Vali Vadham 3

[Guest guest]

Who can be the perfect ally? II

 

 

 

 

 

 

It takes a deeper study of human nature to make the statement that Valmiki has

put in the mouth of Kabandha that we saw yesterday - One who is overtaken by the

height of misfortune is served only by another who has met with a similar fate.

The mindset of the persons who form an ally and help each other to come out of a

particular kind of predicament should be alike, if the alliance has to mean

anything. Only a person who has gone through a particular kind of suffering

would be able to understand the suffering of the other person and look at him

with sympathy, understanding and be supportive.

 

 

 

Well, Rama was undergoing an agony of a particular kind and Sugriva was

experiencing pain of almost similar kind. Rama was in the forest, under a vow,

gladly giving all the rights of his kingdom to his younger brother. Here was a

younger brother in Sugriva who was chased all over the world because he was put

in the throne under a critical situation. We will see both the versions of

Valmiki and Kamban on how Sugriva happened to become the king, shortly. That

was one common point. Out of kingdom. Added to this, Sugriva could easily get

the sympathy of Rama, an elder brother who was too ready to give up his throne

in favour of his younger brother. The act of an elder brother who was seething

with rage unlimited and wanted to kill his younger brother was something strange

and unacceptable for Rama. Apart from this, Rama’s wife was abducted and

Sugriva’s wife was abducted too. That makes it a stronger case for them to come

together to help each other out.

 

 

 

But at this point of time Kabandha does not give all the details to Sri Rama.

He just prefers to give the barest minimum information. Vali and Sugriva are

born to Indra and Sun respectively, to the spouse of a monkey chief, Rksaraja.

“That monkey chief (Sugriva) who is possessed of extraordinary prowess, is full

of energy and endowed with unbounded effulgence, true to his promise, cultured,

resolute and highly talented, clever, intrepid, glorious and possessed of

extraordinary might and valour – has been exiled by his high-minded brother for

the sake of sovereignty.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kanda, Canto 72, Sloka

13-14)

 

 

 

Kabandha does not fail to mention that Vali was “high-minded”. In fact

Valmiki’s Kabandha gives a detailed account of the nature and qualities of

Sugriva and even tells Rama that in no circumstance should Sugriva be

disregarded. He clearly makes a statement that Sugriva would help him to find

Sita, by sending his Vanara army to scour the world and to retrieve her from the

abode of Ravana.

 

 

 

Kamban prefers his Kabandha to stop with the advice that Rama should seek the

friendship of Sugriva. ‘kadhiravan siruvan aana kanaga vaaL nirathinaanai’

Sugriva (is) the son of Sun and of golden hue ‘edhir edhir thazuvi’ meet him in

person. ‘natpin inidhu amarndhu’ make friends with him ‘avanin eeNda vedhir

porum thOLinaaLai naaduthal vizhumithu’ and search for the one with shoulders

like the tender shoots of bamboo (Sita). That is the best of things to do.

 

 

 

The great dramatist that he is, Kamban reserves the details for a later scene,

to be heard from the mouth of Hanuman. He builds up the drama with an eye on

the criticism that Rama was too quick to promise Sugriva that he would dispatch

Vali. He builds up the story very slowly and systematically to forestall the

kind of criticisms that were advanced against the Vali episode. This is not to

deny the fact that he had the advantage of the literary polemics of several

thousand years that followed Valmiki’s creation of the epic.