Hari Om.
Let us begin the seventeenth sarga of the yuddha kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
There was a showdown in the court of rAvaNa. In full attendance of the demon warriors who came there to discuss the threat from rAma and the vAnaras, vibhIshaNa and indrajit clashed with their arguments. The well mannered vibhIshaNa tried his best to counsel in a dignified manner but the mean indrajit started calling him names and called him a coward, putting aside all decorum and humility. The seasoned vibhIshaNa called not only his bluff but of the one who allowed indrajit to the assembly – taking a dig at rAvaNa. The demon king was furious at the insult handed over to his valiant but arrogant son. He shouted down vibhIshaNa and accused him of being sour about the acclaim received by the ten-headed king. He cast many aspersions at him. It was too low for the dignity of vibhIshaNa and he was miffed. While he was persistent to correct the faulty judgment of rAvaNa, the insinuations and insult made him furious. He at once rose to the skies along withfour of his ministers and bid good-bye to rAvaNa, forever. Onwards…
Having spoken harshly to rAvaNa for the latter’s insinuations, vibhIshaNa took to the skies and in sometime reached the place where rAma and lakshmaNa camped. The vAnara warriors who were keeping vigil on the ground, beheld the mountainous demon vibhIshaNa along with his four ministers from a good distance. They were all were decked, well armed, shone like lightning and looked imposing like the mEru mountain. The vAnara king, the unconquerable and sharp sugrIva at once took note of the five demons who were approaching. He quickly thought through and addressed the warriors including hanumAn –
“Hey, behold this demon with all the weapons in his hand along with four others. There is no doubt they are coming to attack us”. Responding to sugrIvas’s words, the vAnara leaders immediately uprooted sAl trees and mountain tops and said –
“O king, command us at once to vanquish these demons. In no time their splendour will vanish and they will all drop dead on the ground”.
By now, the very wise vibhIshaNa had reached the northern shore of the ocean and still levitating in the sky and addressing sugrIva and the other vAnara warriors in a loud voice said –
“I am known as vibhIshaNa, the younger brother of the infamous demon king rAvaNa. After killing the vulture king jaTAyu, sItA has been abducted by him from the janasthAna and kept under captivity of the demons. I have repeatedly counselled rAvaNa employing persuasive speech and advised him to return sItA to rAma. Alas, but he didn’t pay heed to my advice, much like a person desiring death discards medicine. Further, for advising him, he became very angry and insulted me like a slave.
I have given up my family and am seeking refuge of the magnanimous rAghava, who is the refuge of all the worlds. Kindly convey my prayer to rAma at once and tell him that vibhIshaNa is present”.
सोऽहंपरुषितस्तेनदासवच्चावमानितः ।
त्यक्त्वापुत्रांश्चदारांश्चराघवंशरणंगतः ।।6.17.16।।
सर्वलोकशरण्यायराघवायमहात्मने ।
निवेदयतमांक्षिप्रंविभीषणमुपस्थितम् ।।6.17.17।।
Hearing these words, sugrIva hurried to the presence rAma who was with lakshmaNa at the time and anxiously said –
“Someone known as vibhIshaNa, the younger brother rAvaNa along with four other demons is seeking refuge in you. O subduer of enemies, good be upon you, be safe and keep the welfare of the vAnaras in your mind and be alert in matters of deliberations, strategy, discussions and seeking intelligence. These demons are capable of assuming any form at will or can strike even without being seen and hence do not trust them. He could be the spy of the demon king who will enter our ranks and seed dissent without a doubt. Or he could himself be waiting to find a loophole and strike himself. You can bank on the warriors from the jungle or from friends or your own battle hardened army or even on those who you pay a wage to fight for you. But you should never bank on the warriors from the enemy camp.
मित्राटवीबलंचैवमौलभृत्यबलंतथा ।
सर्वमेतद्बलंग्राह्यंवर्जयित्वाद्विषद्बलम् ।।6.17.24।।
He is verily the younger brother of the demon king, your sworn enemy, O lord. How can he trust us? He has been surely sent by rAvaNa himself. Therefore, O very capable one, I believe he should be restrained (from joining us). This demon has surely come to us with a crooked intention to win our confidence and strike us in disguise if we lower our guard. You are aware of how the owl infiltrated in to the flock of crows and struck them when it got an opportunity (panchatantra story). Therefore, inflict terrible punishment on this demon along with his associates and finish them, he is the brother of the malicious rAvaNa”.
