deceptive and sly scheming? Or was it due to their physical might? None of these. It was due to the penance that you undertook. (I am using the word ‘penance’ in the Indian context. It cannot be a complete equivalent of the word tapas in the real sense of the word that the English-speaking world uses it.)

True. It requires a great effort to reach such heights. But it is also true that retaining that position also needs continuous effort. One cannot go against Dharma, just because he performed great sacrificial penance for acquiring power. He cannot violate the natural laws – Dharma – after acquiring power. He has to continue his efforts to retain that position. It is a continuous and on going process. It cannot be given up after the desired end is obtained. If one starts to fritter away the good effects acquired due to great efforts, it would last as far as it can last. How far it can last and will it be for a short or long period of time is just relative and dependent on the extent of the efforts – tapas –that one undertook.

The word ‘tapas’ need not be limited to the religious context alone. If a businessman works tirelessly to reach greater heights, he is performing tapas. In so far as he is able to perform it and use the resultant power to the good of the society at large, he has every reason to grow up. All our literature has been emphasising this fact repeatedly.

It applies to each and every walk of life. Reaching there is different from remaining there. If one has the eyes to see and ears to hear, one is bound to see the wisdom in what Vibishana says and act accordingly. The golden rule has not changed right from the beginning, though change is the order of the day! It won’t change for ever and ever. Dharma is nothing but natural laws and it won’t change. Eternal truths do not change.

A minister, true to the word…

What Vibishana spoke on that day in Ravana’s war council was nothing short of a beautiful SWOT analysis…

What Vibishana spoke on that day in Ravana’s war council was nothing short of a beautiful SWOT analysis. Analyse your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, the serious management experts say. Vibishana spoke of the Strengths of Ravana and is now moving over to his Weaknesses. No other moment was perhaps best suited for an exercise of this kind. Later he ventures on the Threats – only, there sadly were no Opportunities for Ravana to win his purpose. And Vibishana thus had no opportunity to speak on them.

‘Ravana, there is an old curse that the King of Lanka would meet his doom on account of a (human) woman. It is still there. It has not lost its effect. Not only that. You have obtained invincibility against all forms of life from Brahma. But, ‘manidhar pal kotram koLLalai’ you have not obtained immunity against human beings. (And you say you are going to wage a war against humans. You are already at a disadvantage by lack of protection by a boon. Added to it, you have violated Dharma in taking his wife by force.)

I need not remind you, O valiant king. You single-handedly won all the seven worlds. But do you remember what happened in your fight against Karthaveeryarjuna, of thousand shoulders? Were you not defeated? And is there any proof needed other than this that you are also susceptible to defeats, despite your glorious victories?

When you lifted the Mount Kailash, you were cursed by Nandhi that a monkey would be the forerunner of your doom. And a monkey has already wreaked disaster on this land.

The story has it that Ravana tried to cross the Mount Kailash in his pushpaka vimana and Nandhi warned him that he should observe proper manners, when he is in the abode of the Lord. Ravana was infuriated and told Nandhi, the divine Bull of Lord Siva, something like ‘Keep quite you monkey.’ And he tried to lift Mount Kailash to take it back home. Nandhi cursed him that a monkey would spell his doom.

‘Do you remember what Vedavathi told you?’ continued Vibishana. As we had seen earlier, Ravana violated the chastity of Vedavathi, who jumped into the fire, unable to stand what was done to her. Before that she told Ravana that henceforth he could not have any relations with a woman, without her consent. And if he dared to do so, his head would split into a hundred pieces. That curse had its effect on Ravana and that is why he was patiently waiting for Sita to accept him. Vibishana touched the weak nerve in the presence of all.

‘Remember that she told you that she would be an eternal disease for you? And are you aware that it is that Vedavathi who has taken the form of Sita and is imprisoned by you here? You have in fact locked up your death in this land, Ravana.’

These were the weaknesses. The Threats? They were in the form of the two humans who have been wronged against, for no fault of theirs. Vibishana shows his ministerial talents in giving out a detailed account of the family background of Sri Rama, his heredity, his ancestors and how his father Dasaratha helped Indra, the Lord of celestials to win his war against Samparasura.

A minister, true to the word…II

A counsellor is supposed to keep quite a few things in mind. He should first of all know the nature of the project in hand. He should know the advantages…

A counsellor is supposed to keep quite a few things in mind. He should first of all know the nature of the project in hand. He should know the advantages and also the constraints. He should know the ability of the person to undertake the project. Not only that, he should know the strengths and weaknesses of the foe – or the competition in the present times and he should persuade or dissuade the person concerned, dispassionately. Dispassionately. That is the key word. His own ideas, prejudices and preferences should not play any part in his effort, though intuition may be given its due place. He should have the necessary data on the project, person and the competitor. And he should not be afraid of giving the correct feedback, if the findings are negative. He should not try to please and try to tinker with the report to suit the present mindset of the boss.

