Vali Slain - Part VII

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Dear raama bhakthaas,

 

In the previous post, we saw a comparison between the pairs of

brothers, vaali sugreevan and karNan arjunan. We will continue to

study some of the good qualities in vaali – in continuation to what

we have seen as divinity in vaali in post 5. See slOkam from sreemadh

vaalmeeki raamaayaNam.

 

prathipadhya thvam adhya Eva raajyam Eshaam vanoukasaam |

maam api adhya Eva gachchantham vidhDhi vaivasvatha kshayam || 4-22-5

 

meaning: vaali says to sugreevan, “You realize that I am going to the

abode of time-god now itself. Hence I propose yourself as king of

this forest-dweller's kingdom, now itself”.

 

Point: Vaali's supremacy or good qualities, to put it mildly, or

divine qualities to put same on a high pedestal, does not die with

him. Here he is taking a high profile stance. He himself proposes

sugreevan as the next ruler of the kingdom, without any grudge or

grouse, on 2 counts.

 

First - sugreevan is the triumphant one, and, thus he shall get the

kingdom forthwith, and not angadhan, as proposed by hanumaan.

Second: sugreevan is the next best choice for the kingship, rather

than angadhan, for he is the younger brother and also as a one-time

prince regent.

 

In either way the dying vaali is keeping high his nobility up, as an

unrivalled champion and also as an elder brother.

 

Before these are said by vaali, thaara comes to the battle arena and

sees her husband is in dying moments. She weeps, at the same time

praises raama also. see sreemadh vaalmeeki raamaayaNam slOkam

 

sugreevasya thvayaa bhaaryaa hruthaa sa cha vivaasitha: |yath thath

thasya thvayaa vyushti: praapthaa iyam plavagaadhipa || 4-20-11

 

meaning: thaara the wife of vaali says to vaali, “By which reason you

have snatched away sugreeva's wife, oh, chief of monkeys [or fliers],

and even expelled him from kishkindhaa, that is the reason why you got

this result [of having been stuck by raamaa’s arrow and down lying on

the ground].

 

Point: The main reason why raama chose to hit vaali is his snatching

away the brother’s wife. That is what comes to the fore even to

thaaraa, the beloved wife of vaali. She, though initially, says few

words on raama, once this reason comes to her mind, she becomes clear

and showers praises.

 

raamENa hi mahath karma krutham thvaam abhinighnathaa |aanruNyam thu

gatham thasya sugreevasya prathisravE || 4-20-20

 

meaning: thaaraa also lauds raamaa, "Really, raama has not only done a

great deed of hitting you down, but he also achieved indebtedness

towards sugreeva, both in a single promise’.

 

Dear bhakthaas, See how clear and clever she is in her thoughts. See

slOkams – This or even more clarity is reflected in her words,

earlier also, when she forbids vaali in taking up the cudgels for the

fight for the second time [just this word cudgels is added to indicate

the preparedness of vaali and not really the tools, since the brothers

fought physically more, something like wrestling].

 

ayOdhyaa adhipathE: puthrou soorou samara dhurjayaou |

ikshvaakooNaam kulE jaathou prathithou raama lakshmaNou || 4-15-17

sugreeva priya kaamaartham praapthou thathra dhuraasadhou |

 

meaning: thaaraa says to vaali, when he is about to leave the palace

to take up the fight - "Those that are born in ikshvaaku dynasty,

sons of the king of ayOdhyaa, valiant and unconquerable ones in war,

called raama and lakshmaNa are there in this country. These two

unassailable ones have chanced there at sugreeva's place to fulfill

the longing desire of sugreeva”.

 

sa thE bhraathu: hi vikhyaatha: sahaayO raNa karmaNi || 4-15-18

raama: para balamardhee yugaantha agni: iva uththitha: |

 

meaning: thaaraa continues, "He is an acclaimed one for his warfare,

and like the fire flaring up at the end of era, he shatters the

strength of enemies, and he is raama, your brother's helpmate, they

say so.

 

nivaasa vruksha: saadhoonaam aapannaanaam paraa gathi | 4-15-19

aarthaanaam samsraya: chaiva yasasa: cha Eka bhaajanam |

 

meaning: thaaraa continues, "And he is said to the habitable tree for

the polite, the ultimate course for the woebegone [miserable], a

hospice [rest home] for the agonized, and for grace raama is the only

abode.

 

jnaana vijnaana sampanno nidhEsO niratha: pithu: || 4-15-20

dhaathoonaam iva sailEndhrO guNaanaam aakarO mahaan |

 

meaning: thaaraa continues, "He is endowed with the knowledge of

mundane and ultra-mundane things, he always abides in the directives

of his father, and as with Mt. Himalayas for all natural elements he

is the greatest mine of merits.

