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 Narasimha. (Narasimhavatara 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 V V S 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.

In submission lies my salvation

‘Do not stand in my presence. I am restraining myself from killing you only because I am afraid of the blame that it would result in. Get away from here and do not show your face else I will slay you the same moment.’ After Ravana uttered these words, there was no choice for Vibishana but to leave him.

He rose up high in the sky and spoke to Ravana from there. His words show that still it was difficult for him to leave the side of Ravana. But he was convinced that the time for bringing him to reason has already past and he could not stay by his side any more, for it was not in his mould to bear what is not right.

‘I intended to do good to you. But what are you doing? ‘keezhmayOr sol kodu kedudhal nErdhiyO?’ You are listening to those who base of mind and moving towards your downfall. ‘vaazhmaidhaan aram pizaithavarkku vaaikkumO?’ Those that swerve from the path of Dharma are not worthy of living. Forgive me. I am going. I do not know what is in store for you. ‘iththani pErayum iraaman vem saram chithira vadhai seyak kaNdu theerdhiyO?’ Are you going to end up seeing the arrows of Rama tormenting all those who are near and dear to you? Are you going to cause the destruction of your race, along with yours?’

Now, there were four ministers of Vibishana. Analan, Anilan, Aran and Sampathi. They also left Ravana and rose up in the sky along with Vibishana. ‘What do we do now?’ asked Vibishana. He made his mind clear to them. ‘I could not do anything to make my brother realise what he does. I do not want anything that comes to me by that which is not right.’ ‘Let’s go to Rama now and take refuge in him,’ suggested the ministers. Vibishana’s mind was already thinking in these lines and he agreed with them. They reached the other side of the sea where Rama and the Vanaras were camped, discussing ways of crossing the ocean.

‘My mind is now fixed on Rama. I don’t know why. ‘munburak kaNdilEn.’ I have not seen him earlier. ‘kELvi munbu ilEn.’ Nor have I heard of him before. ‘anburak kaaraNam ariya kitrilEn.’ I don’t know the reason why this love for him wells up in me. ‘enbu urak kuLirum’ (when I think of him) even my bones get cool ‘nenju urugum’ my mind melts. He must be the one who helps souls to cross this ocean of births and deaths.’

Vibishana tarried till it dawned. It must have been a long, long night for anyone in his situation. He has come to the camp of his brother’s enemy. He didn’t know what brought him there. Anyone else would have come to this place with a hundred questions haunting his heart. Normally and quite naturally the first question that would arise in any person’s mind at that juncture would have been, ’Would I be accepted? Would I be suspected? Would l ever be wanted here?’

Not so for Vibishana. He was quite confident. He walked towards the massive army of Vanaras. The Poet says, ‘muraipadu thaanayin marungu mutrinaan arai kazal VeedaNan’ Vibishana went close to the vanara army, his warrior’s anklets tinkling as he did so. ‘ayirppu il sindhayaan.’ The word ‘ayirppu’ means doubt. His mind was clear and void of all doubts.

That is the first qualification of a devotee that submits unto Him.

In submission lies my salvation II

Total surrender. Submission. It needs a simple yet specific mental state. The person who seeks refuge in Him has to fulfil just only one condition. He or she should have total and unshakeable faith. That ‘He would not leave me; He would protect me; He would stand by my side always’ should be the sole and firm resolve of the person. Pillai Perumal Aiyangar wrote these beautiful lines on Dhraupathi’s condition when Dhuchasana was engaged in the most atrocious act of stripping her saree in the presence of all.

‘mei thavaLa sangu eduththaan mEgalai vittu angai thalai
vaithavaL achang keduththaan vaazhvu’

She was praying for the divine assistance from Lord Krishna. But while her mind was intensely focussed on the prayer, she was trying to resist the act of Dhuchasana by holding the saree to her with one hand. There was no answering of the prayer. At a point of time, she unconsciously left the edge of the saree and joined both her hands above her head in total surrender, signifying ‘Nothing is in my hands. I leave everything to you. It is up to you to save me. ’Right at that moment help arrived and the entire gathering witnessed the divine event of her saree growing without end, till the ruffian was tired and could not pursue the act any more.

