Finally, Rama and his army had figured out a way to cross the river in the fastest way possible. It was Hanuman’s discovery that the stones that had Rama’s name could float in the water. They started working on the bridge in the quickest manner and got going. In fact, even little squirrels helped Rama and made sure that they do their part in establishing the path to Dharma. Rama was delighted with their work and blessed the squirrels. They were about to meet Vibhishana.
While Rama and company were preparing to invade and capture Lanka, Ravana was getting ready and discussing with his ministers about the happenings in the town. They came to know about Rama’s invasion and they were very confident in their own strength and power to defeat Rama. They were just waiting for him to attack and not even paying attention to the warnings. This all was witnessed and noticed by Vibhishana. Vibhishana was the youngest brother of Ravana. He was destined to save the Rakshasa clan from extinction. Vibhishana was also a strong devotee of Lord Vishnu and knew that Rama was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Vibhishana was always in a different opinion than Ravana. While the news of Rama’s progress came in, every minister was ready to participate in war and indulge in bloodshed. However, Vibhishana was against this idea. He said to Ravana,
“Oh elder brother, please let Sita go and befriend Rama. He is a powerful man and is the avatar of Lord Vishnu. Please stop this war from happening and save our kingdom.“
Ravana got angry after hearing this from Vibhishana and replied,
“Vibhishana, you seem to have lost your mind. Why are you favouring Rama and telling your own brother to quit a war? I am really angry with you. Don’t you ever tell me again what to do.”
Vibhishana became silent and the meeting ended. Every minister was ready for the war and the preparation for war was in full force. One day, Vibhishana went to Ravana’s room and made sure that they could have a little chat. Then, Vibhishana again stated the idea of letting Sita go and befriending Rama. This time, Ravana got so angry that he scolded Vibhishan and also ordered him to stay away from this kingdom. Vibhishana was thus banished from his own kingdom and went into exile.
Vibhishana now had nowhere to go and thought what is the best thing to do. He went to his mother, Kaikasa and consulted her as to what is the right path to follow. His mother ensured him that it would do good to go and join Rama as Ravana would not have any other mindset than war. Going there might be risky but it is a risk that Vibhishana has to take if he wants to save the innocent people of Lanka and ensure that the kingdom does not meet its complete destruction.
Thus, Vibhishana agreed to his mother’s advice and went ahead to go and meet Lord Rama, where a different challenge awaited him.
Click here to read about The Story Of A Squirrel In Ramayana.
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