"Ravana, I must have a word with you."
"Yes, my brother, what is it that you want?"
"Ravana, you must return Sita. Her poor husband has been searching for her ruthlessly. It is not right of a man to take another man's wife."
"I will not. She will learn to love me and Rama no longer!"
Well, I guess there is no reasoning with my stubborn brother. I must go make things right on my own. I will seek out Lord Rama and go from there. As I make my way through the forest, I start pondering on whether or not I am doing to right thing. What information should I give to Rama, should I tell him all of our secrets and treasure or should I turn back around and head back to Lanka. This is a true test to my character, and I do not not if I should stay loyal to my own brother or stay loyal to what I know to be the right thing to do. Stealing another man's wife has always been the ultimate crime, so I must do something about it. I finally find Rama and his entourage and could tell they were skeptical of me at first. I want to assure them that I mean to harm, and am only here to help.
"Lord Rama, I am here to help you. I know what my brother, Ravana, has done is wrong, and I want to make it right."
"Come, I believe your sincerity. If you help us, I will assure you will become king."
"I am willing to tell you of the secret treasures of Lanka, but I will not assist in attacking my own brother. With that being said, I am rooting for your success."
Image Information: Vibhishana as King. Wikipedia
Author's Note: I choose to tell a story of the inner thoughts and struggles that Vibhishana may have had when he decided to tell Rama of the secret treasures of Lanka. I wanted to retell this story in a way that would be the thoughts that someone today might have with the struggle between not wanting to betray a loved one but knowing what the right thing to do is.
Buck, William. (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
I like that you told this story from Vibhishana's point of view. It is true that he had to make a very difficult choice, and I can see him having this inner struggle. You show that he must stick to what he believes is right, but tries to make it work with his brother. I felt the story ended abruptly, though. It didn't feel like a resolution, and I would have liked to have read more about Vibhishana's feelings by the end of the battle.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great scene to choose. When I first read this part, I thought about why Vibhishana would turn against his brother when none of the other demons would stand up to Ravana. I am so glad you did this story which gave your insight into what he was thinking leading up to his betrayal of his brother. I really like that you included that it was a hard decision for him, but he had to do what was right.
ReplyDeleteI like what you did with Vibhishana in making him a pretty strong character, as someone who stands up to Ravana would have to have a ton of fortitude. I think your usage of "I must" and "I need" make the feelings of Vibhishana feel even stronger. You can really tell how conflicted he is internally with how you made him speak. There was a part in there where he went from past-current tense narrative, but overall this was a good read.
ReplyDeleteI like how you chose to get inside of Vibishana's head for this story. I like how he seems to be reasonable, unlike his brother. You do a great job of showing that Vibishana is very conflicted and struggles with what decision to make. I like how Ravana proves to be too stubborn, which forces Vibishana to seek out Rama.
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