Rama's Dharma to Ravana's Body

Ravana lay fallen, the mighty king of Lanka whose ambition had brought destruction upon himself and his kingdom. Vibhishana stood frozen, conflicting emotions crossing his face. Rama approached him gently.

"Vibhishana, the battle is over. It is time to perform the final rites for your brother."

Vibhishana recoiled. "I cannot, Lord Rama. This man abducted your wife, killed thousands, caused immeasurable suffering. He rejected dharma at every turn. He banished me for speaking truth. How can I honor him in death when he lived without honor?"

Rama placed a hand on Vibhishana's shoulder. "I understand your pain. He wronged you deeply, and he wronged my beloved Sita. But listen carefully to what I say now."

"What more is there to say about such a sinner?"

"Enmity ends with death, Vibhishana. Whatever Ravana was in life - tyrant, abductor, oppressor - in death he is merely a being who has departed. The living have no quarrel with the dead. Your duty now is not to the man who wronged you, but to dharma itself."

"Dharma? He violated every principle of dharma!"

Rama's voice became firmer. "And we responded by upholding dharma - not by becoming like him. If we refuse dignity to the dead because we hated the living, we diminish ourselves. The funeral rites are not for Ravana's benefit. They are for yours, and for the kingdom's. They declare that even in victory, we remain righteous."

Vibhishana struggled with this. "But his soul deserves no peace..."

"That is not for you to decide. The soul faces its own consequences - karma ensures perfect justice without our intervention. Your task is to complete the duties of a brother and a king. Lanka needs to see that the new reign begins with dharma, not with vengeance."

"You ask me to honor my enemy."

"I ask you to honor dharma. There is a profound difference. When you perform these rites, you are not saying Ravana was right. You are saying that you will be right, regardless of what he was. Victory that descends into cruelty is no victory at all. We fought to restore dharma to Lanka. Let us not poison that restoration with the very bitterness we fought against."

Vibhishana was silent for a long moment. Then he spoke: "He was my brother. Despite everything, he was my brother."

"Yes. And that bond was not erased by his sins. Perform the rites, Vibhishana. Weep if you must - for the brother he could have been, for the king he failed to become, for the ending that was unnecessary. Then rise and become the king Lanka needs. Honor his memory not by perpetuating his errors, but by correcting them."

Vibhishana bowed his head. "I will perform the rites, Lord Rama. Not for his sake, but for dharma's sake. And for the sake of the brother I once loved, before ambition consumed him."

Rama watched as Vibhishana walked toward Ravana's body, and in that moment, the true victory of dharma was complete.