Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

@article{184478,
        author = {Dr. Deepa Joshi},
        title = {Succession Planning: A Study of Strategic Historical Perspective of Leadership, Trust, and Ethical Succession in the Ramayana},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {4},
        pages = {1722-1726},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=184478},
        abstract = {Succession planning, a core concept in leadership and governance, ensures continuity of vision, power, and organizational values. While widely studied in modern management, its roots can be traced to ancient epics. This paper explores an unconventional interpretation of a pivotal episode in the Ramayana: Ravana's indirect "sending" of his brother Vibhishan to Lord Ram. Though often viewed as a defection, this paper argues that Ravana’s tolerance of Vibhishan’s dissent and non-lethal reaction may symbolically represent a deliberate or subconscious act of succession planning. This mythological lens offers rich insight into legacy, foresight, and strategic leadership transitions.
Succession planning is a critical component of leadership continuity and organizational stability. The paper explores a unique ancient narrative from the Indian epic Ramayana Ravana allowing his brother Vibhishan to join with Lord Ram despite of the fact that Vibhishan knew all secrets including the confidential information of how Ravana can be killed as an allegorical case of deliberate succession planning. Combining qualitative textual analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), the study aims to extract leadership insights and organizational behavior implications. The study draws from epic literature, interviews with Indian leadership scholars, and symbolic interpretation to suggest that this event is not mere divine intervention but a strategic succession decision reflecting foresight, legacy transition, and dharma-based leadership.},
        keywords = {Ramayana, Vibhishan, Ravana, Succession Planning, Leadership, Strategic foresight.},
        month = {September},
        }