43. THE SLAYING OF VALI :

EVENING was approaching. Once
more Sugriva roared at the gate of
Kishkindha and challenged Vali to fight.
Vali who was then resting happily was
startled and for a moment paled with
puzzled concern, but was presently
overwhelmed with rage and sprung
stamping the earth as though he would
split it.


Tara, his queen, her heart full of loving
fear, held him in arms in a close embrace
and tried to restrain his impetuosity with
affectionate counsel. "Put away this wrath,
my dear lord, as one puts away a used
garland, for you have had enough fighting
today. Tomorrow would do as well for
another battle, for you lack neither
enemies nor valor. I pray you not to rush
out on the instant. It seems to me that you
should think calmly before going out now
to meet your brother. I am afraid there is a
deeper game. Your brother was defeated
and disgraced and ran for dear life and
concealed himself for safety. Now he has
returned and raises this noise. Your
brother is not such a fool as to challenge
you again so soon after the punishment
you inflicted on him unless he was
assured of help and protection from an
invincible ally of tried prowess. Did you
not observe that his very roar of challenge
had a new note of confidence in it? I shall
tell you what I heard from Angada who
had it from our scouts who range the
forests. Two princes of unrivalled valor,
Rama and Lakshmana have come from
Ayodhya and Sugriva has secured the
promise of their assistance. After all, my
lord, your brother is virtuous and brave.
Why should you hate him? Who in the
world is closer to us than he? He will be
your devoted servant and strong ally. It is
best to forget the past and make it up with
Sugriva. My dear Lord, listen to my
words!"


Vali disliked this advice. Anger
clouded his intellect. Caught and dragged
by the noose of death, he could not see
reason and only became more fixed in his
resolve.


Tara, bright and beautiful as became
her name Tara meaning star, spoke in
vain.


"What are you saying?" he said. "Am I
to hear in silence the ringing challenge of
this enemy-brother? When a foe calls to
battle is a warrior to hang back? Death
would be better than such cowardice.


Don't you worry about Rama. He knows
dharma; he is one brought up in the fear of
sin. Oh, let me alone, will you? I may tell
you I shall not kill Sugriva, only I will
teach the presumptuous fellow a lesson he
won't forget and let him go. Let me go, I
tell you. You have spoken out of the
fullness of your love for me. I shall
humble Sugriva and send him back and
return soon with victory. Have no fear for
me."


Thus Valmiki pictures Vali, his
chivalry, his dauntless and impatient
valor, his tenderness. It is true Valmiki's
hero has to kill the Vanara king, the epic
requires it. But the slain warrior was a
noble knight, worthy of the reader's
admiration and tears.


Tara, with tears in her eyes,
circumambulated him and praying for his
success returned to her apartment full of
grave apprehension. Leaving Tara and her
companions behind, Vali issued from the
fort hissing like an angry cobra and went
to meet Sugriva.


As he saw him standing there, radiant
and courageous, he girt his loins and
sprang on him. And Sugriva too ran
forward to meet Vali.


"If you love your life," warned Vali,
"run away. Do not fall a victim to this fist
of mine!"


Sugriva retorted angrily and the battle
began. Fierce with remembered wrongs
and keyed up above himself by the
certainty of Rama's help, Sugriva
maintained for long an equal combat. But
presently Vali's greater might began to
prevail and Sugriva was in such obvious
distress that Rama who was watching with
ready bow knew he could not hold out
much longer.


It was now or never and placing a
deadly arrow on the string and pulling it
to his ear, Rama sped it at Vali's mighty
chest. Pierced by that irresistible shaft
Vali crashed down as falls a great forest
tree cut asunder by the woodman's axe
and lay stretched on the ground
empurpled with blood as lies the festival
flag-staff pulled down when the festival is
ended.


Even so, he was radiantly handsome,
his noble figure shining like a cloud lit up
by the setting sun. The divine necklace
given to him by Indra shone on his breast,
which guarded his life and fortune. This
jewel, Rama's dart, the bleeding wound,
all added lustre to his mighty body.


Valmiki describes beautifully the
majestic appearance of the fallen hero. A
true warrior is never so beautiful as when
he lies dying on the field of battle.


