Vāli
Vāli, also written Bāli, was the very strong vānara (monkey-race) king of Kishkindhā and the elder brother of Sugrīva. He was born from a divine portion (aṃśa) of Indra, and is called the son of Ṛksharāja, the vānara king, and of a vānarī mother. He was one of the most powerful warriors in the three worlds. He is known for his great strength, for a boon that gave him half the strength of any opponent who faced him, for his many fights, and for the famous time he tucked Rāvaṇa under his arm while he did his sandhyāvandana (daily dawn and dusk prayers).
His quarrel with Sugrīva over Māyāvī sent Sugrīva away from Kishkindhā. This led in the end to Sugrīva’s friendship with Bhagavān Rāma. Bhagavān Rāma killed Vāli with an arrow from behind a tree. His death gave Kishkindhā back to his brother Sugrīva and led to the vānara alliance that made the Laṅkā campaign possible.
Divine origin
The Bāla Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, chapter 17, tells of the making of the vānaras. Bhagavān Vishṇu had agreed to come as Rāma. Brahmā then told the devas, gandharvas and ṛshis to bring forth vānara warriors from their aṃśas (portions) to help Rāma. This was the great Vānara Sṛshṭi (creation of the vānaras). Vāli was born from the aṃśa of Indra, the king of the devas. The same passage names Sugrīva as born from the aṃśa of Sūrya and Hanumān from that of Vāyu. This act of creation made the vānara army ready to serve Rāma when the time came.
Vāli was the son of Ṛksharāja, the vānara king. He grew up as the elder prince and later became king of the vānara realm at Kishkindhā. His divine birth gave him great strength, even among the mighty vānaras, who were themselves born of divine parents.
Birth as the son of Indra
The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, chapter 252, tells of the parents of the two royal brothers of Kishkindhā:
- Vāli was born of Indra, the king of the devas and ruler of svarga (heaven), and a vānarī mother.
- Sugrīva was born of Sūrya, the deva of the sun, and another vānarī mother.
Vāli had Indra’s strength and the thunderbolt power of the devas. Sugrīva had Sūrya’s radiance and energy. The same Purāṇa says that the vānara lines in general come from various devas, as told in the Pulaha Vaṃśa (chapter 248).
Vāli and Rāvaṇa
The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, chapter 223, tells of Vāli’s meeting with Rāvaṇa during Rāvaṇa’s conquest of pātāla (the lower world). Rāvaṇa was at the height of his conquest of all three worlds. He came to the land of the vānaras and found Vāli doing his sandhyāvandana, which Vāli did at the four shores of the ocean as part of his spiritual discipline.
Rāvaṇa challenged Vāli to fight. Vāli did not stop his prayer. He seized Rāvaṇa under his armpit, held him there like a small parcel, and went on with his sandhyāvandana. He went to the four oceans, east, west, north and south, saying his prayers. The twenty-armed king of the rākshasas was held helpless under his arm the whole time.
When the worship was over, Vāli let Rāvaṇa go with a careless gesture. This was a deep humiliation. Rāvaṇa had conquered Indra, had made svarga shake, and had lifted Kailāsa. Yet a monkey carried him under its arm like a bag of grain while it prayed.
The two then made peace. They admitted each other’s strength and parted with respect.
The boon
Vāli’s great power came from a boon (vara). Whoever faced him in direct combat lost half of his strength to Vāli. So Vāli’s opponent grew weaker while Vāli grew stronger. To fight him face to face was near to death for any warrior. The vara made him the greatest military power of Kishkindhā and the most feared fighter among the vānara warriors.
The Agni Mahā Purāṇa says that this is why Rāma did not fight Vāli from the front. Rāma shot Vāli with an arrow from behind a tree, while Sugrīva fought Vāli face to face. As he lay dying, Vāli challenged Rāma on this. Rāma then explained why it was right by dharma.
Dundubhi and Mataṅga’s curse
One of the greatest shows of Vāli’s power was the killing of the rākshasa Dundubhi, who had the form of a buffalo. Dundubhi came to Kishkindhā in the dead of night, roaring a challenge. He was huge and had the strength of a thousand war elephants. He had earlier challenged the ocean and the Himālaya. Both refused to fight and sent him to Vāli as the only worthy opponent. Dundubhi struck the palace gates with his horns. Vāli came out and killed him quickly, then threw the body a full yojana (a measure of distance) away.
