Week 5 Story: Death of Vali

Death of Vali 

After Ravana kidnapped Sita, Rama felt guilty and full of regret. Why, oh why did he leave her alone? He imagined Sita, vulnerable and afraid, and tears welled up in his eyes. At one point he felt so sorrowful that he collapsed to the ground, weeping uncontrollably. Only after Lakshmana slapped him and told him to get a hold of himself did Rama come back to his senses and resume his search for Sita.

After walking for several days, Rama and Lakshmana came across a big hideous demon, with one large eye and a mouth dripping in blood. He had no torso or legs; only two arms that encircled Rama and Lakshmana, inching them closer to his mouth. Rama and Lakshmana were unfazed, however, and shot their arrows at the demon's arms, cutting them off and leaving the demon limbless.

Before dying, the demon said to Rama and Lakshmana, "Oh, please save me! I'm a celestial being who was cursed to become a demon. Please cremate my body, and I will tell you how to save your wife."

Rama and Lakshmana quickly cremated the demon's body, and a beautiful heavenly man arose from the ashes. "Thank you," he said. "My name is Kabandha, a Gandharva. Travel further in this direction, and befriend a man named Sugriva. He will help you rescue Sita."

Rama and Lakshmana traveled further until they reached the mountains. Before they could climb the hill, a young man stopped them. "Hello!" he exclaimed. "My name is Hanuman. What business do you have in these mountains?"

Rama explained that he wished to form an alliance with Sugriva. Deeming that the men were not a threat, Hanuman brought them to Sugriva. Sugriva welcomed Rama and Lakshmana, and while sitting around a fire, Rama and Sugriva bonded quickly, becoming good friends. When Rama asked what Sugriva was doing in the mountains, Sugriva took a deep breath and told this story:

"I used to be the prince of Kishkindha, and my older brother, Vali, was king. One day, a demon came to our city gate and challenged us to fight. When my brother and I came out to meet him, he retreated into a cave. At the entrance, Vali told me to keep guard while he would go in and fight the demon.

I waited for a whole year. Finally, I heard a loud cry from Vali, then silence. I assumed that Vali died, and I sealed up the cave to prevent the demon from exiting. Then I went back to the kingdom and ruled in my brother's place.

As it turns out, Vali wasn't dead! When he came back from the cave, he accused me of trapping him there so I could rule the kingdom. To punish me, he stole my wife, Tara, and banished me from Kishkindha. I have been hiding from him ever since, and the monkeys here have been my faithful protectors."

Rama understood Sugriva's pain and vowed to help him fight his brother. Together, they hatched a plan to lure Vali out so Rama can kill him.

The next day, Sugriva came to the city gate and roared Vali's name. Enraged at the audacity of his brother, Vali stormed out of the gate to fight Sugriva. The fight was gruesome and violent, with both brothers uprooting the trees and hurtling them at each other. Meanwhile, Rama was hiding behind the bushes, arrow aimed at the brothers. However, Rama hesitated to shoot.

Sugriva was overpowered and was left bloody and limping, and Vali spared him from death, returning to the city. Sugriva retreated to Rama, feeling betrayed: "Rama! Why didn't you shoot? I almost died!"

Rama calmly explained: "Oh Sugriva, I couldn't tell the difference between the two of you! You look so much alike, and if I accidentally shot you, it would have been terrible. How about we try again? This time, wear a garland around your neck, so I can tell who you are." Sugriva softened after hearing Rama's explanation and agreed to the plan.

The next day, Sugriva came to the gate again to challenge Vali to fight. "Ha! This buffoon wishes to fight me again after I spared his life yesterday?" Vali thought. "Fine. This time I will kill him for sure!" He came out of the city and began fighting with Sugriva again. Just as Vali was about to give the final blow, however, an arrow pierced into his chest, leaving him in a fatal condition.

Killing of Vali

Rama emerged from his hiding place, and Vali was enraged. "Rama, the so-called noble prince of Ayodhya! Have you no shame? Shooting a man who is engaged in another fight? What a coward you are! What happened to following dharma?"

Rama replied calmly, "Vali, you are in no place to talk about dharma. You banished your own brother and took his wife when you should have treated them like your son and daughter. You let your pride and anger get in the way of hearing your brother's explanation. He had made a simple mistake, and you refused to hear him out. Your death is fitting, as only a coward's shot should defeat a coward like you who is afraid to see past his own pride."

Hearing these words, Vali felt ashamed and realized his errors. In his dying breath, Vali called Sugriva to him and gave him his crown, telling him to take good care of his son, Angada. After placing in Sugriva's hands a gold chain gifted to him by Indra, Vali succumbed to death.

Sugriva returned to Kishkindha and reunited with his wife. After thanking Rama several hundred times, Sugriva appointed his monkey followers to follow Rama's orders as they hatched a plan to rescue Sita.

Author's Note: I wanted to retell this part of the Ramayana story of Sugriva and Vali with a little more detail than the PDE Ramayana did. Rama's killing of Vali is a very controversial one, as many people think it was a cowardly act, not fit for a righteous character like Rama. I wanted to flesh out the reason behind Rama's actions a little more and demonstrate that Rama's actions are still well within his character. I also wanted to showcase Vali's redemption arc. In the PDE version, it is suggested that Vali merely dies, and Sugriva takes his place. But what actually happened is Vali is disciplined by Rama, and he realizes that he was wrong in banishing his brother. Vali then voluntarily gives up his kingdom to his brother before he dies. I thought this was an interesting character development and wanted to draw more attention to this part of the story.

Bibliography:

M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder, PDE Ramayana, Link.

Vali, Wikipedia page, Link.