Each and every word of Vibishana reflects the above rules. The project in hand was not in any manner, worthy of pursuing. The present situation that Ravana considers as an insult to the entire Rakshasa race – of a monkey setting fire to the city of fearless and mighty race of his – was the result of his own making. The act in question – of robbing a woman from her husband and keeping her in isolation – was neither desirable nor worthy. The strength of Ravana and his army was no doubt immense. But the boons that he had did not explicitly protect him from men and monkeys. The track record of Ravana on this account was not encouraging. He was defeated by Karthaveeraya Arjuna, a man with thousand shoulders and Vali, a monkey. That did not augur well for his success in this venture.

The foes – competition – were the descendants of a valorous family. Their father was the one who helped Indra to win his war against Samparasura. Their ancestors were valiant. The Sagaras, who were Sri Rama’s ancestors, had dug a major portion of the earth in their attempt to find out the horse that was stolen from their father for performing the Aswametha Yaga. And it was due to their act that the seas around the world formed. The word ‘Sagara’ (sea) was derived from their name. It was Bageeratha, a descendent of Sagaras, (and an ancestor of Rama) who brought the Ganges down to the earth to wash their ashes and appease their departed souls.

Vibishana drew attention to the fact that Dasaratha was able to rule his kingdom, not by the rod, but by love. ‘poi uraiththu ulaginil sinavinaar arap porudhu’ He fought with only those who were going against Dharma and rooted out their kind from the face of the earth and then ‘than vEl nei uraiththu urayil ittu’ he applied lubricants to his spear to prevent them from rusting and sheathed them. ‘aram vaLarththu oruvanaai neriyil nindran’ He nurtured Dharma and always stood by it. He did not hesitate to send his own children to the forest, just because he had promised two boons to his wife and she asked for the exile of them to the forest. (Of course it was difficult for Dasaratha to do so. But Vibishana does not see that aspect here. He emphasises the fact that the family is known for its virtuous ways, against odds.)

Vibishana points out another situation that Ravana was in. Information vacuum. Let’s see that in our next instalment.

Whom does an egotist love?

Egotist loves only one soul in the entire world. It is the one that is residing in his own body…

We have seen many instances in history and in our own times that those in high seats of authority are surrounded by an inner circle that creates a kind of enclosure around such persons, and the people whose interests they serve. They filter information, alter and modify it to suit their personal agenda or just to please the ears of such persons controlling the high power centres.

Ravana was in such an information vacuum. Added to this, he was a terrible egotist. An egotist is worse than an egoist. Alfred Adler, the Austrian psychiatrist once quipped thus when he was told that a known egotist had fallen in love, ‘Against whom?’ An egotist does not fall in love with anyone. It is always against someone. Take our own Ravana for instance. He had an entire harem at his disposal. In fact Mandodhari, his queen, is ranked with the very Sita herself. Even Hanuman, the greatest of face readers, mistook Mandodhari for Sita, when he saw her first in the bed chamber of Ravana, when he was sieving the entire Lanka in his search for Sita.

But could Ravana be happy with her? He needed someone even more beautiful. Even more charming and even more lovely. If you see, more charming or less charming are relative terms, varying from person to person. There was nothing wrong with Mandodhari or with his other wives. Ravana was more driven towards Sita, just because he could not get her. His desire for her was fuelled more by the challenge that the situation had than by the charm that Sita held. More appropriately, it was the hard refusals of Sita rather than her beauty that continued to haunt him. He could not believe that somebody could be there on this earth, who does not love him at his behest. Egotist loves only one soul in the entire world. It is the one that is residing in his own body. None other.

It is a common trait of an egotist to shut himself away from the masses and listens selectively to only such reports – doctored reports, to put it mildly – that please him. He cannot take any other report. He won’t listen to them. For him, one who gives an adverse report – even if it may be true – is a traitor. The epic gives us many instances when Ravana reacts very strongly and strangely, of beheading his own scouts from the battlefield, bringing him the news about the defeat they suffered at the hands of Rama, Lakshmana and the Vanaras. He went to the extent of punishing those who brought him the death news of his endeared, Kumbakarna or Indrajit for instance. ‘If they died,’ he would roar, ‘it is only apparent that you have escaped from the field like cowards! Why could you not stand and fight? Why did you come here to show your faces with defeat writ large on your them?’ He would mercilessly slay them. We will go into a detailed study of this, when we see Ravana later.

