The Valmiki Ramayana

by Amish Tripathi

  Chapter 4(19)

  Wounded by the arrow, the great king of the apes was lying down. When he was addressed in these beneficial words, there was nothing he could say in reply. His limbs had been mangled by the rocks and he had been severely hurt by the trees.95 Struck by Rama’s arrow his life ended and he was unconscious.

  His wife, Tara, heard that Vali, tiger among apes, had been slain through an arrow released by Rama in the course of the encounter. She heard the extremely terrible and disagreeable news that her husband had been killed. Extremely anxious, with her son, she rushed out of many caves in the mountains.96 There were extremely strong apes who were Angada’s companions. However, on seeing Rama with his bow, they fled in different directions. She saw that the terrified apes were quickly running away. They were like animals running away when the leader of the herd has been slain. All of them were terrified and miserable, as if Rama’s arrow was chasing them. Though she was herself grieving, she approached them. ‘O apes! O miserable ones! Your king was a lion and he is in front of you. Why are you terrified and running away, leaving him there? From a distance, Rama has struck him with arrow that can strike at a long distance. Has his terrible brother brought him down for the sake of the kingdom?’97 The apes could assume any form at will. Having heard the words of the ape’s wife, realizing that this was a chaotic time, they spoke these words to the beautiful one. ‘Retreat. Your son is still alive. Protect your son Angada. The destroyer, in Rama’s form, is taking away Vali, who has been killed. He flung trees and large rocks at him. However, Vali was brought down by arrows that were like the vajra, as if he was brought down by the vajra.98 His strength is great and extensive and he has enveloped everything here with that. His radiance is like that of Shakra and he has slain the tiger among apes. We must protect the city and all the brave ones must consecrate Angada. When Vali’s son has been instated, all the apes will start to serve him. O one with the beautiful face! It is not appropriate that you should remain here. Let all the apes hasten and enter an impenetrable place. There are those who roam around in the forest. Some have wives. Others don’t have wives. Those whom we have harmed will seek to harm us and we are suffering a great fear on account of them.’

  Despite hearing this, the beautiful one proceeded some distance. The one with the beautiful smile spoke words that were appropriate for her. ‘When my husband, the immensely fortunate lion among apes, has been destroyed, what will I do with a son, with a kingdom, or with my own self? I will go before the feet of that great-souled one, who has been brought down by the arrow released by Rama.’ Saying this, weeping and senseless with grief, she rushed forward. In misery, she slapped her head, her thighs and her arms. Having advanced, she saw her husband lying down on the ground. He never retreated from a battle and was the slayer of Indras among danavas. Like Vasava with his vajra, he could fling away the best among mountains. He was like a great storm and roared like a dense mass of large clouds. He was like Shakra in his valour. He showered down on others, like a dense cloud. He roared against those who roared at him. The brave one had been brought down by another brave one. He was like a king of deer, killed by a tiger for the sake of flesh. He was like a sacrificial altar with its banner, worshipped by all the worlds. He was like a chaitya99 that had been uprooted by Suparna for the sake of serpents.’ The auspicious one saw Rama standing there, leaning on his bow for support. Rama’s younger brother was with him and so was her husband’s younger brother. She passed them and approached her husband, who had been slain in the encounter. On seeing him, she was scared and distressed and fell down on the ground. When she arose, as if from sleep, she saw her husband, bound by the nooses of death. ‘O noble one!’ Thus lamenting, she wept. She was shrieking like a female osprey. Seeing her, and on seeing that Angada had arrived, Sugriva suffered and was miserable.

  Chapter 4(20)