Dr. Jayabarathi, the most respected doctor of medicine, Malaysia – respected more for the philosopher in him – recently explained this with an anecdote in the mail group agathiyar@yahoogroups.com

There was a mountain climber, who desperate to conquer the Aconcagua, initiated his climb after years of preparation. But he wanted the glory to himself. Therefore, he went up alone. He started climbing and it was getting very late. He did not prepare for camping but decided to keep on going. Soon it got dark...

Night fell with heaviness at a very high altitude. Visibility was zero. Everything was black. There was no moon, and the stars were covered by clouds. As he was climbing a ridge at about 100 meters from the top, he slipped and fell. Falling rapidly he could only see blotches of darkness that passed. He felt a terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity.

He kept falling. And in those anguishing moments good and bad memories passed through his mind. He thought certainly he would die. But then he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. Yes!! Like any good mountain climber he had staked himself with a long rope tied to his waist.

In those moments of stillness, suspended in the air he had no other choice but to shout, "Help me God, help me!"

All of a sudden he heard a deep voice from heaven..."What do you want me to do?"

"SAVE ME"

"Do you REALLY think that I can save you?"

"OF COURSE, MY GOD"

"Then cut the rope that is holding you up."

There was another moment of silence and stillness. The man just held tighter to the rope.

The rescue team says that the next day they found a frozen mountain climber hanging strongly to a rope...TWO FEET OFF THE GROUND.

That is where the shoe pinches. If you seek refuge in Him, there is no alternative but to keep the mind free, leaving everything to His hands. Vibishana exemplifies this when he approaches the Lord, crossing the Vanara army. As we saw yesterday, his mind was void of all doubts of acceptance. He did not have an iota of doubt. As the Poet said, ‘ayirppu il sindhayaan.’

It is a long, long road indeed

A pursuer would naturally be faced with difficult situations. It is up to him to play his cards properly.

It takes a great deal of mental strength and equanimity to walk into a camp that has not yet understood one’s intentions and purposes. Agreed that Vibishana had faith and was preparing himself for seeking refuge in Rama, whom he considered the very embodiment of Dharma. But that is an internal preparation and he had absolute control over it. Life does not after all end with an internal preparation and reaching a mental state of readiness. There are external forces too that come between you and your purpose.

These forces are of different types and qualities. Some of them behave like friends (externally) and really are friends in the real sense of the term. Vibishana had these friends in the form of his four ministers. Some friends however appear like friends but do not do any good to you. Valluvar gives us splendid examples of these pseudo friends.

‘seeridam kaNin eridharkkup pattadai
nEraa nirandhavar natpu’

Rev. Drew and John Lazarus translate it thus. ‘The friendship of those who behave like friends without inward affection is a weapon that may be thrown when a favourable opportunity presents itself.’ But there is something interesting in Valluvar’s use of the word ‘pattadai’. It is something like an altar-slab, used in butcher’s shops. The animal is brought to the slab. The slab serves as a neck rest to the animal. Unaware of what is going to happen the poor thing would rest its neck on the slab, and the slab would support its neck. The animal is satisfied and may even scratch its neck over it. In a few moments the butcher appears with the knife and brings it down heavily on the animal’s neck. The very same slab that was supporting the animal’s neck offers resistance now and helps the knife to cut the very same neck that it was supporting moments before. In fact, it would not have been possible for the knife to cut the neck, without the support of the slab.

‘There are people,’ cautions Valluvar, ‘who are close to you, who support you, who you think you can lean on. But, though they appear to support you and seem to be your friends, understand that they really support the knife and help it to cut your neck.’ This is a second kind of friends, or external force.