The medium and the message

What is the use of ears, two or twenty, if you don’t listen? What can the very best of communication media do for you if you shut yourself off…

‘Change such an attitude,’ was the forewarning given by Vibishana. The Devas who were afraid of your might till now are happy that you are seeking your own ruin by imprisoning Sita. ‘thunjugindrilargaLaal iravum nan pagalum nir solla olgi nenju nindru ayarum in nirudhar.’ These rakshasas are not able to sleep, either in the night or during the day by what is happening. They are heartbroken. ‘nir solla olgi.’ They are not able to tell you Ravana. Please realise this.’

Who would come to such an abominable egotist and give him the information that is not palatable to him? ‘You are shutting yourself off from reality. You are setting up a firewall around you and stopping healthy criticism flowing towards you. Realise this Ravana. This is not for your good,’ is the message that lies under the warning of Vibishana.

And what was that dreadful information that did not reach his twenty ears? Twenty ears! After all, what is the use of ears, two or twenty, if you don’t listen? When you don’t want to listen to good advice, just because you are embittered by reality and shut yourself off from it, what can the very best of communication media do for you?

Ravana ignored the warnings of Maricha, who assumed the form of the golden deer, and ventured into the foolish act. He did not listen to Maricha when he warned him, ‘yaadhum ariyaay urai kELaai.’ Listen to me you who do not know the valour and skill of Rama. ‘igal iraaman kOdhai punaiyaa munn uyir koLLai padum andrE.’ Even before Rama garlands himself in preparation for war, your life (and that of all your men) would be stolen from your frames. He had threatened Maricha at his sword’s edge to obey him.

The ‘first information report’ of Maricha who had experienced the power of Rama’s arrows was thus ignored. And now Vibishana has so meticulously collected information on Sri Rama and his ancestors. ‘He has had instructions under Viswamitra, the sage who started creating a parallel universe. He has been blessed with divine weapons by Viswamitra. The great Parasurama has given him the mightiest of bows, Kodhanda. I understand that he has shot an arrow that bore through seven saal trees in one go. I am concerned, my brother, since he has already proved his might by killing the mightiest of our rakshasas in outpost at Janasthaana, Kara and Dhushana. Above all, he could bring the mighty Vali, who overpowered you, to ground with a single arrow.

I therefore see no other way out of this bad situation Ravana. Not a single point is in your favour. You may be mighty. But you are facing the mightiest. ‘innam ondru urai seivan.’ I have one more word to say. ‘embiraan iruvar aaya annavar thammodum vanarath thalaivaraai aNugi nindrar mannum nam pagainjyar aam.’ Those two are the very incarnation of the Lord himself and all the monkeys are our enemies – the Devas – who have born in this form because they have seen the chinks in your armour. They know the weak point that you are not protected by your boons against humans and monkeys. It is part of wisdom to send back Sita. That would save you and our entire race.’

Child contaminated Adult

Analyse the character of Ravana with the golden rules of TA (Transactional Analysis) and you can see all the signs of a loser…

The long peroration of Vibishana, a writing on the wall, did not appeal to Ravana. It was the most systematic and meticulous presentation, though. He started with a generous praise and ventured into criticism. He supported everyone of his apprehension with adequate data. If he said Ravana had reason to worry, he substantiated it with the chinks in his armour. If he saw the strengths of the enemy, he quoted from the actual track record. But none of these had any effect on Ravana. ‘kEtta aaN thagai karaththodu karam kidaippa’ He clapped his hand in mock appreciation.

‘You said I don’t have boons protecting me from men and monkeys. I need not have boons for everything. I brought the very Indra in chains. I fought with the eight elephants that stand guard on all the eight directions. I lifted the mount Kailash. What was the boon that enabled me to do all these? ‘kochchai maanidar velguvar endru kuriththadhu achchamO avarkku anbinO’ How did you say that the puny men would score a victory over me? Either you are afraid. Or you must be in love with the enemy.’

A person must be self-confident. But self-confidence is always based on what one is ‘actually’ capable of doing and not one ‘thinks’ what he is capable of doing. It has its roots in one’s dispassionate assessment of oneself. When passion and pride colour such an assessment, it cannot be called self-confidence any more. It is uncontrolled ego at work. We have seen in other instances too that Ravana is fond of blowing his own trumpet by repeating his ‘lifting the Mount Kailash’ story to his heart’s delight. But he would never mention the humility that he suffered at that time. The Lord pressed his toenail slightly and Ravana was entrapped under the mountain. He then had to sing His praise for thousands of years to get released. One can see that he ignores this fact – in fact he hides this fact – whenever he pleases himself with a liberal dosage of vainglorious, shallow and exaggerated statements. If one draws a diagram of ‘Parent, Adult, Child’ as Dr. Eric Berne did (Games People Play) one can see an over-sized Child contaminating the Adult, in Ravana’s ego-states.