The body fell near the āśrama (hermitage) of Mataṅga Muni, and the blood from it spattered his holy ground. Mataṅga was angry and spoke a śāpa (a curse). If Vāli ever set foot on Ṛshyamūka mountain, his head would split into a hundred pieces. So Vāli could never go to Ṛshyamūka. That made it the one place in the world where Sugrīva could take refuge in his exile. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, chapters 11 and 12)
The battle with Golabha
After Vāli’s death, Tārā cried out in grief and remembered his endurance against the gandharva Golabha. Vāli had fought Golabha so fiercely that neither stopped for food or rest. The fight lasted fifteen days and nights without a break. Even Tārā could not reach Vāli during those fifteen days. Tārā spoke of this even in her deepest grief, as proof of Vāli’s great endurance and courage. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, chapters 19 and 20)
The cause of the feud: the cave of Māyāvī
The quarrel that split Kishkindhā began in good faith. A great asura named Māyāvī came to Kishkindhā at midnight and challenged Vāli. Both brothers chased him. Māyāvī ran into a cave. Vāli went in to fight him and told Sugrīva: “Wait at the entrance. I will destroy him.” Sugrīva waited a full year. Then blood flowed out of the cave, with the sounds of asuras celebrating. Sugrīva believed in his grief that Vāli had been killed. On the advice of the ministers he closed the cave mouth with a great boulder and went back to Kishkindhā. The ministers there crowned him king.
But Vāli had in fact killed Māyāvī. He broke through the boulder and came out to find his brother on the throne. He believed that he had been betrayed on purpose. He drove Sugrīva out of the city, took his wife Rumā, and made his life impossible. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, chapter 9)
Sugrīva carried this wrong to Rāma when they met at Ṛshyamūka.
Tārā’s warning and Vāli’s refusal
Before the second and fatal battle, Vāli’s wise wife Tārā came to him in tears with urgent advice. She had sure word that Rāma, the son of Daśaratha and an Ikshvāku prince in exile, had made an alliance with Sugrīva and now stood behind him. She said that Rāma was not only a warrior. He was the Vedas themselves, and the śāstras in human form, a being beyond ordinary human power. She begged Vāli to make peace with Sugrīva, to make him yuvarāja (crown prince), and to seek Rāma’s friendship instead of opposing the friend Rāma had chosen.
Vāli listened patiently but would not change his mind. He said: “A kshatriya does not turn from a challenge once it has been sounded. Even if Rāma himself comes against me, I will face it.” He embraced Tārā and left. She knew what would come. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, chapter 15)
The fatal arrow
The second fight between Vāli and Sugrīva was fierce and long. Sugrīva wore a flower garland around his neck so that Rāma could tell him apart from his twin-like brother. He fought with all his strength. As they struggled, Bhagavān Rāma drew his bow from behind the cover of the trees and let the arrow go.
The arrow struck Vāli in the chest with the force of Indra’s thunderbolt. The great vānara king staggered and fell to the ground. He fell like a golden mountain struck by a vajra. He lay with the arrow still in his chest. His divine golden necklace still shone, and his body glowed like the sky at sunset. He was splendid even in his fall. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, chapter 16)
Vāli’s challenge and Rāma’s answer
As Rāma came near, the dying Vāli spoke out: “What dharma is this? I was fighting my own brother. You had no quarrel with me. I never wronged you. You struck me like a hunter hidden from his prey, from behind cover, without declaring yourself. What honour is there in such a deed for a kshatriya? Explain this.”
Rāma answered fully, without anger and without apology.
- On rāja-dharma (the duty of kings): the whole earth belongs to the Ikshvāku kings, who hold their dharmic authority over all beings in creation.
- On Vāli’s pāpa (sin): Rumā was like a daughter-in-law to Vāli, as sacred as a daughter. To take her while Sugrīva was alive broke the deepest law of dharma, condemned by all the śāstras. Kāma (desire) had blinded Vāli to his wrong.
- On hunting from hiding: kings hunt animals from hiding, and this is fully within rāja-dharma. A vānara is a forest dweller, and the way he is killed does not decide whether the killing is right by dharma.
