vibhishan's example shows one of the sharpest distinction in itihasa between lokachar (common morality) and shastrachar (morality guided by shashtra)

they're not often in conflict, but when they are, the shastrachar is obviously superior - it decides the winner, but lokachar has another unique strength - it never lets go, never forgets

vibhishan's being on the good side of the great war, but still being remembered among the common folk mostly for his betrayal of family and nation, becoming *the* example, this shows you the unique strength of lokachar

that is why even shastra can not ever forget the lokachar, in fact makes it a part of itself

there is a big example of a great acharya bowing down to lokachar

remember the greatest mimansaka of his time kumaril bhatt burning himself away slowly on the pyre when adi shankaracharya met him?

to uphold the vedic dharma and defeat the buddhists in arguments, kumaril bhatt wanted to get an inside understanding of buddhism, so he passed himself off as a buddhist and studied in a vihara

he violated the lokachar of never lying to one's teacher

bowing down completely to common morality and to propitiate this sin, the greatest mimansacharya of his time, kumaril bhatt burned himself away, alive on a pyre, even though everything he did was for the glory of vedic religion