Muriel James and Dorothy Jongeward, in their ‘Born To Win’ (Transactional Analysis with Gestalt Experiments) have this to say about losers. “A loser seldom lives in the present, but instead destroys the present by focussing on past memories or future expectations. The loser who lives in the past dwells on the good old days or on past misfortunes. Nostalgically, the loser either clings to the way things “used to be” or bemoans his or her bad luck…Blaming others and excusing oneself are often part of a loser’s game…”

Ravana fits into the description so very neatly. You know what he says about his defeat at the hands (or more appropriately at the tail ) of Vali? ‘arangil aaduvaarkku anubu poondudai varam aRiyEn’ I was not aware of the fact that Vali had a special boon from Shiva (that half the strength of Vali’s opponent would go to him). Therefore I lost to him. ‘matrum vEru uLa kurangu elam enai vellum endru enganam kOdi?’ How can you deduce that I would be defeated by all the other monkeys, just because Vali defeated me with his special powers?’ Blaming others. It is the same ‘I am not responsible for my defeats. It is because of this and that reason’ game.

The careful building of characters just amazes the reader. What kind of insight the Poet has had in constructing events, statements and epithets!

The expulsion

Vibishana was not a traitor. He did not have a choice but to leave Ravana…

‘Don’t be afraid!’ laughed Ravana. ‘venjinam tharu pOrin emmudan eza vENdaa.’ You need not come with us to the battlefield. ‘inji maanagar idam udaiththu.’ This well protected island has sufficient space. ‘eeNdu inidhu iruththi.’ You may remain here (doing nothing, simply.) ‘anjal anjal endru.’ Be not afraid. Then Ravana did the most humiliating of things. ‘arugu irundhavar mugam nOkki’ (thus saying) he (sarcastically) looked at the faces of those who were around. ‘nanjin veyyavan kai erindhu urum ena nakkaan’ He who was more venomous than venom itself, clapped his hands and laughed a laugh like thunder.

Imagine the scene. He looks away from Vibishana and makes a sarcastic remark laughing hysterically. He mock-addresses these words to others who were around. Snubbing, sniping, jeering and not considering him worthy of being looked at even for addressing these words of mockery. Insulting. Insulting in every sense of the word. I am mentioning all this to show the strength of character of Vibishana. It is surprising that he did not mind it. Anyone else would have walked away from his presence. Kamban has skilfully built the drama to make the intentions of Vibishana crystal clear to one and all. He persisted in his attempt to put Ravana on the right path. It is at this moment that he narrated the story of Iraniyan and how he was killed by Narasima. (Narasimavatara and the Art of Problem Solving I to IV).

Even up to this point, we do not see any remorse on the part of Vibishana. He is bent upon doing whatever he can to set things right. It is surprising that somewhere down the history, Vibishana has been portrayed as a traitor, who left his brother with designs for his crown, at the most crucial time when war was imminent. He is stubborn in his attempt. He does it very sincerely. He narrates the story of another equally powerful demon who met his last, despite boons of invincibility. Had he thought otherwise, he would have simply walked out when he was insulted.

Ravana had already set his mind against sending back Sita. It would not befit his bloated ego. However, he was decent enough to listen to Vibishana until he finished the story. The story did not make any impression on him. He remained in his earlier position firmly. Only, he taunted Vibishana more cruelly and frowned at him.

‘Well, well! You narrated a good story. ‘than thadhai yaakkayai maayavan pilandhida magizhndha maindhanum’ The (treacherous) son (Prahlada) who rejoiced at the sundering of his father’s body by that lord of illusions and ‘Eyum nam pahaijnanukku iniya naNbu sei neeyumE nigar’ you, who love our foe, make a good pair. I know you have designs on my crown. You feel that if I am killed by those two humans, you can succeed me. ‘ezhai nee en perum selvam eiydhi pin vazhavO karuththu?’ Do you, the meek, think that you can inherit my wealth and enjoy it for the rest of your life?

Sri VVS Aiyar beautifully translates the verse: “A coward thou, unfit for martial deeds! Thy heart is full of dark designs, and thou dost love my hated foes, belying thy race. Methinks the cobra is less deadly than thee. Yet I kill thee not, fearing reproach. But open not thy lips again and leave me straight! If thou dost show thy face in these my realms, thou diest at once!”

Vibishana was driven against the wall.

Hari Krishnan