Vibhishana Takes Refuge with Ram

Ram gave the order to march that same day. It was the noon hour, under the star Uttara Phalguni. Nila went ahead to scout the road. Ram rode on Hanuman's shoulders and Lakshmana on Angada's. The army of vanaras and bears moved like a sea in flood. Sugriva's order was that no village or field on the way should be harmed. In a few days they crossed Mount Mahendra and reached the shore. Before them roared the boundless water. The army made camp on the beach.

The council in Lanka

In Lanka, Ravana was uneasy. A single vanara had come and burned the city. He called his ministers together. They all told him what he wished to hear: "King, you have conquered the gods. What are men and monkeys? We will eat them ourselves."

Only one man stood up and said something different. He was Vibhishana, Ravana's youngest brother.

"Brother, since the day Sita came here there have been ill omens in the city. The sacrificial fires smoke, the cows have gone dry, crows circle the palaces. Ram did you no wrong; you stole his wife. Do not make an enemy of the man who, alone, killed Khara and his fourteen thousand. Give Sita back. In that lies your good, your sons' good and Lanka's. I am your brother, and that is why I say the bitter thing."

Ravana answered, "Better to live with an enemy, better to live with a snake, than with a kinsman who is a friend to one's face and an enemy at heart. Had anyone else said this, he would not be alive. Shame on you, disgrace of our house!"

Vibhishana rose, mace in hand. "You are my elder, like a father to me. But you are not on the path of dharma. Those who speak sweetly are many; those who will speak or hear a bitter truth are few. I cannot watch the house burn. May you be happy. I am going." With four ministers he rose into the sky and went north.

Seeking refuge

The vanaras saw five rakshasas coming through the air and picked up rocks. Vibhishana stopped overhead and called out, "I am Vibhishana, younger brother of Ravana. I urged him again and again to return Sita. He insulted me like a slave. I have left my home, my wife and my sons and come to Ram for refuge. Tell him I am here."

Sugriva hurried to Ram. "He is the enemy's brother, and a rakshasa. He has surely come as a spy. Seize him and his ministers."

Ram asked everyone's opinion. Angada said, test him first. Jambavan said, he comes at the wrong time, and that is suspicious. Then Hanuman spoke. "Lord, a spy does not announce himself so openly. I watched his face as he spoke; there is no deceit in it. He has heard of Vali's end and Sugriva's coronation, and he desires the kingdom of Lanka. It is right to accept him."

Ram's vow

Ram said, "What Hanuman says seems right to me. But I wish to add something. One who has come to me as a friend I cannot abandon under any condition, even if there is some fault in him."

Sugriva tried once more. "A man who deserts his own brother in trouble: whose will he ever be?" Ram smiled. "Sugriva, not all brothers are like Bharata, and not all friends are like you." Then he spoke the words that are among the most famous in the Ramayana:

Sakrid eva prapannaya tavasmiti cha yachate,
abhayam sarva-bhutebhyo dadamy etad vratam mama.

"To anyone who comes to me even once and says 'I am yours', I give safety from all beings. This is my vow. Sugriva, bring him. Whether he is Vibhishana or Ravana himself, I have given him my protection."

Sugriva was moved. "What you say is dharma itself."

Vibhishana came down and fell at Ram's feet. "I have given up Lanka, my friends and my wealth. My kingdom, my life and my happiness are now in your hands." Ram looked at him with affection and asked about the strength of Lanka's forces. Vibhishana told him everything truthfully.

Then Ram said, "Lakshmana, bring water from the sea." And there, among the vanaras, he anointed Vibhishana with it. "From today you are king of Lanka." Lanka had not yet been won. But Ram's word had been given, and Ram's word was never false.