There is a third kind, which really belongs to category ‘good’ but circumstances would prevent it from seeing your real purpose. At such times, it is for you to remain calm and persist in your endeavours with self-confidence, communicate with them, convince them and make them realise what you are really up to. If the pursuer gives up at this time just because this force is acting against, it harms only the pursuer and none else.

When Vibishana approached the Vanara army that surrounded Sri Rama, he was faced with such a situation. Rama was somewhere inside the Vanara army and was not aware of Vibishana’s approach. He should cross this ocean of monkeys before he could reach Rama. In the meantime, there was confusion in the Vanara army, seeing five demons walking to them. They became cautious and restive. They tried to attack the five-member team. They mistook them for spies. Some even called out remarking that it was Ravana himself in masquerade. Patience. Patience is the only key now. You cannot strike back just because you are subjected to attacks, fisticuffs and abuses.

And that is the second qualification. Remaining unperturbed in the face of stiff resistance. Let’s see how Vibishana handled the situation.

Hasten slowly

The ghosts of the past are so strong that they would cling to you even if you wish to move away from them…

Kamban’s version differs from that of Valmiki here again. Valmiki shows Vibishana as appearing in the skies along with his ministers. Sugriva saw them and immediately drew the attention of his army, headed by Hanuman and said “Lo, armed with all (kinds of) weapons and accompanied by four of his kind, this ogre is undoubtedly approaching to kill us.’ Lifting up sal trees and rocks on hearing the words of Sugriva, all those jewels among monkeys submitted as follows: - “Command us, at once, O king to kill these evil-minded ones so that on being killed, they may fall down on earth, endowed as they are with poor vitality.” Reaching the northern shore (even) as they were talking with one another (in this strain), the aforesaid Vibishana stopped short while he was yet in the air. Gazing on Sugriva and those monkeys, the aforesaid Vibishana, highly intelligent and great as he was, spoke as follows in a loud voice while still remaining in the air.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, Canto XVII, Sloka 7 to 11)

We have seen the elaborate drama as presented by Kamban thus far, in our earlier instalments. But the problem remains the same in both the versions. Vibishana was mistaken by his looks. He was seen as an enemy coming to attack them.

Kamban shows all the monkeys leaping in rage, in all preparedness for an attack. ‘Let us capture him, imprison him and then inform Rama about their intrusion,’ shouted some monkeys. Other monkeys did not agree with that view. ‘imaippadhan mun visumbu ezundhu pOya pin amaippadhu en?’ What are we going to do if these ogres rise high up in the air before we winked? ‘samaippadhu kolai alaal thakkadhu yaavadhO.’ What is more befitting than killing them, here and now? ‘kumaippadhu nalan end mudugik kooruvar.’ Quickly collecting around them, they shouted in frenzy, ‘It is just and proper to kill them and mash their bodies out of shape.’

That carries just one message to the pursuer of righteousness, who though pure was associated with persons of disagreeable quality, who lived in the midst of darkness, while seeking the inner light. The ghosts of the past are so strong that they would cling to you even if you wish to move away from them and would come between you and your pursuit. Yes. Though Vibishana wanted to be away from the evil ways of his elder brother, his past is shrouding him now. He is yet to be seen by the one whom he has come in search of. Forces that are good and surround the glorious one may jump between you and your goal. It is for you to remain calm and make your position clear to them.

Vibishana remained calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos. Despite shouts, threats and acts of anger he remained calm played his part so well and made his intentions clear to them. In Valmiki Ramayana, Vibishana speaks for himself. Kamban shows Analan, his trusted minister playing this role. But the message and purpose remains the same. And how beautifully the case is presented!

Surrender unto His lotus feet

‘I will not in any circumstance let him down’, said Rama ‘who comes to me seeking my protection’. And the next Sloka falls as decisive as thunder.

