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Vali Vadham 3

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Hari Krishnan • December 2, 2002 


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, RamaÂ’s wife was abducted and SugrivaÂ’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 ValmikiÂ’s creation of the epic.

 


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