I thought I would recall the story of the brothers Sugriva and Vali and Vali's death with slightly different details, in order to cast the characters in a new light and perhaps justify Rama's controversial actions.
In their search for Sita, Rama and Lakshmana come face-to-face with a celestial being named Kabandha trapped in the body of a demon. After killing Kabandha's demon form creating the body to release his celestial form, Kabandha tells Rama to go and befriend a man named Sugriva.
Sugriva is the brother of Vali, a prideful and fearsome king who drove Sugriva out of the kingdom after an unfortunate misunderstanding. Vali believes Sugriva betrayed him in order to take his place as king. As a result, Vali denounces Sugriva as his brother and takes his wife, Tara.
The story of Vali's death that I am familiar with is slightly different from that of the PDE version. After Rama and Sugriva share their sorrows with one another, they become good friends, and Rama tells Sugriva he will kill Vali in exchange for his alliance in his fight with Ravana later. The plan is that Rama will hide behind the kingdom gate, while Sugriva and Vali fight out in the open. Rama will then shoot and kill Vali.
Sugriva actually fights Vali twice. The first time, Sugriva is beaten nearly to death by Vali because Rama hesitates to shoot. This is actually because Rama couldn't tell who was Vali, since both brothers look so similar. The next time they fight, Rama asks Sugriva to wear a garland, so he can identify the right person to shoot.
When Vali is shot by Rama, he actually taunts Rama for his act of "cowardice." Rama replies by saying that Vali is not qualified to talk about dharma - rather than treating Sugriva and Tara as his son and daughter, he instead banishes Sugriva from the kingdom and steals his wife. Once Vali realizes his wrong actions, he actually personally bequeaths the kingdom to Sugriva and gives him his precious golden chain that was given to him by Indra, the god of thunder.
I believe that this is a significant detail that was not really discussed in the PDE version - Rama essentially "stoops" down to what many would call an "act" of cowardice, but only to show Vali the error of his ways, which are even worse than that of Rama's. In the end, Vali doesn't just die, but he acknowledges his faults and voluntarily gives his crown to his brother. This actually tells a lot about Rama's and Vali's character, and I think it's important to remember this part of the story.
(As a side note) I don't really know how I feel about Lakshmana "threatening Sugriva with death" when it seems as though Sugriva only briefly forgot his promise to provide Rama with an army of monkeys. I feel like it's a little extreme for Lakshmana to resort to death threats, especially toward a good friend of Rama. I imagine the encounter being more of a firm nudge from Lakshmana to remind Sugriva of his vow, rather than a death threat to scare Sugriva into complying. That is just my personal opinion!
Characters: Sugriva, Vali, Tara, Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman
Plot:
- Rama and Lakshmana are searching for Sita and come across a demon named Kabandha
- Rama and Lakshmana cut off Kabandha's arms and cremate his body to release a celestial form
- Kabandha thanks Rama and Lakshmana and tells them to befriend Sugriva, a useful ally
- Sugriva's friend Hanuman guides Rama and Lakshmana to Sugriva, who tells them about Vali
- Vali and Sugriva were brothers and Vali was the king of Kishkindha
- When word came of a demon hiding in a cave, Sugriva and Vali went to kill it
- Vali told Sugriva to keep guard outside the cave; Sugriva waited for one whole year
- Sugriva eventually heard Vali's cries, then silence; he assumed Vali was dead
- Sugriva sealed up the cave to prevent demon from escaping, and then takes over Kishkindha
- Vali escapes cave and accuses Sugriva of betrayal; he banishes Sugriva and takes his wife
- Rama and Sugriva become friends; Rama says he will kill Vali in exchange for Sugriva's alliance
- Sugriva challenges Vali to fight; he gets beaten nearly to death as Rama fails to shoot Vali
- Rama tells Sugriva he can't tell the difference between the brothers; he asks Sugriva to wear a garland
- When the brothers fight again, Rama successfully fatally shoots Vali
- While dying, Vali taunts Rama about his "cowardly" actions and how he shot a pre-occupied man
- Rama replies by saying Vali is in no place to talk about dharma and Vali recognizes his errors
- Vali voluntarily gives Sugriva his kingdom and golden chain from Indra; Sugriva becomes king
- Later, Sugriva helps Rama and Lakshmana by providing an army of monkeys to battle Ravana
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