Greater than the hero: The grace of devotion

We often hear about fanatic fans who give up their lives to see or be with or for their idol. Many a time, these earnest hero worshippers end up being heroes because of their genuine attachment and involvement with their favourite person or a cause. 

The Krithivasa Ramayana introduces one such interesting episode in the Bengali version of the epic. Taranisen, the son of Vibhishana, was a great devotee of Rama. His entire body was tattooed with the name of his ishta devata. He spent all his waking hours meditating on Rama or by chanting his name. When Ravana abducted Sita, Vibhishana beseeched him to return Sita to her husband. But Ravana was not the one to relent. Then, Vibhishana chose to secede from Lanka with a heavy heart and joined the enemy camp. However, Taranisen, the patriot, chose to stay back in his motherland. Soon a war was waged between the armies of Rama and Ravana. A few days into the war, Ravana summoned Taranisen to fight Rama.

Rama was taken aback with his devotion and wondered how he could ever pierce through the fortress that encapsulated his name. At that point in time, Vibhishana called Rama aside and told him that the mouth of Taranisen was his weak spot because he had not etched the name of Rama on his teeth and tongue. But Rama said that would be of no use because Taranisen was chanting the name of Rama constantly. 

So, Vibhishana suggested
that arrows should be shot into the oral cavity of Taranisen between the brief interval of two chants. The Ikshavaku used this brief window to bring down Taranisen, and immediately his eyes were flooded with tears. He
noticed that Vibhishana was also in tears. It was then that Rama wanted
to know whether Taranisen was Ravana’s son, to which Vibhishana haltingly replied that Taranisen was his own son. 

The exiled prince was astounded by the father-son duo who had expressed their unflinching devotion to him in such a dramatic way. Thus, Vibhishana and Taranisen displayed staunch selflessness, courage and unadulterated veneration towards Rama and gained greater glory than their God!