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Vali Vadham 46

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Hari Krishnan • December 20, 2002 


The final diagnosis


This is as far as Valmiki Ramayana is concerned.  If one comes to Kamban, this question does not arise at all.  The reader will recollect the careful manner in which Kamban has been building up the events.  It is no doubt Valmiki's Vali makes a mention as follows: "Had you fought with me on the battlefield remaining before my eyes, O prince, you would have seen God Yama (son of the sun-god) when killed by me this (very) day.  (Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, Canto XVII, Sloka 47).  Though he sounds a little superior to Rama in this Sloka, he changes his mind in the following verses, when he says, 'you should have approached me instead, for I would have brought your wife back from Ravana.'  Though this may sound inconsistent it is understandable that a person in the last throes of death could not check his tongue and Vali's overstatement was given the wink by Rama.  Subsequently even Valmiki's Vali accepts the fact that Rama was right in what he did.

As far as Kamba Ramayana is concerned, the question of Vali deriving the power of his opponent applying or not applying to Rama is a non-issue.  Kamban has not put such words as in Valmiki Ramayana, into the mouth of Vali at all.  I quote what Sri VVS Aiyar has to say on this.

"The reference by Vali to his immense prowess and magical capacity mentioned by us above aims at making the reader think that perhaps even Rama could not have killed Vali if he should have faced him.  And if Vali must be killed for his crimes against Sugriva, as the reader like Vali himself must agree after Rama's justification, what has Rama to do except shoot at him from behind a cover without facing him?  But at the same time, see how Kamban takes care that Vali does not say that this magical power would work against Rama also.  It is after his reference to his magical power that Tara mentions Rama's name, and naturally one would expect Vali to say that magic would cover Rama's case as well.  But the careful Kamban does not put these words into his mouth.  For he wants to leave the capacity of Rama to fight face to face with Vali an open question, being satisfied with the impression in the mind of his reader that possibly the Vara of Vali would have enabled him to withstand the force of Rama's dart if Ram

In other words, as far as Kamba Ramayana is concerned, the so-called magical power of Vali to receive half the power of his opponent was not an issue at all when it came to Rama.  

It is therefore not appropriate to think of Rama who wiped out legions and legions of reserve forces (mUla bala sainya) of Ravana and also the vast army of Kara and Dhooshana all alone by himself without the assistance of anyone, to have gone behind the tree to kill Vali just to avoid his getting the power of Rama.  Govindaraja has given out the reason for this very well and Kamban has put it through the mouth of Lakshmana.  More important, Vali had no hesitation in accepting it.  When Vali himself, who argued quite vehemently, was convinced of the acts of crime which he committed that deserved the punishment and what Lakshmana told him as the reason for Rama's attack from behind a tree, there could be no difficulty for others to accept the situation.

Let us see the reaction of Vali and a few related questions that remain to be seen like why Rama chose a weaker ally in Sugriva rather than Vali.




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