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Continued from yesterday's instalment
 What Vibishana spoke on that day in Ravana's war council was nothing short of a beautiful SWOT analysis. Analyse your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, the serious management experts say. Vibishana spoke of the Strengths of Ravana and is now moving over to his Weaknesses. No other moment was perhaps best suited for an exercise of this kind. Later he ventures on the Threats - only, there sadly were no Opportunities for Ravana to win his purpose. And Vibishana thus had no opportunity to speak on them.
'Ravana, there is an old curse that the King of Lanka would meet his doom on account of a (human) woman. It is still there. It has not lost its effect. Not only that. You have obtained invincibility against all forms of life from Brahma. But,
'manidhar pal kotram kollalai' you have not obtained immunity against human beings. (And you say you are going to wage a war against humans. You are already at a disadvantage by lack of protection by a boon. Added to it, you have violated Dharma in taking his wife by force.)
I need not remind you, O valiant king. You single-handedly won all the seven worlds. But do you remember what happened in your fight against Karthaveeryarjuna, of thousand shoulders? Were you not defeated? And is there any proof needed other than this that you are also susceptible to defeats, despite your glorious victories?
When you lifted the Mount Kailash, you were cursed by Nandhi that a monkey would be the forerunner of your doom. And a monkey has already wreaked disaster on this land.
The story has it that Ravana tried to cross the Mount Kailash in his pushpaka vimana and Nandhi warned him that he should observe proper manners, when he is in the abode of the Lord. Ravana was infuriated and told Nandhi, the divine Bull of Lord Siva, something like 'Keep quite you monkey.' And he tried to lift Mount Kailash to take it back home. Nandhi cursed him that a monkey would spell his doom.
'Do you remember what Vedavathi told you?' continued Vibishana. As we had seen earlier, Ravana violated the chastity of Vedavathi, who jumped into the fire, unable to stand what was done to her. Before that she told Ravana that henceforth he could not have any relations with a woman, without her consent. And if he dared to do so, his head would split into a hundred pieces. That curse had its effect on Ravana and that is why he was patiently waiting for Sita to accept him. Vibishana touched the weak nerve in the presence of all.
 'Remember that she told you that she would be an eternal disease for you? And are you aware that it is that Vedavathi who has taken the form of Sita and is imprisoned by you here? You have in fact locked up your death in this land,
Ravana.'
These were the weaknesses. The Threats? They were in the form of the two humans who have been wronged against, for no fault of theirs. Vibishana shows his ministerial talents in giving out a detailed account of the family background of Sri Rama, his heredity, his ancestors and how his father Dasaratha helped Indra, the Lord of celestials to win his war against Samparasura.
More follows…
Hari Krishnan
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