The Indian Dharma

We are now at a stage wherein on one side, Vibhishana wants to surrender unconditionally to Lord Rama’s feet and take refuge and on the other side we have Sugriva and Co. who are skeptical about Vibhishana’s request. They think that this might be a ploy of Ravana to cheat Rama and use this opportunity to get insider information of the Vaanara army. In short, Sugriva is of the opinion that Vibhishana is a spy. Thus he represents his opinion that Vibhishana should not be let off and should be taken to task immediately!

Lord Rama listens patiently to Sugriva’s argument and then turns towards Hanuman to ask his version of this situation. As Hanuman narrates his version, he explains to Rama and the Vaanaras how Vibhishana was the only person who spoke in favour of Hanuman amidst all the ministers in Ravana’s court and how Vibhishana saved his life. Moreover, Hanuman also explains that Vibhishana is an “odd man out” in the entire Lanka city who is a “Dharmaathma” (A person who always thinks and does things in the righteous manner). As Sugriva and Co. listen to Hanuman’s accord, they’re surprised!

Now, Lord Rama has to take the decision and the onus lies on him! He has now heard from both sides – Sugriva and Hanuman. What is going to be the decision? Should he accept or reject Vibhishana’s surrender? He now analyses within himself as to why Sugriva is against Vibhishana. As Rama thinks, he realizes that Sugriva is not actually against Vibhishana, but he is afraid if there might be any danger to Rama’s life in the form of Vibhishana.

This is a very important point here – If we call ourselves as “devotees” of Bhagawan, we should always focus on the well-being of Bhagawan and not ours! This is what is called “Ardent Devotion”. Hence to calm down Sugriva, Rama now shows his immense strength and invincible powers to Sugriva:

“Mithra bhaavena sampraaptham nathvajeyam na kanchana!

Doshoyadhyabhi kasyasyaath sathaamethath anarhitham!!

Vishaachaan dhaanavaan yakshaan prithivyaanchaiva raakshasaan!

Angulyagrena thaanhalyaan icchan hari ganeshwara!!”

Thus Lord Rama explains to Sugriva, “Oh Sugriva! You don’t worry about me! Let anybody in this world come to fight me or kill me. I know how to handle them. Forget bows, arrows, swords, etc. I can kill them even with the tip of my finger (“Angulyagrena thaanhalyaan”)! That is my level of powers. Hence, oh Sugriva! Be confident. I shall take care of myself, even if there is a catastrophe!”

As Rama says that he is extremely invincible, Sugriva thinks for a fraction of a second – “If Rama is this powerful, he could have taken on Ravana singlehandedly! Why is he troubling all of us?”

As Sugriva thinks thus for a split of a second, Rama immediately changes his way of addressing him. He includes the phrase, “Hari ganeshwara!!” It means, “Leader of the Vaanara army!!” Now why is Rama saying this to Sugriva? It is just to remind him that Sugriva is the leader of the Vaanara army today, only because of Rama’s killing of Vaali! So it is the duty of Sugriva to reciprocate Rama’s help and this is why all of them have come along, to fight Ravana in the battle!

This is another characteristic of a Charismatic leader – “A leader should be able to forsee what kind of thought process the other person goes through and immediately change and modify his/her talking!” Lord Rama does exactly this here! The moment Sugriva thinks as to why is Rama troubling all of them, Rama immediately changes his sentence so as to remind Sugriva of his past! 🙂

Now having heard this from Rama, Sugriva is slowly getting convinced! But does he fully get convinced? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out!

In the previous episode we had witnessed a very important event wherein Sugriva rushes to Lord Rama and narrates his accord about Vibhishana. We had seen that Vibhishana is eagerly waiting to see Rama and announce his surrender to him. Sugriva is of the opinion that Vibhishana has come as a spy from Ravana’s Lanka and he is here to study the strengths and weaknesses of the Vaanara army, only to make Ravana stronger! As Sugriva narrates his accord, the other seniors of the Vaanara army like Jaambhavan, Angadha, etc. approve his view point!

As the narration happens, Lord Rama is silently and patiently listening to Sugriva, Jaambhavaan and Angadha, one by one, without interrupting any of them in the middle. This is an essential leadership quality wherein a leader should allow his subordinates to speak freely. This itself would nurture the trust that the subordinates would have for their leader. Lord Rama is an epitome of this quality – We’ve already witnessed the exhibition of this important quality during the killing of Vaali and how Lord Rama allowed Vaali to ask all his doubts without interruption!

