Vibhishana

Template:IndicText Vibhishana (Sanskrit: विभीषण, vibhīshaṇa, also known as Bibhishan; Sinhala:විභීෂණ; Template:Lang-my; Javanese: Wibisana or Wibisono; Template:Lang-th) is a character in the epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the demon Ravana. Though a half-demon himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion (promptly). When his brother did not listen to his advice, Vibhishana joined Rama's army. Later, when Rama defeated Ravana, Rama crowned Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.

In the Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition, Vibhishana was one of the Gods of the Four Warrants (satara varam deviyo) until the Kotte period. According to the Ravana Katha of Wickramasinghe Adigar, after the defeat of Ravana, Vibhishana transferred the Yaksha capital from Alakamandawa to Kelaniya. In the 15th Century poem of Totagamuwe Sri Rahula, the sælalihini sandesaya, the Myna is ordered to carry the missive to Vibhishana at his temple in Kelaniya. After the 16th Century he was replaced as a God of the four warrants by the goddess Pattini. He continues to be worshipped by a diminishing number of adherents, mainly in the Kelaniya area.

Vibhishana in the Ramayana

Vibhishana had a sattvic (pure) mind and a sattvic heart. From his early childhood, he spent all his time meditating on the name of the Lord. Eventually, Brahma appeared and offered him any boon he wanted. Vibhishana, said that the only thing he wanted was to have his mind fixed at the feet of the Lord as pure as lotus leaves (charan kamal). He prayed that he should be given the strength by which he would always be at the feet of the Lord, and that he would receive the darshan (holy sight) of Lord Vishnu. This prayer was fulfilled, and he was able to give up all his wealth and family, and join Rama, who was god incarnate.

Vibhishana was the youngest son of Sage Vishrava, who was the son of Sage Pulatsya, one of the Heavenly Guardians. He (Vibhishana) was the younger brother of the Lord of Lanka, Ravana and King of Sleep, Kumbakarna. Even though he was born in the demon race, he was alert and pious and considered himself a Brahmin, since his father was intuitively such.

Due to Vibhishana's differences with Ravana and because he was against the act of kidnapping Sita, Ravana exiled him from Lanka. His mother, Kaikesi, advised him to go and serve Shri Rama, who was at that time assembling an army to conquer Ravana and to recover Sita. Lord Rama accepted Vibhishana's service and anointed him the Lord of Lanka after Ravana's death.

In the Lanka War, Vibhishana's knowledge about the secrets of Lanka proved invaluable to Shri Rama. Vibhishana freely divulged many secrets that became key to the success of Rama's attack, including revealing the secret path to the temple of Mata Nikumbala, the family deity of the Pulatsya Clan. Because of this, however, Vibhishana is also known as a traitor.

While modern readers tend to view the Indian epics with eyes used to seeing clearly defined good and bad characters, the Ramayana's characterisation is trying to represent the practical implications of the concept of Dharma. The epic stresses that neither Vibhishana or Kumbhakarna strayed from the path of Dharma and that there is no single way out of a moral dilemma. The Ramayana teaches that Kunbhakarna adhered to the Dharma of loyalty to his kin when his advice fails, while Vibhishana chose to oppose his kin when his advice failed.

Symbolically, Vibhishana represents devotion to Shri Rama, and as a demon devotee, he shows that the Lord does not distinguish between his followers based on birth or circumstances in life. The same aught can be read in the story of Prahlada and Narasimha.

When Vibhishana attained the position of the King of Lanka, he turned his subjects from the path of evil to the path of good and Dharma (righteousness). His wife, Queen Sarma also aided him in this effort.

When Shri Rama was about to leave Ayodhya at the end of his reign, Lord Rama in his original form of Shri Vishnu ordered Vibhishana to stay on earth and serve the people and guide them to the path of truth and Dharma. Hence, Vibhishana is considered one of the seven immortals, or Chiranjeevins. Lord Vishnu also ordered Vibhishana to pray the family deity of Rama's natal Sun Dynasty, Lord Ranganatha

Alternate Interpretation

There are alternative interpretations to the character and qualities of Vibhishana rooted within the alternate interpretation of Ravana himself. In certain contexts he is seen as a usurper and/or traitor. In the classic Sinhala poetry work Vavuluwa by R. Tennakoon, Vibhishana is portrayed as a naive and ignorant person who betrayed his land and brother.

In more general day-to-day context within Sri Lanka, sometimes Vibhishana is mentioned as one of the biggest traitors in the history of the nation and the incident as the greatest betrayal of the country. As with the mainstream interpretation of Ramayana, the alternative versions have not yet been proven as actual events, rather than fictions woven by narrators with different biases.

In popular culture

The Hindi saying "Ghar kā bhedi Lanka dhāe" means 'Traitor in the family destroyed Lanka" meaning "An enemy in the family itself can destroy it", just as Vibhishana's revealing of secrets resulted in the destruction of Lanka."