  Tara, with a face like that of the lord of the stars, saw him slain and lying down on the ground, an arrow released from Rama’s bow having robbed him of his life. The beautiful one approached her husband and embraced him. She saw Vali, who was like an elephant, killed by the arrow. The Indra among apes possessed a complexion that was like that of the great Indra. He was like a tree that had been uprooted. She was tormented and miserable in her mind. She sorrowed and lamented. ‘O one who was terrible in battle! O supreme among brave ones! O best among apes! I am in front of you. Why are you not speaking to me now? O tiger among apes! Arise. We will serve you with the best of beds. Supreme kings do not lie down on the ground in this way. O lord of the earth! It is evident that you love the earth greatly. Even though you have lost your life, you have cast me aside and are embracing her.100 O brave one! It is evident that you followed dharma and constructed this beautiful city of Kishkindha on the road to heaven. There are those of us who were with you in the sweet and fragrant forests at the time of finding pleasure. You have ended that. I am without joy. I am without hope. I am immersed in an ocean of grief. O leader of the leaders of herds! You are now dead.101 When Sugriva was banished, why did you seize his wife? O lord of the apes! That is the reason you have come to this state. O Indra among apes! I desired your welfare and spoke beneficial words to you. But you reprimanded me. Overcome by great confusion, you did what was not beneficial. There is no doubt that the power of destiny has brought an end to your life. Thereby, though you could not be subjugated, you have come under Sugriva’s subjugation. I have never faced unhappiness or misery earlier. I have not been pitied. However, I am without a protector now and tormented by grief because I have become a widow, am in a pitiable state. The brave and delicate Angada has been reared such that he is used to happiness. When his uncle becomes senseless with rage, what state will he be in? O son! Behold your father, who was devoted to dharma, well and do what needs to be done. O child! It will be extremely difficult to catch sight of him in the future. Comfort your son and instruct him about your commands. Before you leave on your journey, inhale the fragrance of his head. Rama performed a great deed when he brought you down. He has repaid the debt he made to Sugriva through his pledge. O Sugriva! When you get Ruma back, may your wishes be satisfied. Without any anxiety, enjoy the kingdom. The brother who was your enemy has been chastised. I am lamenting in this way. Why are you not speaking to me lovingly? O lord of the apes! Behold all these beautiful wives of yours.’ On hearing her lamentations, all the female apes were distressed and miserable. They embraced Angada and shrieked in affliction. ‘O one with the brave arms, wearing armlets! Leaving Angada behind, why are you leaving on a long journey?102 You are leaving, abandoning us and your beloved son, who possesses the best of qualities. O beloved! O one attired in beautiful garments! O protector! Have I or your son done anything unpleasant? O brave one! I am your companion. However, abandoning me, you are going to Yama’s eternal and insolent abode. O long-armed one! O lord of the lineage of the apes! Without thinking about it, if I have done anything unpleasant towards you, please forgive me. O brave one! I have come before you, with my head lowered at your feet.’ Tara wept in this piteous way near her husband, with all the female apes. The one with the unblemished complexion sat down on the ground near Vali, resolving to commit praya.103

  Chapter 4(21)

  Tara fell down, like a star dislodged from the sky.104 Hanumat, the leader of the apes, gently comforted her. ‘Creatures perform good and bad, inauspicious and auspicious. Because of their own good deeds and misdeeds, they reap all the fruits after death. You should be grieved over. Why are you grieving? Whom are you grieving about? You are yourself distressed. Which miserable one are you taking compassion on? Who are you? Whom do you belong to? Why are you sorrowing over a body that is just like foam?105 Prince Angada, your son, is alive and needs to be considered. You should think about what needs to be done next and about what he is capable of doing. You know that living beings are temporary. They come and go. The learned know that this is the nature of this world and, therefore, do everything auspicious that can be done. There are thousands, millions and
hundreds of millions of apes.106 Having acted so as to satisfy their hopes, he107 has met his destiny. He looked towards artha and followed good policy. He was engaged in conciliation, gifts and forgiveness. After following dharma and conquering the earth, he has departed. One should not grieve over this. O unblemished one! You are the protector of all these tigers among apes, your son Angada, the lords among the apes and the bears and this kingdom. O beautiful one! These two108 are tormented by grief. Gently inspire them. When you support him, Angada will rule over the earth. There are funeral rites that an offspring must now perform for the king. Determining the right time, let all those be done. Let the funeral rites be performed for the king of the apes and let Angada be consecrated. When you see that your son has obtained the throne, you will find peace.’ She was oppressed by the hardship her husband had faced and Hanumat was standing near her. On hearing his words, Tara replied, ‘Though there can be one hundred sons like Angada, it is best for me to embrace the body of the brave one who has died.109 I do not seek the power of the kingdom of the apes, not even for Angada. For everything that needs to be done next, his uncle, Sugriva, is here. O Hanumat! O supreme among the apes! On your thoughts about Angada,110 a father is a son’s true relative, not the mother. There is no refuge that is better for me, in this world and in the next, than the king of the apes.111 I will serve the brave one whose face is turned away. I am only capable of lying down with him and serving him.’