Thus moving on, Sugriva’s argument is that Vibhishana should not be allowed to get away and should be put to death. However, when Lord Rama listens to this conclusion from Sugriva’s mouth, his eyes become moist with tears! As the other Vaanaras see Rama’s sad face, they become puzzled as to what is going on!

As Sugriva, Jaambhavan, etc. finish their accords, Lord Rama immediately turns towards his trusted aide, Hanuman.

“Atha samskaara sampannah hanuman sachivotthamaha!

Uvaacha vachanam slakshnam arthavam madhuram laghu!!”

As Rama calls for Hanuman, he slowly gets up from his seat and goes with folded hands in front of Lord Rama. Lord Rama asks Hanuman, “Oh my dear Hanuman! What is your take on this Vibhishana? What do you know about him? Should we go with Sugriva’s accord?”

As Rama asks, Hanuman starts replying in a confident tone, “Oh Rama! Vibhishana is not a bad person as all of them think! He is one of the noblest persons I’ve ever witnessed on this earth! Hence, we should accept Vibhishana with our warm welcome! We should not harm a “Dharmaathma” like him! I’ve seen Vibhishana when I had been to Lanka a few days back. He is the one who stood for “Dharma” in the whole of Ravana’s cabinet!”

Hearing this from Hanuman, Sugriva and Co. are puzzled. Lord Rama listens to Hanuman’s version carefully.

“Raajyam praarthayamaanasthu buddhi poorvamihaangathaha!

Yethaavarthu punaskruthya vidhyathe tasya sangrahaha!!”

Thus after Hanuman finishes his accord, Rama starts to analyze the situation. Here is an example of how Lord Rama is an epitome of a “Democratic Leader”. He has now given opportunities for all of his followers to voice out their opinions. It is now the time for the leader to analyze the different accords and take a collective decision.

Now Rama asks Sugriva, “Oh Sugriva! Why do you say that Vibhishana should not be accepted?” Sugriva immediately quipps, “Oh Rama! Vibhishana has come here, just because he wants to rule Lanka! He has desire on the kingdom and on being a king! If we go by what Hanuman has said, I infer that Vibhishana has come here to seek our help in killing his brother Ravana and thus getting to be the king of Lanka. He is an opportunistic person!”

Now Lord Rama laughs for a moment and immediately replies Sugriva, “Oh Sugriva, if that’s the case, I should leave you first!” 🙂

Sugriva couldn’t understand what Lord Rama is trying to say. Now Lord Rama continues, “Oh Sugriva! Just think for a moment – When I had come to Kishkinta, why did you accept my friendship? You wanted me to kill your brother Vaali and in turn, become the next king of Kishkinta isn’t it?” 🙂

Rama continues further, “Oh Sugriva, listen here! Even if we assume that Vibhishana has come for a selfish motive to attain the Lanka kingdom, atleast till he satisfies his aim, he would be loyal to us, isn’t it? If he gets the Lanka kingdom, we would also get Sita back, isn’t it? So after that, what bothers us if he is the king of Lanka or not? Our aim is to kill Ravana and get back Sita! If that is satisfied, what bothers us after that?”

Sugriva listens to all this from Lord Rama. But did Rama’s reply convince him? What happened next? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed that Vibhishana is now standing at the coast, eager to make his presence known to Lord Rama. He is urging to meet Lord Rama immediately as he fears that his mind would lose its focus of surrendering at Rama’s feet. Hence, he is trying to urge Sugriva to let him go ahead and meet Rama immediately. However, what is Sugriva’s reaction? Does Sugriva has trust on this pleading Vibhishana? Let’s find out today!

We shall continue looking into the in-depth meaning of the important sloka that we witnessed yesterday:

“Nivedayatha maam kshipram vibheeshanam upasthitham!

Sarva lokha sharanyaaya raaghavaaya mahaathmane!!”

So now Sugriva asks Vibhishana in a loud and a strong tone: “Who are you? Why have you come all of a sudden to meet Rama? Where were you all these days? How come you suddenly gained the enlightenment to surrender to Rama now? What is the reason for your surrender? Tell me in detail and then proceed!”

For this, Vibhishana replies with tears in his eyes: “Oh Sugriva! Ravana is the most wicked of the entire Raakshasa community! He does not have even a single good quality imbibed in him! It is to this Ravana that I was born as a brother – But not any more! Since I was born amidst his family, I’m also a wicked person! I too have done innumerable mistakes in my life! Even though I have so much of bad things about me, I have come all the way to meet Rama, to explain my situation to him and seek refuge at his feet! Oh Sugriva! Please go and tell Rama immediately about my coming!”