The commotion on one side attracted the attention of Hanuman and he assigned two of his best men, Mayindhan and Dhumindhan, learned in the art of face reading and asked for a report. They were convinced says Kamban because the five were ‘chalak kuri ilar’ found to have no semblance of anger or clandestine intentions.

‘This is Vibishana, whose mind is set on righteousness. This younger brother of Ravana is against Sita’s imprisonment. He advised Ravana against his deed and in fact had condemned him. ‘sudu theeyai thugilidaip podhindhu dhunmadhi idudhiyE.’ Your act of hiding Sita here is like wrapping the very fire with a piece of cloth. You will meet with nothing but ruin. That is for certain. But Ravana was adamant and has expelled him. Vibishana has abandoned his brother.’

The message was taken to Sri Rama who called for an immediate war council. We have dealt with this scene in an earlier discussion. (Of councils and counsels IV and V). Rama listened to them all patiently. At the end of it all, Rama announced his decision. What are his reasons for accepting Vibishana, though every single one in the Council – excepting of course, Hanuman – spoke against Vibishana granted refuge.

This is one of the places where Rama’s magnanimity, clarity of thought, wisdom, grace and equanimity gush forth. Listen to what he says, from the passages of Valmiki Ramayana.

“In the name of humanity one should not strike even an enemy arrived at one’s door and piteously soliciting protection with joined palms. An enemy come for protection against his enemies, be he distressed or (even) proud, should be protected or even at the cost of one’s life by one who has subdued one’s mind. If from fear or folly or even from desire of (some gain) a man does not justly protect a refugee according to his capacity, the sin incurred by him is despised in the world.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, Canto 18, Sloka 27 to 29.)

‘It is my considered opinion’, said Rama that it is the duty to protect such a refugee from another point of view as well. Just consider if something untoward happens to the hapless soul. Will it not wipe off all the merits of the person from whom he sought abhaya who was supposed to protect him? “If remaining unprotected, a refugee perishes before the eyes of the man who is able to protect him, the former takes away all his merit.” (Ibid. Sloka 30)

And Rama’s heart is made known to the entire world by his following words. “I vouchsafe security against all living beings to him who comes to me only once and seeks protection (from me) saying ‘I am yours’ is my vow.” (Ibid. Sloka 33) ‘I will not in any circumstance let him down, who comes to me seeking my protection. And the next Sloka (Sloka 34) falls as decisive as thunder. “Bring him here O jewel among monkeys, be he Vibishana or Ravana himself. Security has already been granted in his favour by me.”

That is something supreme, which only Rama is capable of saying and doing what he says.

A devotee here and a traitor there

Vibishana is regarded as a devotee by some people whereas another group brands him as a traitor. What is the truth and where lies the reason?

There has been a debate going on for a very long time in this country, one group praising Vibishana as a baktha while the other group holding him as a traitor. There is reason behind both the groups holding him in different lights. To find out why Vibishana has come to be regarded as a traitor and how he qualifies for the position of a baktha, we will have to stop our approach of Ramayana as a religious text and get into kind of literary polemics.

In Valmiki Ramayana, we see Sri Rama granting refuge to Vibishana and in the very next Canto Vibishana meets him. He surrenders with these words: “I am the youngest (half-) brother of Ravana and having been insulted by him, have sought you, who are capable of affording shelter to all created beings as my refuge. (The city of) Lanka has been abandoned by me as well as my friends and possessions. My sovereignty, nay, even life and amenities are (now) centred in you.” (Valmiki Ramayana Yuddha Kanda, Canto XIX, Sloka 4 and 5)

The scene takes a sudden turn when Rama immediately asks him in the very next Sloka, thus. “Hearing his aforesaid appeal, and soothing him with his speech, Sri Rama spoke as follows, drinking him as it were with eyes (full of love): - “(Please) let me know in truth the strength as well as the weakness of the ogres.” (Ibid Sloka 6 and 7)

It is of course a war strategy and Rama was right in asking for the information from Vibishana, who was actually a repertoire of information and had indeed given vital information to Rama on several occasions. Sun Tzu of China, considered to be one of the world’s best war strategists even to this day, wrote a book known as ‘The Art of War’ some 2500 years ago. The book has a separate chapter on use of spies. It emphasises that foreknowledge is essential for any leader to win a war.