  Chapter 4(22)

  His112 life was gently ebbing away and he sighed gently. He glanced around in every direction. However, he first saw Sugriva standing in front of him. Vali saw Sugriva, who was now victorious and the lord of the apes. He clearly addressed him in words that were full of affection. ‘O Sugriva! Do not judge me by my crimes. Because of my sins and my destiny, my intelligence was confounded by force and I was dragged into it. O son!113 I don’t think both of us are destined to enjoy happiness simultaneously. Therefore, though brothers are united by fraternal affection, it has been otherwise for us. Accept this dominion over the residents of the forest. Know that I will now go to Vaivasvata’s eternal abode. While I am still alive, I am quickly giving up this kingdom, this extensive prosperity and this great and untainted glory. O brave one! O king! Given my present state, you should act in accordance with my words, although it is not easy to do. This child, Angada, is sensible. He deserves happiness and has been reared in happiness. Look at him, fallen down on the ground, tears flowing down his face. He is my biological son and I love this son more than my lives.114 Without me, he will be without riches. Protect him in every way. In every way, you are the one who will give to him and save him. O lord of the apes! You are the one who will grant him freedom from fear. Tara’s son is handsome and is like you in valour. In slaying the rakshasas, he will be with you, at the forefront. The powerful one will perform similar deeds of valour in a battle. Tara’s son, Angada, is spirited and young. This daughter of Sushena’s115 can determine the subtleties of artha and is accomplished in all the different types of omens. One should have no doubt that whatever task she talks about is virtuous. Nothing happens that is contrary to Tara’s point of view. Without any doubt, you must accomplish Raghava’s task. It will be adharma if you don’t do this.116 Otherwise, he will disrespect you and cause you injury. O Sugriva! There is a pendant on this divine and golden necklace. The generous Shri is established in this, but will abandon it when I am dead.117 Accept it.’ Because of fraternal affection, Vali spoke to Sugriva in this way. He118 was initially happy, and subsequently miserable, like the lord of the stars during an eclipse. However, pacified by Vali’s words, he controlled himself and accepted the golden necklace that had been indicated.

  Having given the golden necklace away, Vali saw that his son was standing in front of him. Preparing himself for death, he affectionately told Angada, ‘From now on, serve Sugriva and remain under his control and with him at all times, tolerating the agreeable and the disagreeable, happiness and unhappiness, always, and at all places. O mighty-armed one! I have always reared you, but it is not going to be like that.119 Show a great deal of respect for Sugriva. O scorcher of enemies! Do not go to those who are not his friends. Do not go to his enemies. Sugriva is your master. Be restrained. Remain under his control and achieve his ends. Do not show excessive affection. Nor should you show lack of affection. There is great sin attached to either extreme and you must look towards what is in between.’ Suffering greatly from the arrow, with his eyes rolling, this is what he said. In his open mouth, his teeth looked terrible. He gave up his life. When the brave lord of the apes died, the apes there could not find any peace. They were like cows wandering out in a forest, when there is a lion in that great forest and the lord of the cows120 has been slain. Tara suffered in an ocean of affliction. She glanced towards her dead husband’s face. She was like a creeper when the great tree it was clinging to has been severed. She sank on to the ground and embraced Vali.

  Chapter 4(23)