Upon hearing this from Vibhishana, Sugriva is still not convinced. He is not having the heart to approve Vibhishana to meet Rama. Hence he decides to go and explain to Rama and seek his opinion on this. Sugriva thus replies to Vibhishana, “Vibhishana! Wait here! I shall let Rama know this and ask his view first. If he approves, then you can go and meet him!”

Saying thus, Sugriva hurries his way to the place where Rama is sitting along with Lakshmana. Now Sugriva talks to Rama:

“Prahruthya raakshaso hyesha bhraatha mithrasyavaih prabho!

Tasyaaham nigraham manye ksham kshamathaam vara!!”

Thus Sugriva explains to Rama about Vibhishana and his intent to meet Rama immediately! Sugriva says, “Oh Lord! Vibhishana, who is supposedly the brother of Ravana has come here. He says that he wants to meet you and announce surrender at your feet! However, I do not have the belief in him that he has really come for this reason! It might be a ploy of Ravana to destroy us. Hence, my opinion in this case is that we capture this Vibhishana and put him to death immediately! He should not be allowed to escape! Ravana’s ploy should be defeated!”

Following Sugriva’s accord, Jaambhavan, Nala, Neela, etc. of the Vaanara camp supported Sugriva’s argument and saw validity in it. Lord Rama allows everybody to talk and express their opinions one by one and listens to them patiently.

This is an extremely important characteristic of effective leadership – To listen to others’ views, give chance for everybody to express themselves and then take a decision. This kind of leadership in modern day is explained as “Democratic Leadership”! Here we can see that Lord Rama has exactly followed this style of Leadership!

After the entire narration is over, Rama is now to take the decision. The onus of decision-making lies with Lord Rama! Now what is Lord Rama’s decision? Does he approve of Vibhishana’s surrender? Or does he go along with Sugriva’s words? The action continues in the next episode! 🙂

In the previous episode we were witnessing very important points pertaining to “Sharanaagathi Dharma” and one such point is the significance of the term “Anjali”. We saw in due course as to how Vibhishana is trying to exhibit his “Anjali” towards Lord Rama and how Sugriva and Co. misinterpret Vibhishana’s unconditional surrender to Rama. Today let us continue to see if Vibhishana is able to meet up with Rama and express his “Anjali” to him!

As we move on with the next set of events, Vibhishana is now very near to the coast wherein the Vaanara army is getting ready to fight him down. Sugriva instructs all the monkeys to be alert and attack Vibhishana as he comes to the shore.

“Thharam theeramaasaadhya kasthayeva vrathistatha!”

Thus Vibhishana is at the coast now, but upon seeing the Vaanara army ready to attack him, he is not able to move forward. Now if Vibhishana has to go ahead and meet Rama, he has to negotiate with these Vaanaras first. Vibhishana starts to talk in a high tone from where he is, so as to address the entire group of the monkeys. He speaks thus:

“Ucchyamaanam hidham vaakyam vipareethamivoushatham!

Soham parushithasthena daasa varcha avamaanithaha!!”

Now Vibhishana says, “Oh monkeys! Please show some mercy on me! I’m Vibhishana, who is the brother of Ravana, the king of Lanka. I was insulted and exiled by Ravana when I advised him to bring Sita back to Rama. I was humiliated by Ravana very badly! At the end, Ravana chased me out of Lanka forever!”

“Tathvaa puthraancha dhaaraancha raaghavam sharanamgathaha!!”

Thus Vibhishana continues, “I’ve come here to fall on the feet of Lord Rama and surrender myself to him! I have left all my family including my wife and my children in Lanka! I’ve abandoned everybody and come with the only aim of surrendering at Lord Rama’s feet! Oh Vaanaras! Please tell Lord Rama that this poor Vibhishana has come to see him! I wish to meet him immediately!”

“Nivedayatha maam kshipram vibheeshanam upasthitham!

Sarva lokha sharanyaaya raaghavaaya mahaathmane!!”

This is a very important sloka that explains Vibhishana’s intent of complete surrender to Lord Rama’s feet!

“Nivedayatha” – “Oh Vaanaras! Please tell!” Here, Vibhishana addresses the entire group of Vaanaras that was standing there! We might ask here, why did Vibhishana address the whole gathering and why not Sugriva alone? Why not Hanuman alone? First of all, Vibhishana does not know who is Sugriva, who is Hanuman, etc. from the entire Vaanara group! So, if he has to select someone randomly and talk to him and if he is not a very important and an influencial person in that group, then his mission would not succeed! Hence, Vibhishana addresses the whole Vaanara group at a stretch!

