Ramayana of valmiki and Kamban-yuddhakanda

[Guest guest]

2. Vibheeshana leaves Lanka

 

In the meanwhile There was anxiety in Lanka and

Ravana was disturbed that a monkey had come and created havoc in Lanka. He

called his ministers and his kith and kin. He told them that he was upset that in

Lanka, which was not accessible to any one so far, has been entered into by a

monkey who not only talked to Seetha but also killed his valiant men and son

and had set fire to Lanka. He said that Rama had become a formidable enemy and

a plan of campaign had to be decided. All his ministers as one man, told him

that he need not afraid of a chance victory by a monkey over them and he who

vanquished Indra, Kubera and all the three worlds need have no fear from the

insignificant human beings and monkeys. All of them including Indrajith, except

Vibheeshana rose and declared that they would go immediately to kill Rama and Lakshmana.

 

Vibheeshna rose and spoke to his brother with

folded hands. He said that Rama was difficult to be conquered and the prowess

of Hanuman could not be understated and they could not be treated with contempt

or judged hastily.

 

Further he asked Ravana, what harm did Rama do to

him to justify the abduction of his wife. The destruction of the rakshasa in

Janasthana was in self defence and to protect those who sought his help. Vibheeshana

entreated Ravana to return Seetha to Rama before all the rakshasaas are

destroyed. He said that he was speaking

only because of his affection to his brother and to avert the disaster that was

sure to happen to the rakshasa race. In

six slokas ending with the words "let Seetha be returned to Rama, " Vibheeshana

tried to advise his brother. Ravana then

left the hall and went back to his own chambers.

 

Vibheeshana approached Ravana again in the

morning and told him that there were a

lot of ill omens since Seetha came to Lanka and urged him again to give Seetha back to Rama but Ravana would not

listen and started to the assembly hall and ordered Prahastha his commander to

guard well the city of Lanka. Kubhakarna who was sleeping for the past six

months woke up and attended the council. Ravana narrated the whole story of his

abduction of Seetha for the sake of Kumbhakarna and said that Seetha refused to

yield to his desire and he had given her one year's time to make up her mind,

which is now drawing close. He said that the only course left now was to kill Rama and Lakshmana

because he would never give up Seetha.

 

Kumbhakarna , hearing this became angry and said

that Ravana should have asked advice before he acted on impulse and abducted

Seetha and now when it is too late he had assembled the ministers and close

relatives to ask them what to do. But however , Kumbhakarna said what had been

done could not be undone and he would kill Rama and Lakshmana so that Ravana

could enjoy Seetha without any obstacle.

 

Kumbakarna knew the dharma as well as Vibheeshana

but he was basically a rakshasa and had demonic tendencies. Moreover he was

attached to his brother and his sibling loyalty made him support Ravana even though he had no illusions about the

consequence of the battle. He told Ravana that it was a miracle that he was not

killed by Rama already. He differed from Vibheeshana, who was saathvik in

nature and attached to dharma and later to Rama who he knew to be the

incarnation of the Lord Himself. Thus both were doing their svadharma as they

understood it. We shall see this later is discussing vibheeshana saranagathi.

 

Mahapaarsva , one of the mighty rakshasas told

Ravana to take Seetha by force but Ravana expressed his inability to do so due

to a curse that his head would break into thousand pieces if he forces himself

on any female without her consent.

 

Vibheeshana then addressed the assembly extolling

the strength of Rama and requested them to advice Ravana to return Seetha

before it is too late if they were really his well wishers. He said that Seetha

whom Ravana was harbouring in his heart was like a five-hooded serpent and Ravana

was like one who had been possessed by evil spirits and he should be freed from

them even by force if necessary.

 

Then Indrajith got up and spoke insulting words to

Vibheeshana saying that he was the sole one among them without courage and

valour. Vibheeshana chided him that he was immature and talking nonsense. There

upon Ravana got angry and called him a traitor and said that if anyone else had

spoken to him like that he would have ceased to exist. Then Vibheeshana rose in

the air and said that even though Ravana was to be respected as an elder

brother he could not take the harsh words spoken to him and he was sad that he

could not rescue him from the noose of death. He said the same words which Marica

said on advising Ravana to give up the idea of abducting Seetha.

 

sulabhaa

purushaa raajan sathatham priyavaadhinaH

apriyasya

cha paThyasya vakthaa Srothaa cha dhurlabhaH

 

" Oh king, it is easy to find men who always speak

what pleases you but the one who says what is good though unpleasant and one

who listens to it are rare." So saying Vibheeshana with four of his companions started towards Rama. This episode is

presented more colourfully by Kamban. We shall see that next.

 

3. Vibheeshana goes to Rama.

 

In Kamban, the city of Lanka which was destroyed by Hanuman was

rebuilt by Mayan, the architect of asuras. Then Kamban describes the council of

Ravana in which he `excluded the sages and devas and those whom he thought may

not be favourable to his plan of fighting Rama for the sake of Seetha. When he

asked the opinion of all regarding the next move, all his ministers and

officers advised him to fight saying that they were powerful enough to vanquish

Rama and the vanaras.

 

Kumbhakarna said it was highly improper for a person like

Ravana who conquered the whole world to abduct the wife of someone belonging to

another species and also one who

destroyed the whole army of Khara single handed and by his act the whole fame

of the rakshasa have been dimmed. It was shameful to the whole rakshasa race.

