Ramayana — Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 87, Shloka 19
न्यग्रोध
प्रवेश-निवारणम् (Preventing Indrajit’s Banyan-Tree Rite) / Indrajit Confronts Vibhishana
राक्षसेन्द्रसुतासाधोपारुष्यंत्यजगौरवात् ।कुलेयद्यप्यहंजातोरक्षसांक्रूरकर्मणाम् ।।6.87.19।।गुणोयःप्रथमोनृणंतन्मेशीलमराक्षसम् ।
rākṣasendrasuta asādho pāruṣyaṃ tyaja gauravāt | kule yady apy ahaṃ jāto rakṣasāṃ krūrakarmaṇām || 6.87.19 || guṇo yaḥ prathamo nṛṇāṃ tan me śīlam arākṣasam |
O nichtswürdiger Sohn des Rākṣasa-Königs, lass ab von dieser Härte um der Ehre willen. Zwar bin ich in einem Geschlecht von Rākṣasas geboren, berüchtigt für grausame Taten, doch habe ich als erste Tugend der Menschen das Dharma erwählt; darum ist mein Wesen nicht rākṣasa-gleich.
"Impious son of Rakshasa king! Though born in the Rakshasa clan I renounced cruel deeds and followed respectfully manliness as my primary quality. My nature is not like that of Rakshasas."
FAQs
Dharma is grounded in chosen virtue, not merely birth: one may be born into a cruel lineage yet commit to humane, righteous qualities as primary.
Vibhīṣaṇa answers Indrajit’s insult by explaining his moral divergence from rākṣasa cruelty despite shared family and clan.
Moral autonomy and reformation—Vibhīṣaṇa foregrounds the ‘foremost human virtue’ (a dharmic guṇa) as his defining trait.