Vibhishana

Vibhishana
Vibhishana as King of Lanka
King of Lanka
Reign	According to puranas, he became king after death of his brother Ravana, He also ruled in the time of Yudhishthira
Predecessor	Ravana
Born	Lanka
Spouse	Sarama
House	Pulastya
Father	Vishrava
Mother	Kaikesi
Religion	Hinduism

Vibhishana (Devanagari: विभीषण IAST: Vibhīṣaṇa or Bibhishan) was a king of Lanka in the legendary epic Ramayana. He was younger brother of the Rakshasa(demon) king Ravana of Lanka. Though a Rakshasa himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion and promptly. When his brother did not listen to his advice, Vibhishana joined Rama's army. Later, when Rama defeated Ravana, Rama crowned Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.

In some period of history Sinhala people have considered Vibhishana as one of the Four Heavenly Kings (satara varam deviyo). This belief was more prominent in the Kotte period. According to the Ravana Katha of Wickramasinghe Adigar, after the defeat of Ravana, Vibhishana transferred the Yaksha capital from Alakamandawa to Kelaniya. In the 15th century poem of Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera, the sælalihini sandesaya, Myna is ordered to carry the missive to Vibhishana at his temple in Kelaniya. After the 16th century, he was replaced as a God of the four warrants by the goddess Pattini. He continues to be worshipped by a diminishing number of adherents, mainly in the Kelaniya area.

Vibhishana had a sattvic(pure) mind and a sattvic heart. From his early childhood, he spent all his time meditating on the name of the Lord. Eventually, Brahma appeared and offered him any boon he wanted. Vibhishana, said that the only thing he wanted was to have his mind fixed at the feet of the Lord as pure as lotus leaves(charan kamal). He prayed that he should be given the strength by which he would always be at the feet of the Lord and that he would receive the darshan(holy sight) of Lord Vishnu. This prayer was fulfilled and he was able to give up all his wealth and family, and join Rama, who was Avatar(God incarnate).