With these words, the anxious leader of the vAnara army, the very articulate sugrIva paused his speech. Listening to the submission of sugrIva, rAma turned to hanumAn and other vAnaras who were by his side and said –
“You all have listened to the articulations of the vAnara king about vibhIshaNa. In crises and difficult situations, one who seeks lasting peace and fame should turn to the counsel of wise and capable well wishers. So please speak what you think is appropriate”.
सुहृदामर्थकृच्छेषुयुक्तंबुद्धिमतासदा ।
समर्थेनोपनिर्देष्टुंशाश्वतींभूतिमिच्छता ।।6.17.33।।
The vigilant vAnaras, when asked thus by rAma, courteously expressed their opinion to rAma desirous of his welfare –
“O rAghava, there is nothing unknown to you in the three worlds. And yet, to honour our friendship you are asking us for counsel. You are yourself a stickler to truth, valiant, mighty and dhArmic, capable of good judgement, knower of the moral code and committed to the friends.
त्वंहिसत्यव्रतश्शूरोधार्मिकोदृढविक्रमः ।
परीक्ष्यकारीस्मृतिमान्निसृष्टात्मासुहृत्सुच ।।6.17.36।।
Therefore let your capable ministers speak one by one and logically express their opinions”. First, the prince angada spoke his mind about entertaining vibhIshaNa and said –
“When the enemy approaches us, he ought to be doubted always. I don’t think we can at once trust vibhIshaNa. The mean minded and crooked people conceal their true intentions and conduct themselves only to strike hard when they find a loophole and that would be a great disaster. One needs to weigh the virtues and vices of the enemy who seeks refuge and accept if the virtues are found or discard if there are vices. If the deficiencies are huge, then without doubt they must be discarded. After thoroughly doing a due diligence of the pros, one should accepted”.
Sarabha who spoke after that advised to deploy a sharp spy to keep a watch on vibhIshaNa and then accept him based on the input from him.
The very wise and diligent knower of the scriptures, jAmabvAn said vibhIshaNa is ought to be viewed with suspicion since he has approached them after a bitter fall out with rAvaNa. That was especially critical under the circumstances in which he has sought refuge.
Then the great knower of statecraft mainda advocated gentle and thorough questioning of vibhIshaNa and then take a decision on him after gathering his responses.
Then the very cultured hanumAn, the best among the ministers spoke sweetly, softly, meaningfully and briefly –
अथसंस्कारसम्पन्नोहनुमान् सचिवोत्तमः ।
उवाचवचनंश्लक्ष्णमर्थवन्मधुरंलघु ।।6.17.50।।
“I am neither more intelligent than all of you nor am more articulate. In fact you all are capable of excelling bRhaspati in speech. I will not speak to get into an argument or conflict or to show off my thinking or what I like. I will only speak in honour of rAma, O king (sugrIva).
I see flaw in the approach of the pros and cons that have been laid down by the various ministers. He countered angada’s argument and said it was not possible to weigh the pros and cons of this. As Sarabha suggested, it was not advisable to put him to probation and watch him perform and then take a decision. In this particular case we may not have appropriate means to spy on vibhIshaNa and hence that may not be advisable. Then there was the argument about the circumstances in which vibhIshaNa has approached you and the occasion and the timing of it.
I believe circumstances and timing are as they happen. He has seen the crookedness of rAvaNa and at the same time your valour. By his own intellect he decided that it was appropriate to approach you. It was also suggested to gently question him and know his intentions. I have different view of this. The wise and intelligent person when questioned suddenly can turn suspicious give a different impression. Even a friend might come across as an enemy when questioned like that to know their intentions.
O king it is impossible to divine at once what goes on in another’s mind. It is better to estimate their intentions based on their body language and how they carry themselves. In his speech I didn’t notice any crookedness. His countenance is pleasant and I have no doubt in that. One who comes with a crooked intention will not be without a suspicious expression. I have without doubt, not noticed such an expression in him nor was his speech suspicious. The innermost feelings cannot be hidden no matter how hard one tries. They manifest in the body language.
O rAma, you are the expert in knowing about the appropriateness of the occasion (place and time). Those who make a quick decision keeping the occasion in mind succeed. Knowing about your capabilities, dishonesty of rAvaNa, your vanquishment of vAlI and coronation of sugrIva, he has intentionally come here seeking the kingdom.
Based on these, I feel it is appropriate to accept him. To the best of my abilities I have tried to understand his honesty. O wisest one, you are the best judge and can decide accordingly”.
Here we conclude the seventeenth sarga of the yuddha kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Click on the above link for word by word meaning from IITK website
Click on the above link to listen to the audio by SrIrAma ghanApATi
Next: 6.018. rAma, tavAsmi – I am yours
Previous: 6.016. Insulted and insinuated, vibhIshaNa takes a stand
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