 

thath kshamO na virOdha: thE saha thEna mahaathmanaa || 4-15-21

dhurjayEna apramEyENa raamENa raNa karmasu |

 

meaning: thaaraa continues, "By that reason, with that unconquerable

on, in conflicts, an imponderable one and a great-soul raama, your

enmity [with your brother] is inappropriate.

 

Point: The queen thaaraa is elucidating the whole being of raama as

gathered by her from her son angadhan. The second foot of slOkam 19

above starts with the words “nivaasa vruksha” meaning - a habitable

tree. Those two words have been given a lot of importance and that

also gives a direction as to why vaali was killed by raama from

behind.

 

Dear bhakthaas, You may ask “why Rama is compared with a tree?” The

answer is - tree requires no formalities to go under its shade, like

'may I come in' or 'rights of admission reserved' etc., as with any

other house or habitation. A tree first gives its shade to the weary

traveler who seeks it and then affords its fruits or flowers

satisfying the basic needs of the weary and needy. Raama is also such

a tree that protects and nourishes, should anybody seek his grace.

 

Next word used by thaaraa is – ‘saadhoonaam’ – meaning - for polite

supplicants raamaa is the ultimate course. thaaraa is saying

indirectly that vaali is not all polite in treating sugreeva at,

either as crown prince of kishkindha earlier or as his own younger

brother. As such vaali cannot entreat raama at this stage for his

impoliteness to sugreevan and to ruma, wife of sugreeva, which is

intolerable to raama. Hence vaali shall not confront raama.

 

The subsequent word is – ‘aarthaanaam yasasa: cha Eka bhaajana:’ - for

earnest and anguished supplicants raama is the ultimate recourse, the

graceful raama is the only ultimate abode. This is what is later said

as ‘yOga kshEmam vahaami aham’ in bhagavath geetha in 9-22. Perhaps

vaali may dismiss this idea saying that 'if raama is the ultimate

course for the polite supplicants, I have my recourse to other

supreme lords, i.e., none other than Indhra, my father'. For this

thaara is clear in her thought supplementing and saying, Indhran and

others are but penultimate only. So, as long as raama is standing

guard to sugreevan, sugreevan cannot be trivialized as in bhagavath

geethaa, ‘na mE bhaktha: praNasyathi’ - 9-31.

 

These four words are also interpreted in another way as – [as in Gita

at 7-16] that chathurvidhaa bhajanthE maam, 'four kinds of devotees

worship me'. Those four are,

1. One who is seeking knowledge saadhoonaam; those that are interested

in salvation, kaivalya kaamuka, like King Pareekshith.

2. One seeking of material gains aapannaanaam, those that seek the

material gains that was not available previously to them, [also

called artha arthee] like sugreevan, Dhruvan.

3. One who is distraught aarthaanaam; those that are in anguish like

gajEndhran, the elephant caught in lake by crocodile.

4. One who is a wise person yasasa: jnaani; the gloriously enlightened

one, like suka, sanaka, naaradha, bheeshma, prahlaadha et al.

 

For all these four kinds raama is the ‘Eka bhaajanam’, the only

recourse. This also clear how knowledgeable and evolved soul is

thaaraa.

 

In the next slOkam, she talks about raamaa as ‘jnaana, vijnaana

sampaththi’. In that jnaana is privy to the materialistic, worldly,

kingly affairs. vijnaana is the knowledge derived from the

scriptures, providentially profound. Or, through ‘karmadhaaraya,

jnaanaH cha asou vijnaa sampannaH cha’ corporeally raama is the

knowledge, and spiritually he is Gnostic as well. Hence he is the

phenomenon of the Supreme Being in maintaining dharmam.

 

In order to maintain that dharmam, raama is now observant of his

father's orders ‘pithu: nidhEsE niratha”. This pursuit of father's

orders is but one of the many other attributes of his dharma, and

that alone is said here as secondary attribute. Hence in pursuing his

dharmam raama may eradicate adharmam of vaali, insofar as Vaali's

misdemeanors towards sugreevan and his wife rumaa.

 

‘guNaanaam aakara:’ with his auspicious merits raama is a Great Mine.

Usually these guNaas, attributes of VishNu are six as per

sreevaishnava classification, being termed as shaadguNa sampaththi.

There are many more in the depth of raama hitherto unexplored or

unexcavated. As such, there are innumerable merits, in him – so -

dhaathoonaam sailEndhra:. These elements neither subdivide nor shake

him off his himalayan personality, in the pursuit to establish

dharma.

 

Having said so much about thaaraa’s wisdom in realizing raama who he

is, dear bhakthaas, can we say thaaraa knows well when vaali started

for the fight, she is sure that he will be killed. Is it a wonder

that such a tree, raama, the dharmam personified in hitting vaali

from the shades of the tree, for the tree itself will not stretch its

hand to do that act of killing. Now you can understand what is the

logic in killing of vaali from behind.

 

with due respects

 

v.anjaneyulu

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