No no… That is not the only meaning for this! There is a deeper meaning too – “Nivedayatha”! – Vibhishana addresses the whole Vaanara group because he wants all of them to go to Rama together and announce Vibhishana’s arrival! Vibhishana thinks that if all the Vaanaras go in unison and explain his case to Rama, his surrender would be much easier!

Thus Vibhishana says to the Vaanaras, “Oh friends! Please go and tell Rama that I have come! (“Nivedayatha maam kshipram”) Here, Vibhishana says, “Maam Kshipram”, which means, “Tell immediately”! Sugriva asks back, “Why are you in such a hurry?” For which, Vibhishana gives an important reply: “Oh Sugriva! At this moment, my mind is under my control and I want to surrender to Rama! But since I’m born and brought up in a clan full of demons (Raakshasaas), my mind may be fickle! Hence, before my mind changes itself to be fickle, I would like to surrender myself to Lord Rama’s feet!”

This is why we always keep saying, if we have to do our spiritual practices, we should start doing immediately and not postpone it to some other time! Because, we would never know if our mind would change its stance after some time and go into something else. Hence, it is better to go and surrender to Bhagwan’s feet at this very moment itself, without postponing it further!

Thus, Vibhishana expresses his wish to all the Vaanaras that he wants to surrender at Lord Rama’s feet. Does Sugriva and the Vaanaras approve Vibhishana’s words? Do they trust him? What is Sugriva’s reaction? What did Hanuman say? Let’s wait to find out in the next episode! 🙂

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In the preivous episode we had witnessed that Vibhishana (Ravana’s brother) is abandoned by Ravana and sets off from Lanka to reach the place where Rama and Lakshmana are at the moment. As Vibhishana approaches the other end of the ocean from Lanka, the Vaanaraas including Sugriva, Angadha, etc. spot him coming along with four other Raakshasaas. Immediately Sugriva and Co. conclude that Vibhishana is coming forward to kill Rama and Lakshamana and thus alerts the entire Vaanara army to be up on their feet.

In due course we also commenced an important discussion about “Sharanaagathi Dharma”, which is nothing but “Unconditional surrender to the Lord’s feet”. We had initially witnessed two important points to explain “Sharanaagathi Dharma”. Today we shall include more points to this important explanation.

Moving on, as mentioned above, Sugriva initially was under the impression that Vibhishana was coming to attack Rama. However, Sugriva is now observing the way in which Vibhishana is holding his “Gadha” (A weapon which was used during those days for warfare). Looking at the way in which Vibhishana is holding his Gadha, it does not seem as if he has come to attack Rama. Instead, Vibhishana is holding the Gadha in a respectful manner so as to bow down and pay tributes.

Here is another important message with regards to “Sharanaagathi Dharma” – As devotees, how do we take on and “defeat” Bhagawan? It is not through weapons and warfare! There is a unique “weapon” that can defeat Bhagawan and bring tears of love towards us!! What is that “weapon”? It is nothing but “Anjali”.

Now what is this word “Anjali” mean? Even if Bhagawan is terribly angry upon us for all our innumerable wrongdoings and sins, the moment we fold our hands and bow down to him with complete surrender, His heart melts and he stands defeated to our unconditional surrender! This is called “Anjali”! It is said that,

“Anjalih paramaa mudhraa kshipram devah prasaadhini!!”

This is a common saying in Sanskrit that means, “Anjali” is the only weapon that we can possess in us, so as to melt Bhagawan’s heart! If Bhagawan tries to use the weapon of “Anger” against us to punish our wrongdoings, we should retaliate him with our weapon called “Anjali” to defeat Him! 🙂

Now the next question comes: How do we exhibit this “Anjali” towards Bhagawan? When we go to a temple and in front of Bhagwan, we fold our hands and pray to him, isn’t it? This “folding our hands and praying” is an exhibition of “Anjali”.

It is very interesting to look at the structure of the word “Anjali” (in Sanskrit):

“Anjali”: Am – Jalayatheethi – Anjalihi

The letter “Aha” means “Vishnu Vaachakaha”, or in English, it denotes Bhagawan himself. Thus, the conjunction “Am” means “Towards Bhagawan”. Now the next component – “Jalayatheethi” – This means “Melting down Bhagawan” (like how ice melts into water). Thus the word “Anjali” in Sanskrit means, “The process of melting down Bhagawan into tears of love and compassion towards us!” 🙂

Thus, Sugriva sees that, instead of exhibiting signs of waging a war against Rama, Vibhishana is trying to exhibit “Anjali” towards Lord Rama! Thus, Sugriva becomes confused – Is Vibhishana coming here to fight with Rama or to surrender to him, or is Vibhishana trying to fool Rama by exhibiting “Anjali” initially, and then fight him down? Hence, it is for this reason that Sugriva alerts all the Vaanaraas to be up on their feet to take on this Vibhishana and not let him go near Rama.