  She inhaled the fragrance from the face of the lord of the apes, her husband who was famous in the worlds. Tara addressed the dead one in these words. ‘O brave one! Not having paid attention to my words, you are miserably lying down on this rough ground with pebbles on it, suffering a great hardship. O Indra among the apes! It is clear that you love the earth more than you love me. You are lying down, embracing her, and do not give me a reply. O brave one! Sugriva, who loves rash acts, has shown himself to be valiant. The foremost among the bears and apes are worshipping you, Vali. Hearing their miserable lamentations, Angada’s grieving and my words, why are not waking up? O brave one! On earlier occasions, your enemies were killed and lay down here. Having been slain in an encounter, is this the bed you are going to lie down on now? O my beloved! O pure and spirited one! O one born in a noble lineage! O one who loved to fight! O one who conferred honours! You have left me alone, without a protector. Indeed, learned ones should never bestow their daughters on brave ones. Behold! I was the wife of a valiant one. With him slain, I have just become a widow. My pride has been shattered. My eternal objective has been shattered. I have been immersed in a fathomless and great ocean of grief. There is no doubt that this firm heart of mine has an essence made out of stone. Despite seeing my husband slain, it has not been shattered into a hundred fragments. You were my husband and naturally affectionate. You were my beloved. You were valiant in battle and brave. You have now met your death.121 Even if a woman has satisfied desire and obtained sons and even if she is prosperous with wealth and grain, if she is devoid of a husband, people speak of her as a widow. O brave one! You are now lying down on a circle of blood that is oozing out of your own body. Your bedspread has the complexion of an insect122 and you have made your own bed. O bull among apes! I am unable to embrace you in my arms. Your body is covered with dust and blood everywhere.123 In this extremely terrible enmity, Sugriva has become successful today. With a single arrow released by Rama, he has been freed from his fear. With you having obtained death,124 I am looking at you. When I touch you, this arrow stuck to your heart acts as a barrier.’

  Then Nila took out the arrow from the body, like taking out a flaming serpent that has hidden inside a mountainous cavern. When the arrow was extracted, its radiance was like the rays of the sun, when it is setting atop Asta.125 Like copper-coloured and ochre-coloured126 water flowing from a mountain, blood started to flow out from all the wounds. The brave one had been struck by the weapon. With tears flowing from her eyes, she127 wiped the dust of battle from all over his body. On seeing that all the limbs of her dead husband were covered with blood, the beautiful Tara spoke to the coppery-eyed Angada. ‘O son! Behold the extremely terrible western state of your father.128 He has attained this end because of his attachment to enmity and his wicked deeds. His body was like that of the young and rising sun, but he has left for Yama’s abode. O son! Show your respect to the king, your father, the one who granted honours.’ Thus addressed, he arose and seized his father’s feet with his thick and round arms and said
, ‘I am Angada.’ ‘Angada is greeting you, as on earlier occasions.129 Why are you not replying and saying, “O son! May you live for a long time?” I am seated near you, with my son as my aide, senseless. I am like a cow with a calf, when a lion has just killed the bull. With Rama’s weapons as the water, you have performed the rituals in a sacrifice of fighting. Having accomplished it, how can you have a bath without me, your wife?130 Satisfied with your conduct in battles, the king of the gods gave you a necklace made out of molten gold. Why can’t I see it here now? O granter of honours! Even though you have lost your life, royal prosperity has not deserted you. Your radiance is like that of the sun, as it circles the king of the mountains.131 I was not able to restrain you with my words, which were like medication. With you having been slain in the encounter, I have been killed, with my son. Prosperity is deserting not just you, but me too.’

  Chapter 4(24)

  Thereafter, on seeing that Vali was dead, Raghava, the scorcher of enemies, addressed Sugriva in these comforting words. ‘A person who is dead does not gain anything from grieving and lamentations. One should undertake whatever task needs to be done next. This shedding of tears is in conformity with whatever is done in the worlds.132 However, after some time, there are other tasks that need to be undertaken. In the worlds, destiny is the cause. Destiny is behind all acts that are undertaken. Destiny is the cause that makes all creatures undertake action. No one is ever the doer. No one is the master in engaging someone else to act. The world acts according to its nature and is driven by destiny. Time cannot transcend destiny and destiny is never weakened. It133 acts according to its own nature and never exceeds it. Destiny does not recognize a relative, a cause, valour, a friend, a kin, a relationship, or a reason. It is its own master. Those who are virtuous in their insight can see the consequences of destiny. Dharma, artha and kama are encompassed by the progress of destiny. The lord of the apes pursued the auspicious objectives of dharma, artha and kama. Having reaped the consequences of his deeds, Vali has attained his own nature.134 The great-souled one was not concerned about protecting his own life. Having been engaged in his own dharma, he has obtained heaven. The destiny obtained by the lord of the apes is the best. Therefore, there has been enough of lamenting. It is time to show him respect.’