On how to elicit this information, Sun Tzu says, “Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes: local spies, internal spies, converted spies; surviving spies… Having inward spies means making use of officials of the enemy. Worthy men who have been degraded from office, criminals who have undergone punishment; also favourite concubines who are greedy for gold, men who are aggrieved at being in subordinate positions… … Officials of these several kinds should be secretly approached and bound to one’s interests by means of rich presents. In this way you will be able to find out the state of affairs in the enemy’s country, ascertain the plans that are being made against you and moreover, disturb the harmony and create a breach between the sovereign and his ministers.”

Rama’s act of information seeking at once – seen in the above light – shows him as an excellent leader and a commander-in-chief who knows how to play his cards well. But it has its repercussions on two sides. Scholars have analysed these aspects and have pointed out that the impression of Vibishana being a traitor is more prevalent in the North India than in the South. We will go into details.

A devotee here and a traitor there II

How Vibishana was come to be seen as a traitor in one part of India while he is respected as a devotee in the other…

Before we proceed with our discussion, it is all the more important to keep one point in mind. Valmiki was a contemporary of Sri Rama. He even plays an important role in the Uttara Kanda. It is therefore understandable that when Valmiki wrote the epic – which Sri Rama himself heard through his own children – he was more a king than a God. Any people who are ruled by the noblest of kings would naturally and obviously regard their king with awe and may perhaps even speak of him as God. But they certainly would not go to the extent of building temples for him and start worshipping him, at least during this lifetime. Therefore, Valmiki’s positioning of Rama more as a strategist is comprehensible.

But as the years rolled past, Rama became more a God than a king, as people have already started worshipping him. Therefore, this act of Sri Rama, combined with his assurance of kingship over Lanka to Vibishana was looked at with askance. Both Sri VVS Aiyar and Srinivasa Sastriyar have spoken at length on this matter. Sri VVS Aiyar cites a verse in Valmiki that occurs when both Rama and Lakshmana were lying on the battlefield, wounded by Indrajit. The verse shows Vibishana as saying, “Those two warriors on whose valour I counted so much for the sake of my advancement are now fallen on the field and are dead. Today I live a ruined man, with all my dreams of sovereignty gone for ever.”

Sri Aiyar continues. “These words, taken along with Rama’s quoted before, make of Vibishana a little more than a common traitor who has had the good fortune of having foreseen in time the sure ultimate victory of Rama. And this should explain the bad odour that surrounds the name of Vibishana among modern critics of the Ramayana in Bengal.” He says that in the South the cult of Rama as the avatar of Vishnu took shape somewhere in the early centuries of Salivahana era (around 78 A. D.) as evidenced by some of the great Tamil literary pieces written at that time. Vibishana is seen by these great geniuses of the South as a Baktha and therefore Kamban modified the version of Valmiki, toned down what was perceived to be a little harsh and mellowed the scene so that Vibishana is seen in the proper light.

Srinivasa Sastriyar who was well versed in Valmiki (there of course is no evidence to show that he was familiar with what Kamban said) says that he was brought up with the view that Vibishana was a Baktha and that he was shocked to see when scholars of the North – especially Bengal – were of the opinion that he was a traitor.

He cites an incident. Gopalakrishna Gokhale (of whom Sastriyar was a follower) after the 1906 Congress undertook a series of lectures in various parts of India, emphasising that it was not good for India to sever British connections and boycotting everything British would end in disaster. At that time Aurobindo Ghosh was the editor of the famous newspaper ‘Bande Mataram.’ And there was an editorial on Gokhale’s campaign in the newspaper headed ‘Exit Vibishana’ referring to Gokhale.