Thus all the Vaanaraas are getting ready as per Sugriva’s order. Vaalmiki Maharishi gives a comical and a fascinating explanation on this – Some monkeys uproot huge trees and carry them in their hands as weapons! Some of them uproot huge rocks from the nearby mountains and cliffs, so as to use these rocks as weapons! All the monkeys did not even wait for Sugriva to finish dictating the order – The moment they heard the word “Alert” and “Fight”, the Vaanaraas were getting ready! It is to be noted that Vibhishana has not even landed on the shore! Look at the speed in which the Vaanaraas (monkeys) are operating! 🙂

As Vibhishana nears the coast, he sees all these monkeys coming towards him with their “weapons”! He gets puzzled for a moment! What happens next? Did Vibhishana manage to meet Rama? What did Rama say? The action continues in the next episode! 🙂

Today’s episode marks the beginning of a very important “Dharma” that is the highlight of the meeting between Vibhishana (Ravana’s brother) and Lord Rama. We are going to witness how Vibhishana exhibited complete and unconditional surrender at Lord Rama’s feet and what were the hurdles that he faced en-route this.

In the previous episode we had witnessed that Vibhishana is humiliated and insulted by his brother, Ravana, who ordered his permanent exile from Lanka. Thus, Vibhishana comes out of the Lanka palace and decides that it is none other than Lord Rama who would be his saviour from here on. Deciding thus, Vibhishana, accompanied by four other Raakshasas, makes his way to the place where the Vaanara army is sitting (The other side of the ocean).

“Aajagaama muhurthena yathra raamah sa lakshmanaha!!”

Thus, Vibhishana hurries his way towards the place where Rama is sitting along with his brother Lakshmana.

We might wonder why Vaalmiki Maharishi says “Raamaha sa Lakshmanaha!” In other words, we might wonder why doesn’t Vaalmiki Maharishi take Rama’s name alone and why is he saying “Rama, who was along with Lakshmana!” Why is he invoking Lakshmana in this context?

It seems that upon seeing Rama along with his brother Lakshmana, Vibhishana has immense faith that his surrender to Rama’s feet would be a success! It also means that, when we are going to surrender to Bhagawan’s feet, we should always go to him along with His other devotees. We should never go alone to Bhagawan! We should first announce our surrender to His “Bhaktas” (Devotees) and “Bhaagawathas” (Learned scholars, who always are in the service to Bhagawan). It is only these people who will take us near Bhagawan!

Why are we saying this? It is because, if we directly go and stand in front of Bhagwan, only our sins and wrongdoings will appear in front of his eyes, and hence there is a possibility that He would end up punishing us before even we start to talk with Him! It is for this reason that we go to Bhagawan along with His “Bhakthas” and “Bhaagawathas”. Thus the first important message with regards to the “Sharanaagathi Dharma” is that, when we go in front of Bhagawan, we should always go along with His devotees, rather than going alone to Him! It is for this reason here too, that Vibhishana is going to Rama in the presence of Lakshmana, and not when Rama is alone!

“Yesha sarvaayutho pethaha chathurbhir saha raakshasaihi!

Hanumath pramukhaan sarvaan idam vachanam utthamam!!”

As Vibhishana is coming towards the shore with four of his friends, the entire Vaanara army headed by Sugriva and Hanuman spots him. Upon seeing Vibhishana approaching fast, Sugriva is terrified that he is coming to attack the Vaanara army. Immediately Sugriva alerts all the Vaanaras to be on their feet and tackle Vibhishana and Co. Sugriva announces, “Oh friends! Get ready quickly! We’re getting an enemy to fight! Seems like Ravana has sent a team of Raakshasas here to finish us off! Let us show them who we are!”

At this point, Vaalmiki Maharishi has a doubt: There are only four Raakshasas accompanying Vibhishana, and the number of monkeys that are there on the ground is more than 50 crore! How can a four-member army take on a 50 crore strong army? Moreover, is Sugriva a coward? Is he afraid of just seeing four demons coming forward? All of us know the valor and powers of Sugriva and the monkeys! However, why is Sugriva all tensed up upon seeing just four Raakshasas?

Sugriva’s only point of worry is that, if these demons come and kill him or his monkeys, it is not a problem. But if these demons go and attack Rama and if they manage to kill him, then the entire mission is a failure! If Rama is killed, there is no point in Sugriva and the 50 crore Vaanaras to be alive! This is why Sugriva is getting scared!

