From
Kishkindha Kandam (The Empire of Holy Monkeys) of Valmiki Ramayanam
Rama's
arrow hits Vali on chest and Vali fallen down. But Vali is not dead yet. When
Rama and Lakshmana approach dying Vali, he questions the propriety of Rama in
killing him. Vali's questioning explicitly is straightforward befitting to the
defeated mighty Vanara King. There are ancient commentaries that deduce many
more meanings in picturising Vali as a devotee of Rama, who wanted to die at
the hand of Rama, like Viraadha and others, as a means of salvation.
"You
are a renowned prince with pleasing looks… but, which kind of death I am
getting now, that too when I was in the commotion of conflict with another,
alas, that ignoble death is owing to you, and what merit is achieved by you in
this undertaking of yours to kill someone who is facing away from you…”
"Rama
is high-born, they say, gifted with mightiness, resplendent, pursuer of vows,
mindful of mercy, delighter in people's welfare, sympathetic, greatly enthusiastic
and assertively committed in doing good deeds, knower of time-and-action, all
these living-beings on earth are thus relating your renown, aren't they.”
"To be
able to control senses and will, forgiveness, conscientiousness, resoluteness,
truthfulness, and adventurousness, oh, king, are the aptitudes of a king, and
even punishing the wrongdoers, too.”
"Concluding
that those kingly characteristics will be obtainable in you, and even judging
by the noble dynasty of yours, I have confronted Sugreeva though Tara dissuaded
me.”
"When
you have not appeared before me when I confronted Sugreeva my concept was, 'it
will be inapt of Rama to hurt me while I am combating with another combatant,
besides, when I will be unvigilant in that fight…”
"Not
known that your soul is put to death, not known that you are the unrighteous
flag bearer of righteousness, to me not known that you are insidious like straw
covered well.”
"I
have no knowledge that you are a sinner, one in the garb of a benign soul, and
explicitly mantled under the garb of probity like ash covered fire.”
"I am
non-guilty as I have not committed any misdeed either in your country or in
your city, nor I have taunted you; I am a vanara subsisting on fruits and
tubers and always moving in forests alone; such as I am, what made you to
torture me when I was not combating with you en face, furthermore, when I was
involved with another?”
"You
are renowned to be a prince with charming looks, oh, king, and indications
agreeable to rectitude are also appearing on your body.”
"Will
anybody born in Kshatriya's family, a learned one in Veda-s, thereby who is rid
of ambiguities with respect to right and wrong, and who is cloaked in an air of
probity, execute such a ruthless deed like this?”
"Though
born in Raghava's dynasty and renowned as a moralist you are actually amoral,
and for what purpose you run around with this moral aspect?”
"Influencing,
largesse, forbearance, probity, candour, and conquering are the attributes of
the kings, oh, king, and even punishing the wrongdoers.”
"We as
animals live in forests while you are city dwellers, we live by eating fruits
and tubers while you enjoy feasts and banquets, our nature is such to kill and
get killed, thus you and me have no correlation. And you, even if you are a man
and a prince for humans, you resorted to this animalistic way of killing me
lying in the wait, thus your action is worse than that of an animal, if not
subhuman or un-princely.”
"Territory,
gold, and silver will be the causes while counteracting somebody, in that case,
by what you are decoyed into these forests of mine or in the fruits of mine.”
"In
the pairs of propriety and compliance, punishment and pardoning, no admixture
is exercised in kingcraft, for the kings do not conduct themselves volitionally.”
"But,
to you your self-interests are primary, and you are a wrathful, capricious,
contriver of kingcraft, and an impetuous shooting-happy archer.”
"Oh,
king, you have no devotion to probity, nor your mind is firm about material
gains, but as a free-willed one you are distracted by senses.”
"How
you are answerable to gentlemen, Rama, when you have done this detestable deed
of killing an unoffending one like me with your arrow?”
"A
regicide, a Brahman-cide, a cow-slayer, a thief, an inveterate killer, an atheist,
and a younger brother who marries before his elder, all of them will go to hell.”
"A
slander-monger, skinflint, friend-killer and one who makes love with his
teacher's wife, they all go to the worlds of evil-souls, no doubt about it.
"My
skin is un-wearable, holy people forbid my hair and bones, and uneatable is my
meat for your kind of reputable people.”
"Raghava,
five kinds of five-nailed animals, viz., a kind of wild rodent, a kind of
wild-boar, a kind of lizard, a hare and fifthly the turtle are edible for
Brahmans and Kshatriyas.
"Sensible
people will not touch my skin and bones, oh, king, nor meats from my body are
to be eaten, such as I am, a five-nailed animal, I am killed.
"Though
Tara appraised me with truthful and favourable words, I just disregarded her
advise owing to my own delusion, and gone into the control of Time.
