Vibhishana

In the Ramayana, the earlier of the
two great Indian epics, Vibhishana is
the youngest brother of Ravana, the
demon king of Lanka. In their youth
Vibhishana, Ravana, and their third
brother, Kumbhakarna, have performed harsh physical asceticism
(tapas) to gain boons from the gods.
Whereas his brothers have chosen
boons designed to advance their military ability and glory, Vibhishana asks
that he remain righteous in times of
danger, and this quality marks his life.
When Ravana holds a council of war
preceding the battle with Rama’s
army, Vibhishana is the only one to
vote against battle and instead advises
Ravana to return Rama’s kidnapped
wife, Sita, and to beg Rama’s pardon.
For these words, Ravana expells his
brother from the city, and Vibhishana
goes over to Rama’s army, where he
fights valiantly throughout the war.
After the death of Ravana, Rama
crowns Vibhishana the king of Lanka,
as a reward for his fidelity and his
virtue. Vibhishana is a perfect example
of the fact that demons (in this case
the type of demons known as rakshasas) are not inherently evil in
Indian mythology. They are powerful
beings who may clash with gods and
men, but they have many virtues as
well. In the Ramcharitmanas, the vernacular retelling of the Ramayana
written by the poet-saint Tulsidas
(1532–1623?), Vibhishana is portrayed
as a great devotee (bhakta) of Rama, in
keeping with the emphasis of Tulsidas
on the primacy of devotion over all
other forms of religious life.