Who is a traitor?

“Always remember, since ancient times, it has been known that the true object of war is peace,” says James Clavevell…

Sastriyar says, “I was naturally hurt very much by the reference to my master Gokhale, but I was still more hurt by the use of the name Vibishana to signify a traitor. I had been brought up to believe that Vibishana was a Baktha of the first order, that he was a noble character who might be held up to pious people as an example of devotion to Dharma and to those who practised it with sincerity.”

Was Vibishana to be held up to public execration as a man who had abandoned a noble cause and exposed his kinsmen and his land to the perils of foreign invasion, as seen in the North and in the Upper India?

Seen in proper light, a traitor is one who betrays his nation, who commits treason, who tries to overthrow a government by sheer disloyalty. If one reads the epics properly, whether it be Valmiki Ramayana which gives a very short account of Vibishana’s advice to Ravana or Kamba Ramayana where around 230 verses are devoted for this very same purpose, one can see the heart of Vibishana gleaming bright and right. He very sincerely believed what his brother did was not right and he advised him of the proper thing to do. He persisted in the face of insult and tried to mend the ways of Ravana. He had to give up in the face of the severe threat of Ravana.

It becomes clear therefore that he was sincere in his purpose to save his brother who was forcing a war on the country. And think of it. What was the national issue, or even an issue affecting at least a race that was behind this war? Simply nothing but the ego, inflated, bloated and blind ego of the ruler. He developed a mad and improper desire for a woman whom he imprisoned against her will and considered that it was a personal insult to him and to the entire Rakshasa race to send her back to her husband. He even whipped up passions in his War Council placing emphasis on the insult to the Rakshasa race that Hanuman caused by burning the entire city to ashes and the greater insult that would result in case Sita is returned to her husband. That was the great cause that this great king was placing before the nation and demanding its support to back him up to ‘save the honour and pride of the Rakshasa race.’

What an excellent cause! James Clavevell in his foreword to the Art of War by Sun Tzu says this. “Always remember, since ancient times, it has been known that the true object of war is peace.” How true and thought provoking! Since an elaboration of this would lead to digression, I leave it to the wisdom and judgement of the reader to see the truth of what Clavell says.

There were no national issues involved, no governmental matters involved, no specific issue that led to the advancement either of the people or of widening of territory was involved. This fellow thieved somebody’s wife and was not prepared to return her, and his justification was that he belonged to the great and mighty Rakshasa race. The person whose wife he coveted belonged to the puny and powerless human race. It would be a shame to return her, as it would signify that the great Ravana was afraid, if he were to comply with the demand.

When Vibishana came out, it was more out of compulsion than out of his own desire. He was threatened with death penalty, if he stayed in Lanka any more. He walked over to the side of Rama because he saw that that was the place where he could find his solace and practice what he believed in. That was the reason why he left Ravana, leaving his wife and daughter behind in Lanka. His daughter, Trijata, was in fact the chief and was the closest of all rakshasa women in whose charge the imprisoned Sita was put.

Neither in Valmiki nor in Kamban we see Vibishana desiring the throne of Ravana. He comes to Rama with a request for refuge and nothing more than that. As we have seen presently, Rama sought for information on the fortes and foibles of Ravana and Lanka as soon as he granted him refuge and Vibishana details them out. In the end he gives an assurance to Sri Rama that he would help him in killing all the ogres. “I shall with all my strength render assistance (to you) in killing the ogres and storming Lanka and shall (also) break through the army (of ogres).” (Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, Canto 19, Sloka 23)

It was after this that Rama was pleased and asked Lakshmana to bring water and consecrate Vibishana as the king of Lanka, to the joy of all who were around. The events are taking shape in a precise manner. But the critic sees a flaw in them. This was the reason why critics of the North (as we saw from what Sastriyar narrates) feel that the events are so business-like. They content that one does a favour and the other reciprocates and the first then rewards the second with an assurance to the throne. The sequence of events makes them feel that way. Not that Valmiki held him with contempt or intended to present an inferior picture of him. The Poet indeed holds him high.

