Ramaayana of valmiki and Kamban - Kishkindha kanda-Vali falls

[Guest guest]

5. Vali falls

 

Rama

told Sugreeva to go to Kishkindha and call Vali for fight and promised that he will kill Vali. Sugreeva did so and

Vali came out of Kishkindha with great

anger and fought with Sugreeva who was beaten very soon and returned to Rama

and asked him the reason why he did not kill Vali as promised. Rama said that

since Vali and Sugreeva were very much alike and while they were fighting with

each other going round and round he could not make out who was who and did not

want to kill Sugreeva by mistake. Then Rama asked Lakshmana to put a garland on

Sugrreva made of gajapushpa and then

said that since he could distinguish Sugreeva now he would kill Vali and asked

Sugreeva to call Vali again.

 

There

is an inner meaning to this episode. Earlier

Sugreeva did not show respect to Lakshmana when he offered a seat only to Rama.

It was a bhaagavatha apachaara which is looked upon by the Lord as being even

more serious offence than

bhagavathapachara. So He was taught a lesson not by Rama deliberately but as

the result of his karma. When Lakshmana put the garland on him Sugreeva was

blessed by the bhaaagavatha and became worthy of the grace of the Lord.

 

Sugreeva

went and challenged Vali to fight for a second time and when Vali rose

ferociously to meet him., Tara his wife tried to stop him saying that Sugreeva

would not challenge him a second time unless he was sure of victory and she told him that she had

information that Rama , the prince of Ayodhya is supporting Sugreeva and

entreated him to make peace with Sugreeva. But Vali did not heed her words and

said that Rama would not go against dharma, though the concept of dharma in his

mind is totally different to that of Rama.

 

Then

Valai and Sugreeva had a terrible fight and Sugreeva being beaten up badly by

Vali often turned towards Rama and Rama seeing his plight sent an arrow which

pierced the heart of Vali who fell down and saw Rama and Lakshmana who were

approaching him.

 

Supushpita aSokaiva achalodhgata

prabhramshitha indhradhvajavath

 

He

fell down like an asoka tree from the top of a mountain or like the flag of

Indra broken and falling on the ground.

 

Still

Vali shone with splendour and the golden pendant studded with diamonds sustained

his life and glory. The pendant , his body and the arrow of Rama were the three

splendours of Vali. The arrow, says Valmiki, was svargamaargaprabhaavanam, gateway to heaven and aavahath parmaam gathim, got him salvation.

 

Vali

was looking gathaarcisham iva analam, a fire extinguished, like Yayaathi slipped from heaven on account of his

merit being exhausted,

mahendhram iva dhurdharSam upendhram

iva dhussaham, unassailable like

Indra and indomitable like Upendhra, that is, Vishnu who appeared as Vamana to

become Thrivikrama later.

 

Rama

saw Vali thus and went near him with Lakshmana.