Vibhishana

Vibhishana (विभीषण) is the younger brother of Ravana, king of Lanka. A rakshasa by birth but devoted to dharma, he urged his brother again and again to return Sita to Rama. When Ravana drove him out, he crossed the sea, took refuge with Rama, and after the war was crowned king of Lanka. He is counted among the seven chiranjivis, the long-lived ones.

The brother who spoke the truth

Vibhishana, Ravana and Kumbhakarna were sons of the sage Vishrava and the rakshasi Kaikesi. When the three performed penance, Ravana asked Brahma for invulnerability and Kumbhakarna’s request turned into endless sleep, but Vibhishana asked only that his mind should never turn from dharma. In Lanka, after Hanuman’s visit, he told Ravana in open court that keeping another man’s wife would destroy the kingdom. Ravana kicked him in anger and called him a traitor.

The refuge

Vibhishana flew with four companions to the shore where Rama’s army was camped. Sugriva and others suspected a spy, but Rama declared, in a verse of the Yuddha Kanda that Sri Vaishnavas hold as the Lord’s promise of refuge (sharanagati), that he gives protection to anyone who comes to him even once saying “I am yours”. He welcomed Vibhishana and anointed him king of Lanka with seawater there and then.

In the war and after

Vibhishana’s knowledge of Lanka’s defences was invaluable. He revealed the secret sacrifice of Indrajit at the Nikumbhila grove, which allowed Lakshmana to kill him, and later tradition says he told Rama where Ravana’s life force lay. After Ravana’s death he performed his brother’s funeral rites at Rama’s urging, and was crowned king. His wife Sarama had been kind to Sita during her captivity.

Vibhishana and Srirangam

A South Indian legend tells that Rama gave Vibhishana the image of Ranganatha, Vishnu reclining on Shesha. On his way to Lanka he set it down on the island of Srirangam, where it could not be moved again, and so the great Ranganathaswamy temple came to be. The Kelaniya temple near Colombo in Sri Lanka also honours him.