Astounded at being hit and laid low,
when he least expected it from an
unknown quarter, Vali looked round in
perplexed surprise and saw Rama and
Lakshmana approaching him bow in hand.
With tears of indignant wrath, and in a
voice faint with approaching dissolution,
he accused them of ignoble perfidy in
dealing causeless death to a person
engaged in combat with another.


"Rama," he said, "you are the son of
Emperor Dasaratha. Born of a noble race
and famous by your own exploits, how
did you bring yourself to do this deed?
The world is full of praises for your valor
and virtue. And yet, while I was absorbed
in a battle with another, you came unseen,
and from behind, shot a fatal arrow at me.
How false and undeserved is your
reputation for manly virtue, for truth and
forbearance! What will the world think of
you now? What harm have I ever done to
you? Did I come out to fight with you?
You have killed me like an assassin
concealing yourself behind the trees. For a
royal prince to kill an innocent person in
this way is grievous sin. You are
unworthy for kingship. The goddess Earth
will never consent to take you for a
bridegroom. My greatest sorrow is that I
am killed by a base and sinful wretch. If it
was battle with me you wanted, I would
have given it to you, and slain by me in
fair combat you might have been lying in
the dust as I do now. Or if it was help to
recover your Sita I would have won her
back for you in a day. I would have killed
Ravana and dragged his body with a rope
round the neck and placed it at your feet.
No matter where he has hidden Sita, I
would have discovered her and restored
her to you."


Thus Vali, son of Indra, reproached
Rama with his dying breath. And all this
is fully set out by Valmiki, the divine
poet, as well as by Kamban. Against this
accusation what defence could Rama
offer? Valmiki has it that Rama gave
some explanation with which Vali was
satisfied. But I am omitting all this as
pointless and pray that the learned may
forgive me.


What I think is that an avatar is an
avatar and that among the sorrows that the
Lord and His consort had to endure in
their earthly incarnation, this liability to
have their actions weighed on the earthly
scales is a part. Vali bruised and bleeding
from the many wounds of his fight with
Sugriva, lay in the throes of death.
He lived just long enough to see his
queen and his beloved son Angada. The
poor bewildered lad who at his mother's
bidding 'to fall at the feet of his father who
was going on a long long journey'
prostrated himself in silence, too stunned
to realise the extent of his loss. This will
be narrated later. Vali's words were
addressed to Rama.


"All is over, I shall blame you no more.
My dear, dear son Angada is orphaned.
You and Sugriva should look after him. I
entrust him to you. Look after him it is
your duty to see that he does not pine
away like a withering lotus-plant in a
dried-up tank. Tell Sugriva that he should
not imagine that it was Tara who set me
up against him. Ask him to treat Angada
as he should treat a prince, with honor and
affection. Do this for me. I want no more.
The warrior's Heaven is calling me!"
So ended Vali's life.


Owing to the protective virtue of
Indra's necklace, Rama could not have
met Vali face to face and vanquished him,
just as Ravana could not be conquered by
the gods. Rama could kill Vali only when
himself unseen. And still the question
stands, why should Vali have been killed
at all?


Perhaps the answer is to be found in
what Kabandha said to Rama in gratitude
for being released from his curse.


"Through Sugriva's friendship you will
recover Sita," Sugriva's help not Vali's.
And so Rama went in search of Sugriva,
found him and pledged his friendship and
consecrated it by fire. Sugriva had
committed no unforgivable offence
against Vali. Yet Vali, with his
supernatural strength, persecuted his
brother.


Hearing the latter's complaint, Rama
had pledged his word to kill Vali and
restore to Sugriva his wife and make him
king as his part of the contract of alliance.
Thereafter, Rama had no alternative. To
kill Vali from cover became an inevitable
necessity. Rama erred in running after the
magic deer to please his wife.


Consequent on this, difficulties and
sorrows and conflicts of duty pursued
him. If we keep in mind that when God
takes a lower and limited form by His
own ordinance, limitations follow and we
should not be confused thereby. This is
my humble view as against other
explanations propounded by the pious.


Next :- 44. TARA'S GRIEF :


Continues...