"With
you as her espouser the
Earth is not with a correct spouse, as with any lady who is with full-fledged
chastity, but with a husband who is without rectitude.”
"How
are you borne to that great-souled Dasharatha when you are artful, felonious,
knavish, disposed to a false modesty subconsciously, and an evildoer?”
"I am
killed by an elephant called Rama that snapped off its girdle-cord called tradition,
that infringed the conventions of righteous people, and that discarded the goad
called virtue.”
"On
accomplishing this sort of unpropitious, unjustified killing, which is
condemned by the righteous people, what can you say when you meet the godly men?”
"The
valour that which is displayed on the unprejudiced few like us, oh, Rama, I do
not see that sort of valour is shown by you in respect of your enemies.”
"Had
you been in combat with me en face oh, prince, you would have been killed by me
and by now you would have seen the death-god Yama.”
"An
unassailable one, such as I am, I am killed by you while you remained invisible
on the field of fight, as with a sinner bitten by a snake while he is asleep.”
"For
which purpose I am killed, intending to do good to Sugreeva is incidental to
it, you should have assigned me for that purpose in the first instance itself,
and I would have brought that evil-minded demon Ravana, the abductor of your
wife in one day, that too without killing him in any fight, but by fastening
him by neck, and I would have presented Maithili to you.”
"I
would have brought Maithili at your order even if she is lodged in oceanic
waters or in nether worlds, as with the White Horse of Vedic lore.”
"The
fact of Sugreeva's getting the kingdom after my going to heaven is proper, but
the fact of your killing me in war, unrighteously, is improper.”
"Admittedly
the world is this way, and if possible a relevant reply may gently be thought
ofabout your propriety in killing me..."
That
great-souled son of a vanara king Vali, whom the arrow impaled and agonised, on
keenly seeing Rama whose resplendence equals the brightness of the sun, said
that much and remained silent when his mouth has dried up.
Vali's
killing is a puzzle from the viewpoint of imperial politics and dharma. Hence
Vali questions logically about it, even at his dying stage. The questions are
as below:
1] By
killing one who is facing away, what worth is achieved by you?
2] You have
not punished the wrongdoer
3] Killed
one who is combating with another and an unvigilant one
4] In your
country or city I did no misdeed
5]
Non-guilty being is hurt
6] Fruits,
tuber eating being is killed
7] No dispute
of land, gold or silver
8] You
primary aspiration is to kill without probing into good or bad
9] How do you
face criticism by scholars?
10]
Unnecessary killers are hell-goers
11]
Un-wearable is my skin uneatable is my flesh
12] Five
kinds of five-nailed animals are usable by humans
13] I would
have brought back Maithili in one day.
Rama
explains to dying Vali as to why he gave such a punishment. Rama categorically answers
all the question put by Vali in the last chapter from the viewpoint of
scriptures that lay down principle for sanaatana dharma, eternal tradition, as well as raaja dharma, king's duty.
"Uncaring
for probity, prosperity, pleasure deriving, and even for the social
conventions, now how do you rebuke me childishly in this matter?”
"Unconsulted
are the doyens of your race that are intellectually well off and agreeable to
your mentors about rights and wrongs about your deeds, oh, gentle one, how do
you wish to debate with me in this matter with your primate's caprice.”
"This
earth with its mountains, woods, and forests, even along with the authority to
condone or condemn the animals, birds, and humans on it belongs to Ikshvaku’s.”
“He who is
virtue-souled, truth-abiding, plain-speaking, and the knower of the import of
probity, pleasures, and prosperity, and the one who is concerned in controlling
or condoning his subjects, that Bharata is the ruler of earth.”
"In
whom both scrupulousness and benignancy are there, truthfulness is firmed up,
and valour as evinced by scriptures is evident, and he who is the knower of
time and place is the king, namely Bharata.”
"Holding
his virtuous decree desiring to keep up the continuum of righteousness, we and
some other kings are wayfaring this earth in its entirety.”
“While that
Bharata, the kingly-tiger and a patron of virtue, is ruling the earth in its
entirety, who is there to conduct himself in an unacceptable way to morality on
it?”
"Abiding
in our own pre-eminent righteousness, and even abiding by the order of Bharata
we punish him who deviated from the path of morality, according to custom.”
"As
for you, you brought virtue to a state of decadence, rendered yourself
reprovable by your own decadent behaviour, for carnality alone has become your
primary doctrine, and thus you have not abided by the conduct meetly to a king.”
"It is
to be known by him who treads the way of righteousness that he has three
fatherly personages, namely his own father, his elder brother, and the one who
accords education to him.”
"A
younger brother, a son, and a disciple with good characteristics, these three
are to be deemed as one's own sons, for such matters take base on rectitude
alone.”
"The
probity practised by principled people is very subtle and highly imponderable,
and the soul that abides in the hearts of all beings alone can differentiate
between just and unjust.”