Thus Sugriva gets scared not for his life – But for the life of his hero, Lord Rama! This is the second message from the discussion of “Sharanaagathi Dharma” – When we surrender to the Lord’s feet, our surrender should be unconditional and our focus point should be only on the welfare of Bhagawan and not on the welfare of the self!

Thus, as Vibhishana approaches the land area, Sugriva and Co. think that he is coming to attack and kill Rama. Little does Sugriva realizes that Vibhishana is coming to surrender to Lord Rama’s feet! What happens next? Does Sugriva allow Vibhishana to go forward and meet Rama or does he stop Vibhishana from proceeding further? Did Vibhishana manage to see Rama and talk with him? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed a very important event that takes place at Ravana’s courtroom after Hanuman has burnt the city of Lanka into ashes! All the raakshasaas are terrified with Hanuman’s single-handed destruction! As Ravana convenes the court, each of his ministers voice out their opinions. Out of all of them, it is only Kumbakarna and Vibhishana who try and advise Ravana in the correct path. Kumbakarna tries to a certain extent, however, after a particular level he is unable to convince his brother and thus he gives up!

Now Vibhishana puts his best foot forward in advising Ravana to give Sita back to Rama. But now, Ravana is in a state of immense fury. Without analysing the words of Vibhishana, Ravana kicks him and insults him for his words! Wounded extremely by Ravana’s action, Vibhishana finally gives up and decides that he should not stay in Lanka any more! It is time for him to move on.

“Shurivishtam hidham vaakyam ukthavantham vibhishanam!

Abhraveeth parusham vaakyam raavanah kaala chodithaha!!”

Thus from the above sloka, Vaalmiki Maharishi clearly explains that Ravana is now not in a position to listen to Vibhishana’s good advice. Unable to bear up with Vibhishana any longer, Ravana kicks him and sends him on exile from Lanka!

Now Vibhishana makes up his mind and thinks, “Okay! Whatever happened has happened! So far I have been living in a place where I should not have been living! Now let me move on! From today, my place is where Lord Rama is! From this minute I shall live only with Rama! All these people are no more my friends or relatives. Rama is my only relative, friend, philosopher and guide!”

Thus, Vibhishana takes a vow and starts from Lanka. Before he commences his journey he turns for once in Ravana’s courtroom and asks, “Oh people who have assembled here! Is there anybody who is interested to accompany and support me?” Out of so many people sitting there, only four of them agreed to accompany Vibhishana out of Ravana’s Lanka!

Hence with these four people, Vibhishana leaves Lanka! He leaves Ravana once and for all! He knows that Ravana’s destruction is coming closer by the minute! He wanted to support his brother and pull him out of the destruction that was coming towards him! But unfortunately, as fate would have it, Ravana has abandoned him!

Hence, Vibhishana starts his journey from Lanka now.

“Aajagaama muhurthena yathra raamah sa lakshmanaha!!”

Thus, Vibhishana commences his journey from Lanka, crosses the ocean and reaches the place where Rama, Lakshmana and all the Vaanaras are sitting (on the other shore of the ocean). As Vibhishana nears the place where Rama is sitting, he doesn’t wait for someone to be sent as a messenger to announce the arrival of Vibhishana. Instead, Vibhishana himself directly goes to see Rama.

Why is Vibhishana doing this? What if Rama doesn’t accept Vibhishana? Here comes an important lesson of “Sharanaagathi Dharma” (The righteous path of complete surrender towards God): The first and foremost important requirement before following the “Sharanaagathi Dharma” is to have trust and faith on the Lord. Only if we have the unending and unshakable faith on Bhagawan, will we be able to surrender completely to his divine feet! This is exactly what Vibhishana is going to do to Rama now.

Now we are at a stage where Vibhishana is nearing Lord Rama’s place. From now, we are going to witness extremely important points regarding “Sharanaagathi Dharma” and how Vibhishana is considered an epitome of this important “Dharma”! The action continues in detail in the next episode! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed the important geographical significance of the “Ram-Sethu” Bridge that we see at the present day Rameshwaram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. We witnessed the description of an important place called “Velaavanam” that extends from the present day town of “Tiruchendur” till Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. In due course we also witnessed Rama’s route from Kishkinta to Rameshwaram and the important places through which the Vanara army traverses.

