Vibhishana the ‘defector’ with a difference
Counsel before defection, consult before admission
Before Vibhishana disowned his brother Ravana to seek refuge in Rama, he, guided by his inner righteousness, made his last pleas to awaken Ravana’s wisdom. One dawn, he offered Ravana his counsel. Advice born of integrity rarely passes the gates of arrogance. Those who today defect without ever having counselled their leader stand miles apart from Vibhishana’s moral ascent.
24000 Shlokas Sanskrit Ramayana authored by Sage, philosopher, poetic genius and reformer, Maharshi Valmiki, is truly the ‘Spiritual Ocean of Wisdom.’
RAMA, an eternal taraka mantra, the sacred blend of ‘RA and MA’ derived from ‘Ashtakshari and Panchakshari Mantras’ respectively, was the name divinely given by Sage Vasishta. Valmiki bequeathed to humanity the wonderful story of Rama, the ‘Role Model Human,’ in the form of a literary elucidation. It especially narrates the story of Vibhishana who chose to defect from Ravana to support Lord Rama, a decision signifying ‘righteous association and loyalty in the face of evil’.
The story of Rama stands as a mirror to ‘ethical governance and moral conduct.’ When viewed against today’s opportunistic political crossings, it reveals how sacred intent separates principled refuge from self-serving defection, as found in the encounter between Vibhishana and Rama in Yuddha Kanda.
Dharma depicted in the scripture is the perfection in offering ‘refugee to a defector,’ especially in the context of ‘democratic style of defections.’
When Vibhishana, Ravana’s younger brother, reached Rama's place and sought refuge, Sugreeva, the monkey king helping Rama in the fight against Ravana, warned that he could not be trusted. Instead of either denying or accepting his suggestion, Rama elicited the opinions of Angada, Sharabha, Jambavan, Mainda, and Hanuman. The clear message was: True leadership lies in consultation, not impulse. Rama’s pause before judgment shows the grandeur of moral patience.
How different it is from today’s hasty admissions where defection is welcomed before discernment begins.
Except Hanuman, who underscored the strengths of understanding Rama’s virtues and Ravana’s vices by Vibhishana, leaving the final decision to Rama, others expressed apprehensions about accepting him. There is subtle, implicit, and enduring message in this. Vibhishana, unlike the present-day ‘overnight defectors’ was never hasty. After his persistent and unheeded counsel to Ravana failed, left with no alternative, he approached Rama. Righteous defection is born of exhaustion of conscience, not temptation of power. Modern politics would regain sanctity if departures stemmed from moral protest rather than convenience.
Before Vibhishana disowned his brother Ravana to seek refuge in Rama, he, guided by his inner righteousness, made his last pleas to awaken Ravana’s wisdom. One dawn, he entered Ravana’s palace, guarded by demons like modern gatekeepers shielding leaders from truth, and amidst auspicious chants for Ravana’s victory, offered his counsel. Advice born of integrity rarely passes the gates of arrogance. Those who today defect without ever having counselled their leader stand miles apart from Vibhishana’s moral ascent.
Vibhishana spoke to Ravana with reasoned and beneficial words attempting to convince him. He distinguished good from evil and reminded Ravana that ‘inauspicious omens’ were everywhere since Sita’s arrival in Lanka, such as, dim fires, serpents slithering near altars, elephants’ restless, cow's milk getting curdled, horses neighing miserably, donkeys, camels and mules shedding tears, and crows crying cruelly. Such warnings, though ominous, were meant for correction. The wise alert rulers before abandoning them, whereas cowards flee in silence or for reward. Today’s defectors seldom warn their chiefs. They whisper not omens but opportunities.
The evil Ravana, consumed by arrogance, ignored those words, which were soft, well-meaning, conformable to reason, and timely.
Blinded by pride and near his fall, he dismissed Vibhishana’s advice with contempt. Then Vibhishana, with righteous anger, rose into the sky with his four companions, declaring that he wished only Ravana’s welfare but would no longer share his madness. Moral departure is not betrayal. It is an act of conscience when persuasion perishes. Yet in our times, most departures arise not from conscience but from calculation. He departed.