"Like
a blind by birth counselling with similarly blind, you being a vacillant, on
your counselling only with frantic minded vacillant monkeys, what can you
really fathom about right and wrong?”
"I
will clarify about the words I have said, but I tell you that it is indeed
inapt of you to disdain me just out of your outrage.”
"Realise
this reason by which I have eliminated you… you misbehaved with your brother's
wife, forsaking the perpetual tradition.”
"While
the great-souled Sugreeva is still alive, you with your habit of sinful acts
have lustily misbehaved with Sugreeva's wife Ruma, who should be counted as
your daughter-in-law.”
"Thereby,
oh, vanara, this punishment is imposed on you, for your dissolute sinning in
abusing your brother's wife, thereby for your transgression of tradition and
virtue.”
"I
foresee no other kind of control other than punishment to him who conducts
himself contrary to the society and who is deviant of conventions.”
"As a
Kshatriya emerged from a best dynasty I do not tolerate your wrongdoing, and
the punishment to the one who lustfully indulges with his daughter, or with his
sister, or with the wife of his younger brother is his elimination, as recalled
from scriptures.”
"While
Bharata is the lord of land and we are his proxies adhering to his orders, and
while you too have overstepped the bounds of rightness, then how is it possible
to be lenient?”
"While
ruling righteously sensible Bharata punishes him who oversteps the momentous
virtue, and he is poised to put down lustful ones.”
"As
for us, oh, monkey's lord, we effectuate our brother's orders and our duty, and
we stand for curbing your kind of shatterers of ethics.”
"My
association with Sugreeva is as good as that with Lakshmana, nevertheless it
betided with an understanding to regain Sugreeva's wife and kingdom, and he
will give succour to me.”
"I
gave a promise to Sugreeva at the time of befriending him in the presence of
vanara-s, and how is it possible for my kind to dishonour a given promise?”
"Thereby
you have to infer that a
befitting punishment is given to you, owing to all these great reasons
that abound with virtue and with supreme value.”
"Anywise,
you have to regard the punishment given to you is legitimate, and he whom
rectitude guides has to render assistance to his friend, in any event.”
"Had
you pursued rightness you
too would have done the same deed in imposing such a punishment, and we hear
two verses that are given to the advocacy of good conventions, which the
experts of rightness have also accepted, and which are said to be coined by
Manu, and I too conducted myself only as detailed in those verses of law.”
"
'When kings impose proper punishment on the humans who have sinned, they become
sinless and enter heaven as with the pious souls with good deeds.' So says one
verse of Manu.”
"
'Either by punishment or by clemency a thief will be absolved from sin, but the
king who does not impose proper punishment will derive the blot of that sin.'
So says the other verse of Manu.”
"When
a renouncer has committed sin like that of the one committed by you, my
venerable ancestor Maandhaata has given punishment which he desired.”
"Such
sin is acquired even by other kings who are unobservant in imposing proper
punishment, and those kings had to make amends for it at appropriate time, by
that propitiation they used to mitigate that filth of that sin.”
"Thereby,
enough with your annoyance, oh, tigerly vanara, as your elimination is devised
righteously, and we too are not independent.”
"Oh,
brave and best one among monkeys, further listen to another cause, and on
listening that important cause you will not be infuriated.”
"I have
neither angst nor ire in this matter of my eliminating you, or, your reviling
me, oh, best monkey, but listen to the other point I wish to make clear. People
will be capturing several animals, either covertly or overtly, with snares,
springes and even with numerous contrivances.”
"Meat
eating people will undeniably kill animals, either they are speedily sprinting
or standing steadily, fully dismayed or undismayed, vigilant or unvigilant, and
even if they are facing away, in that there is no sacrilege.”
"In this
world even the kingly sages well-versed in virtue will go on hunting, and
hunting is no face to face game, as such, oh, vanara, therefore I felled you in
combat with my arrow because you are a tree-branch animal, whether you are not
combating with me or combating against me.”
"Kings
are the bounteous benefactors of the unobtainable righteousness and propitious
lifestyles, oh, best vanara, no doubt about it.”
"They
the kings are not to be harmed, also not to be reproved, not disparaged and
nothing displeasing is spoken to them, as they are the divinities conducting
themselves in human form on the plane of earth.”
"I am
abiding by the ethicalness practised by my father and forefathers, but you
revile me without the knowledge of rightness, just by clinging to your
rancour." Thus said Rama to dying Vali.”
Vali is
much distressed at heart of hearts when Rama has said categorically in that
way, whereby, deriving certitude about rightness he found no incorrectness with
Rama.
There are
ancient commentaries that deduce many more meanings in picturising Vali as a
devotee of Rama, who wanted to die at the hand of Rama, like Viraadha and
others, as a means of salvation.