When we talk about this “Velaavanam” in a deeper detail, if you look at today’s India map, we would never be able to find such a place! There are different books for this – In these books we can see the names of places from ancient India, the different rivers that were flowing through the country, locations of different forest areas, names of different kingdoms that were forming parts of India in those days – like “Paataliputhra” (Modern day state of Uttar Pradesh in north India), “Kalinga Desam” (Modern day state of Orissa in east-central India), etc. Thus with proper research into the context, we can find a rich history of the Indian subcontinent along with its geographical significance, locations of different rivers, how they have changed their course over a period of 1-2 million years, etc. One such notation in one of these books talks about this particular place called “Velaavanam”. If we look deeper into the text as to where is this “Velaavanam” located, we can trace this place between Tiruchendur and Rameshwaram in the modern day India map.

“Sarvaassenaa niveshyanthaam velaayaam haripungava!

Velaavanam upaagamya tathasthe hari pungavaaha!

Na me dukham priyaa dhoore na me duhkham hridethi cha!!”

Thus moving on, all the monkeys are sitting at Velaavanam now, but all of them are clueless as to how to proceed from here on! As time moves on, Lord Rama starts protecting the entire Vaanara camp with his divine power!

Now let us leave the Vaanara camp here at this point and look into what happened at Ravana’s courtroom in the meanwhile. After Hanuman burns Lanka and comes back, Ravana and his people are terrified! What was being conceived as an ordinary monkey, ended up burning the entire city into ashes within minutes! Now Ravana has shivers running down his spine and he calls for a meeting of all his ministers in his courtroom to strategise the counter-action from here on!

As all the ministers gather at Ravana’s court, each of the ministers start to voice out their concerns and opinions as to how to tackle this emergency situation. Some of the ministers who blindly support Ravana’s cause give their assurance thus, “Oh Ravana! Why should you worry? All of us are with you to tackle any catastrophic situation! What had happened is just nothing and please be brave and courageous!”

It is an irony even in the present day that only such sugar-coated words would be accepted by leaders who are in a problem! Ravana is no exception here – These words from his blindly following ministers motivated Ravana to stand by his wicked decision of having Sita in Lanka still.

However, if someone talks the truth and criticises the leader of his/her path, the leader immediately gets angry! We can see innumerable stories of “Leadership failure” because of this factor! Ravana again is a perfect example of this – As Vibhishana gets up and talks something that Ravana cannot stand, Ravana becomes furious. Now what was Vibhishana’s point? Vibhishana, being a scholarly and a spiritually learned person, advices Ravana one more time that having Sita in Lanka is the root cause of all the problems that had surfaced so far!

Vibhishana says thus, “Oh my dear brother Ravana! Please realize that Sita is the root cause for all the problems in Lanka of late. Therefore I request you to hand over Sita back to Rama safely! You don’t know what is the power of Rama! There is literally nobody in this world who can defeat Rama in a war. Please realize this and please do not destroy the entire Lanka just because of your small and a silly desire!”

As Vibhishana advises Ravana, what does Ravana do? How does he react?

“Dooshayathyaathmano deham tathaa naaryeshu souhrutham!

Ithyukthah parusham vaakyam raavano raavanaanujaha!!

Surivishtam idham vaakyam uddhavantham vibhishanam!!”

Whatever good and kind words Vibhishana used to advise Ravana did not enter into his head! Instead, these words only provoked his anger! As Vibhishana keeps talking further, it is now time for Ravana to fume! He has had enough! Ravana now replies Vibhishana in anger, “Oh Vibhishana! Till now I never knew that I had an enemy, not outside Lanka – But within Lanka itself – within my own courtroom! I was under the impression that you would support me in my mission to destroy Rama and his brother – But it seems that you are a supporter of Rama! I do not have place in my Lanka for those who support Rama! Hence, from this minute, you are unfit to be in Lanka and most importantly in my courtroom! Hence, get out immediately! You have betrayed me and the entire country of Lanka!”

Saying thus, Ravana is fuming in anger! Even then, Vibhishana has the patience to console his brother and calm him down. He comes near Ravana and seeks refuge at his feet, pledging complete support to his brother. However, Ravana is no longer in mood to listen to Vibhishana! With all his anger he kicks Vibhishana with his feet, in front of all the ministers in the courtroom! Ravana adds on: “From now, you are no more my brother! I’m ordering your exile from Lanka permanently and hence do not dare yourself to come in front of this Ravana again!”

With this kind of a treatment metted out to him, Vibhishana is in tears! He is completely shattered and frustrated! What does poor Vibhishana do next? Where does he go to? What happens next? The action continues in the next episode!