Vibhishana then arrived at the Warfield camp of Rama and Lakshmana, where Sugreeva and his followers saw him armed and cautious. Suspecting treachery, Sugreeva thought that he had come to kill them. Vibhishana halted in the sky and, with measured humility, explained his relationship with Ravana, his repeated advice to restore Sita, his rejection and humiliation by his own brother. True defectors confess, not conceal, their past. How rare today is the humility that precedes loyalty rather than follows benefit.
Sugreeva told Rama that Vibhishana could never be trusted because he might be a spy. ‘He is a demon by nature and a brother of our enemy,’ he warned. Rama then as part of consultation process, invited opinions of all Monkey Leaders including Hanuman. The message here is timeless: when one deserts another, the opinions of the wise must precede acceptance. Ethical inclusion demands inquiry before embrace. Modern political doors, flung open to defectors, often shut on wisdom itself.
By and large, the monkeys replied that though Rama needed no counsel, consulting them honored their loyalty. Angada urged that Vibhishana be examined before decision, and reject if faulty, accept if worthy. Sharabha, Jambavan, and Mainda advised suspicion. Their deliberation reflected collective prudence, the bedrock of sound leadership. Consultation is strength, not hesitation. When parties recruit in secrecy, they replace counsel with convenience.
Hanuman alone differed. He said that ‘A wise man being questioned may become apprehensive of it’ and added that full trust is known only through entrusting work and testing ability, though haste is unwise.
Vibhishana, he noted, had weighed Rama’s virtues against Ravana’s vices; a deceitful man would never approach so openly. What a sane suggestion!!! Trust, when grounded in discernment, transforms suspicion into opportunity. Modern leaders mistake suspicion for intelligence, yet wisdom lies in seeing truth through courage.
‘Vibhishana came not merely to defect but to rule Lanka with righteousness and to Govern with a Difference’ ascertained Hanuman. He found this motive worthy and left the final decision to Rama. Rama then declared that he never abandons one who seeks him, even if flawed; such acceptance, he said, is beyond reproach. To shelter the sincere is the mark of divine leadership. But when power shelters the insincere, defection becomes infection, which is what we see now. Sugreeva then questioned, ‘If he betrayed his own brother, whom will he not betray later?’ Rama replied that family and neighboring rulers often become adversaries in adversity; Vibhishana sought to serve a nobler cause, better governance. Rama added that protecting one who seeks refuge, even at the cost of life, is the true duty of a disciplined mind. Hence, Vibhishana may be accepted. If not, it is a sin to be reproached by the world. Betrayal for principle dignifies; betrayal for profit debases. In the theatre of modern defections, principle rarely scripts the act.
Rama further declared that whoever seeks his refuge saying ‘I am yours’ will receive safety from all beings. ‘This is my pledge,’ he said. ‘Be it Vibhishana or Ravana himself, I grant protection.’ So convinced, Sugreeva acknowledged Vibhishana’s genuineness and welcomed him as an equal. Promises rooted in principle uplift even enemies; alliances rooted in ambition corrupt even allies. Such is the moral chasm between Rama’s refuge and today’s recruitment.
Rama promised to crown Vibhishana as king after Ravana’s defeat. Vibhishana vowed to assist Rama in conquering Lanka. Delighted, Rama embraced him and ordered Lakshmana to consecrate him as king of Lanka with sea water, which was done amidst the rejoicing army. Recognition follows virtue, not betrayal. In the moral realm, service earns the crown, but never the cunning switch of allegiance.
After the great Rama-Ravana war that resulted in Ravana’s death, Rama directed Lakshmana to perform Vibhishana’s final coronation. Lakshmana brought a golden pot filled with sacred waters, seated Vibhishana on the throne, and made him Lanka’s ruler. Thus, the defector became king, not by deceit, but by devotion and divine endorsement. With this coronation ends the difference between Vibhishana and the defectors of our age. He rose through integrity, sincerity, and commitment while today’s defectors descend through intrigue, leaving behind an eternal lesson that righteousness, though delayed, is never denied.