But he said since Ravana had done it anyway he would support him and suggested

that they should go and destroy Rama and

the vanaraas before they advance to Lanka with their army. Ravana was

exhilarated to hear it and said that they would start immediately.

 

Then Indrajith spoke and said that he alone was

capable of destroying them all and offered to go alone then Vibheeshana rose and rebuked Indrajith

saying that he was immature and was bragging without understanding the

situation properly. Then he said that Ravana was like his father, being the

elder brother, and deserves worship but

the thought that he was going to lose his status equal to Indra prompted

him to speak. Vibhaeeshana said that

 

Konagar muzuvadhum ninadhu kottRamum

Janaki enum peyar ulagin tham manai

aanavaL kaRpinaal vendhadhu alladhu Or

vaanaram suttadhu enRu uNardhal maatchiyO

 

 

The great city of Lanka and

sovereignty of Ravana were burnt to ashes by the chastity of Seetha and not by a monkey.

 

The long penance done by Ravana was going to be

ruined by a woman. Vibheeshana reminded Ravana that when he lifted the Kailas he incurred the curse of Nandi that he would be

defeated by a monkey and it came true in the case of Vali. Also he reminded Ravana of the words of Vedavati who entered fire when

Ravana was about to force himself on her that she would be the terminal disease

for him, implying that Seetha was no one else but Vedavati who had come to end

his life.

 

Then Vibheeshana narrated all the exploits of Rama

beginning from the protection of the sacrifice of Visvamithra till the slaying

of Vali and said that the Lord Naryana Himself had come in human form.

 

But Ravana

would not listen and ridiculed Vibheeshana for being afraid of humans and monkeys

and asked him if the curse of Nandi was

fruitful what had happened to all the other curses he incurred so far. He

further said that just because one monkey, Vali had vanquished him it did not

mean that all monkeys should do so. He said that he had seen that the weapons

of Siva or Vishnu were powerless before him and he was nor afraid even if Rama

was Vishnu Himself.

 

Then Vibheeshana said Rama was the Suoreme Being ,

the first cause of all, who had come with the explicit purpose of destroying

him. To this Ravana replied that if it was so, what was He, the Sureme Being

doing all these days?

 

Vibheeshana then started relating the story of

Narasimhavathara. Vibheeshana told Ravana how arrogant and egoistic was

Hiranyakasipu and how his son Prahladha a devotee of the Lord Narayaana tried

to change him. When Hiranyakasipu asked Prahladha what he had learnt from his

preceptors thinking that he would extol the glory of himself , his father,

Prahladha tried to instruct him of the ashatksharamanthra, Naamam annadhu kEL

:namonaaraayaNaaya.

 

Kamban devotes a whole chapter for relating the

story of Prahladha, giving in detail how Hiranyakasipu tried to kill Prahladha

and how the Lord saved him every time. Finally Kamban relates a long diologue

between the father and son, the former emphasizing his own glory while the

latter telling him that all glory belongs to the Lord. Then Hiranya demanded Prahladha

to prove that the Lord is everywhere pointing to a pillar threatening to kill

Prahladha with his own hands if Hari did not manifest there. Prahladha said

that he would take his own life if the Lord did not manifest wherever one

touched.

 

Then comes the legendary verse of Kamban.

 

nasai thiRandhu ilangappong i'nanRu nanRu' enna

nakku,

visai thiRandhu urumu veezndhadhenna Or thooNin

venRi

isai thirandhu uyrndha kaiyaal ettRinaan

disai thiRandhu andam keeRa cchiritthadhu

acchengaNseeyam

 

 

The meaning of the versa is, when Hiranyakasipu,

saying, "well , well," raised his arm

and hit the pillar with his mace, rifting open the directions and breaking the

whole cosmos the red-eyed lion guffawed.

 

The Major deviation of Kamban from Valmiki consists

in the inclusion of this episode.

 

The legend has it that when Kamban was having the

debut of his Ramayana in a mandapam in the temple of Srirangam

when he started the Hiranya episode it was objected by the scholars there that

it had no part in Ramayana. Kamban said that the Lord will be his judge and

when he recited this verse the Narasimha who was there applauded with loud

laugh and shaking His head.

 

Vibheeshana finished the story explaining the

battle between the Lord and Hiranya and the killing of Hiranya and the arrival

of devas and the final blessing of Prahladha etc.

 

Thus after advising Ravana referring to his glory

and the subsequent dishonour which would end in his death Vibheeshana also

reminde him of his earlier janma unwittingly but Ravana was not to be

influenced. Ravana compared Vibheeshana with Prahladha, (which was true of

course because he was also a great devotee of the Lord likes Prahladha,) who

was instrumental in the death of his own father and accused vibheeshana of

being favourable to their enemy and of planning to get the kingdom after his death. Ravana said that

Vibheeshana was like poison and ordered him to go away or else to meet his

death.

Then

Vibheeshana rose in the air with his followers and said that he wished

to avert the disaster of Ravana with all his kith and kin being killed by the

arrows of Rama but Ravana was not listening. And he was going away and asked the

forgiveness of his elder brother for havin spoken thus.