Today we are to discuss a very important event in the entire Ramayana story, wherein the Vaanara army is contemplating their further advancement towards Lanka city. Till now we have witnessed that the huge army under the leadership of Rama and Sugriva have started their journey from Kishkinta, travelled westwards to some distance and then turn towards the southern direction, parallel to the present day Arabian Sea coast and to the Western Ghats. They cross different mountain ranges all along their way such as “Sahyaadri”, “Kodagu”, Thiruvidaangur” and through “Mahendragiri” Mountain ranges to reach “Kolachal” near Kanniyakumari – the southern tip of India. Now Rama and Sugriva contemplate the route further, and they now take a turn towards the eastern direction, cross over the “Mahendragiri” mountain ranges to reach the eastern coast of the present day “Bay of Bengal”.

Now the discussion on the bridge construction commences:

As they are at almost the tip of the western coast, (from the description given in the Vaalmiki Ramayana, this place should come close to the present day town of “Kolachal”, which is south of the present day capital city of Kerala – Trivandrum), Lord Rama asks Sugriva to check if this would be a good place from where a bridge can be constructed to cross over to Lanka. However, given the loose soil conditions and other factors, it is not feasible to build a bridge from this particular location. It is for this reason that the Vaanara army turns towards the eastern side.

We would be having a doubt in our mind as to why did the army turn towards the east, given that so far they had been advancing only along the western coast. It is only because of the non-feasibility to construct the bridge from Kolachal, they had to turn towards the eastern side, cross over the Mountain range of “Mahendragiri” of the Western Ghats, to reach the eastern coast.

As the army moves towards the eastern coast along the Bay of Bengal, they come very close to the present day town of “Tutucorin” in Tamil Nadu. If we look at the map of south India closely, this Tutucorin and Kolachal would come on the same horizontal line with each other – Kolachal in the west coast and Tutucorin in the east coast.

In the Vaalmiki Ramayana, we can often note the usage of a name called “Velaavanam” to denote the place on the east coast, wherein the army is currently standing. If we look closely at the map, we can trace this “Velaavanam” area to be between the towns of “Tiruchendur” till the famous “Raameshwaram”, both on the east coast, in the state of Tamil Nadu. So if we say that the Vaanara army has reached this place called “Velaavanam”, it is evident that the army has deviated from the west coast and reached the east coast. As they move towards the east coast, they further proceed a little northwards from Tutucorin, to reach this “Velaavanam”.

We might immediately ask a doubt – How does the place called “Velaavanam” cover such a huge distance? As mentioned above, If we look at the current day geography of this area, this “Velaavanam” in the present day encompasses through Tiruchendur and ends at Rameshwaram. If we calculate the distance between Tutucorin and Rameshwaram, it would be more than 100 kilometres! Thus we would have a doubt as to how big can this “Velaavanam” be! Here, we should remember one thing – The Vaanara army is way too huge and if we try and calculate the number of monkeys with the present day counting system, it comes to around 52 crore monkeys (or 520 million) monkeys. So, if these many monkeys have to stand in one place, doesn’t it require such a huge distance to accommodate all of them? Perhaps, this is one reason why Vaalmiki Maharishi mentions about “Velaavanam” encompassing hundreds of kilometres from Tutucorin, northwards towards Rameshwaram. This might also be one of the reasons why the bridge that was constructed, was 100 yojanas in length and 10 yojanas in width, to accommodate all these 520 million monkeys! It should be remembered that 1 yojana equals 10 to 15 kilometres. So, if the bridge has to be 10 yojanas in width, it should span for a width of around 100 kilometres (approximately)! This is why the place called “Velaavanam” is spread across an approximate distance of around 100 kilometres.

With regards to the length of the bridge, the Vaalmiki Ramayana says that the distance between India and Sri Lanka at that time was around 100 yojanas, which transforms to approximately 1000 kilometres! Perhaps, Sri Lanka and India were 1000 kilometres away from each other at that time! (Today however we see that India and Sri Lanka are separated by a mere 100 kilometres along the Palk Strait).

Thus, going by the above calculations, the width of the “Ram-Sethu” bridge when it was constructed at that time should be around 100-150 kilometres. However, what we see today (Adam’s bridge) is perhaps just one small portion of that huge bridge.

Thus according to the Vaalmiki Ramayana, the bridge was so huge that all the 520 million monkeys could cross over at the same time!

Hence we can see from all the above descriptions that the “Ram-Sethu” Bridge has indeed existed and we can justify this with all the above-explained facts. It is really saddening in the present day to note that some people have the audacity to question the very existence of this bridge, inspite of so many evidences available in our spiritual literature. The irony today is that, such people come with cheap comments with their shortsighted approach towards available literature and there are many others who blindly support them just to score some political brownie points!

Thus the entire army is getting ready to build the “Ram-Sethu” bridge across the ocean. From today, let us also join the Vaanara army in building the bridge brick by brick! We shall wait till the next episode for the action to continue!! 🙂