New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh BJP organised a gala welcome for Jyotiraditya Scindia at the party office in Bhopal Thursday, a day after the former Union minister joined the BJP.
At the event, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in his address referred to Scindia as ‘Vibhishan’, Raavan’s younger brother, who betrayed him to join Ram’s army in the Hindu epic Ramayana.
Chouhan said: “Kamal Nath, we will not sit in peace until we destroy your Lanka of terror and corruption. To destroy Lanka, one needs Vibhishan. Today, Jyotiraditya Scindia is with us.”
कंस मामा ने सिंधिया को बताया विभीषण!
यहीं सम्मान पाने के लिए कांग्रेस छोड़े थे क्या??
ख़ैर, अभी तो और बहुत सम्मान मिलेगा इन्हें।?pic.twitter.com/A5D3CQ4jCz
— Sarcastic Rajiv (@RajivTweets_) March 12, 2020
While many in the BJP are celebrating Scindia’s homecoming and giving him a ‘Trump-like welcome’, the comparison to Vibhishan has created ripples in political circles.
Also read: Jyotiraditya Scindia not first. Brutus, Vibhishan, Mir Jafar known for political betrayal
Negative associations
In the Ramayana, Vibhishan, also known as Bibhishana, is Raavan’s brother. He is known to be peace-loving and comes out against his brother’s abduction of Ram’s wife, Sita. When Raavan refuses to listen to Vibhishan, the latter leaves Lanka, joins Ram’s army, and eventually helps Ram defeat his brother.
According to Sangit Ragi, political science professor at Delhi University, Vibhishan is depicted in the epic as someone very saintly. However, he noted that Vibhishan is not a common name, and Hindu families seldom name their son Vibhishan, because it has negative associations.
According to another scholar who did not want to be named, Vibhishan signifies betrayal. The scholar said: “Even in Sri Lanka, someone might name their son Raavan, but no one will name him Vibhishan.”
So, while Vibhishan fought to defeat evil, the manner in which he behaved to achieve just ends were dubious. He was a great asset to Ram’s army as he divulged all the secrets and tactics of Raavan’s army. Among the secrets Vibhishan divulged was the secret path to the temple of Mata Nikumbala, the family deity of the Pulastya dynasty. It was there that Raavan’s son, Meghnad or Indrajit, was performing a yagna to defeat Ram. Ram’s brother Lakshman immediately went inside and destroyed the yagna, denying him the blessings of their kul-devi.
However, the most crucial tactic/secret that Vibhishan told Ram was the way to defeat Raavan himself — by aiming at his navel, where the nectar of immortality was stored. Ram pulled out an arrow, took aim and shot it at Raavan. The arrow found its mark and instantly killed the demon king.
After the battle, Ram went back to Ayodhya with Sita and named Vibhishan the king of Lanka. However, the tag of betraying his brother is not something Vibhishan has been able to shake off.
Also read: How Shivraj Chouhan’s description of Scindia as ‘Vibhishan’ could be sign of things to come