Sastriyar says here. “Nevertheless, I think, if we were to take a census today, we should find more people inimical to the reputation of Vibishana in Upper India than here. It appears to me a misfortune that a character in our greatest epic whom the Poet himself has held in the highest esteem and whom for centuries upon centuries India has regarded as an ideal devotee, a man who exemplified by whatever he did, according to the Visishtadvaitins, in faithful reproduction, the various attributes and stages, one after another, of the progress of a prapanna, that a character of that high order should by any means be regarded by the politically inflamed people of the time as a character to be avoided, to be mentioned only with disapprobation.”

It was against the intention of the Poet that the critics of Valmiki Ramayana have ventured to paint a dark picture of Vibishana. But they cite the order of events and how they developed more business-like, in favour of their conclusions.

Sri V V S Aiyar also feels the same way.

Refinement of the drama

Kamban rearranges the sequence of events that present Vibishana in a better light…

In our country all our ancient literature is religious in nature. The critic here deals with a material that is holy. He does not have the luxury that the Western critic enjoys, when he studies say, King Lear. Nonetheless it is essential to see the characters as well as the epic in their literary aspect as well while keeping the religious aspect too in view, in order to study the reasons for differences in opinion that prevail in different parts of the country on the same character.

Valmiki’s work is undoubtedly monumental and has all the awe inspiring observations, and insights as well as charming, absorbing and enchanting scenes. But his successors had the advantages of studying his work and improve the drama to present the scenes and characters in an even better light.

It redounds on Kamban’s portrayal and reordering of the sequence that is largely responsible for the totally different esteem in which Vibishana is held in the South. We have seen the sequence of events that led to the abhayapradhana that was granted to Vibishana and how the information was elicited from him on Lanka and its army. Let us see how Kamban deals with the same events but modifies the sequence and how the impact changes.

Vibishana was brought to Sri Rama by Sugriva. Before bringing him to Rama, Sugriva embraced Vibishana that wiped off all the feelings of enmity from the hearts of all Vanaras. First step in communicating to the rank and file of the acceptance of this person who was held with contempt and hatred moments ago. And at the same time, communicating to Vibishana of the goodwill that he has in store. After establishing this kind of good feeling and communicating to the entire army the decision of the leader by body language, Sugriva told Vibishana the decision of Sri Rama and brought him to his presence.

The next moment Vibishana is overcome by feelings of devotion and falls at the feet of Sri Rama. Rama takes him up and embraces him. Vibishana stands there with folded hands, speechless. His mind is fixed only on the joy of being with the Ultimate and he feels that he had already crossed the ocean of births and deaths, by reaching the divine hero that stands before him. He is not able to believe that he who came from an unworthy background could be embraced by Sri Rama, in whom he sees the very embodiment of the eternal Truth.

Rama had some more surprises for him. He offered him a seat by his side. He looked at Vibishana graciously and told him ‘EzhinOdum Ezhaay nindra ulagum en peyarum en naaL vaazhum naaL’ As long as all the fourteen worlds exist and as long as my Name lives, ‘andru kaarum vaaL eyitru arakkar vaigum thaazh kadal ilangaich chelvam ninnadhE’ so long will the kingship of Lanka and all its treasures be yours. ‘thandhEn endran.’ You have my assurance for that. An unconditional assurance. Nothing asked for. Nothing is sought. Simply ‘You have come to me seeking my refuge and I am here to accept you into my fold and grant you all that you deserve.’ It also carries a message ‘I do not expect anything in return from you.’

And then how did Vibishana give the information on Lanka? That is another interesting scene.

Hari Krishnan