- On the promise: Rāma had given his word to Sugrīva. A man of dharma does not break his word.
- On Manu’s teaching: when a king punishes according to the rules, the one punished is cleansed of the wrong he has built up. Vāli, having received just punishment, would now rise to good states.
Vāli listened in silence. He understood and accepted. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, chapters 17 and 18)
Vāli’s last words
With dharma made clear and his mind at peace, Vāli turned to Sugrīva: “Brother, what happened between us was the working of fate. Do not blame yourself. I acted in ignorance and pride. Take the kingdom. You are its rightful king.” He asked Sugrīva to keep to dharma. He gave Sugrīva the divine golden garland, his most valued possession and the sign and tool of his Indra-born power. He warned that its divine force would last only while he still breathed. At the moment of his death it would become an ordinary ornament in another’s hands.
He then turned to Aṅgada, his son, with his last teaching: “My son, be neither too close nor too far from Sugrīva. Serve him with calm in joy and in sorrow. Above all, help Rāma. Whatever task Rāma gives you, do it without delay and without excuse. To fail Rāma is adharma.” With these words Vāli’s breath left him. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, chapters 22 and 23)
Death and succession
Vāli’s death gave Sugrīva back the kingship of Kishkindhā. Sugrīva was crowned king with full Vedic rites. Aṅgada was made yuvarāja, in keeping with Vāli’s last wish. The alliance between Rāma and Sugrīva, and with it the whole vānara people, became the force that made the crossing of the ocean and the war against Rāvaṇa possible. Aṅgada became one of the chief vānara commanders in the Laṅkā campaign. (Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, chapter 252; Agni Mahā Purāṇa; Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, chapter 25)
In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa
Origin from Ṛksharāja. In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Sugrīva tells Rāma a different birth account of the vānara royal line. Brahmā’s earwax, thrown to the earth, became Ṛksharāja, a strong male vānara who roamed the forest killing asuras. One day Ṛksharāja leaped into a lake and came out as a beautiful woman. Indra and Sūrya were both drawn to her. From their unions the two brothers were born: Vāli from Indra’s aṃśa and Sugrīva from Sūrya’s aṃśa. After their birth the woman became the male Ṛksharāja again. The two brothers then went to Brahmaloka, received Brahmā’s blessing and direction, and came to Kishkindhā.
The curse of Takshaka. In the Tulasī version the seven palm trees come with a particular curse. A serpent had rested on the palm fruits Vāli kept for himself. Vāli cursed the serpent, and seven palm trees grew from its body. Takshaka, the father of that serpent, learned of this and spoke a curse in return: “He who fells these seven trees with a single arrow, by his hand shall Vāli die.”
Tārā’s warning about who Rāma is. In the Tulasī version Tārā speaks to Vāli even more plainly about who Rāma is. She tells him that Rāma is not a mortal but Bhagavān Rāma himself in human form. Vāli’s reply to her shows his understanding. He thinks to himself that if Rāma is truly Bhagavān Rāma, then death at his hands is liberation, mahad-bhāgya (great good fortune), and not defeat.
The Avadhi verse “Dharma hetu.” Vāli’s dying challenge to Rāma is one of the best-known Avadhi verses of the Rāmacaritamānas:
Dharma hetu avatarehū gosāī!
It means: “Master, you came down for dharma’s sake, yet you struck me like a hunter hidden in the forest!” On the surface it is a reproach. Tulasīdāsa’s commentators read it as the feigned anger of a bhakta (devotee), hiding the joy of recognition.
Rāma offers immortality. After giving his reasons by dharma, Rāma placed his hand on Vāli’s head and offered to restore him to deathless life. Vāli refused with deep eloquence. He had had the personal darśana (sight) of Bhagavān Rāma at the moment of death, which yogis seek for many births, and this broken body was no longer of any use to him. He asked only for janma-janmāntara bhakti (devotion in birth after birth) at Rāma’s feet.
Giving Aṅgada to Rāma. With his last breath Vāli placed Aṅgada in Rāma’s hands. He asked Rāma to protect Aṅgada and give him lasting devotion. Then he left his body as easily as an elephant shakes a garland from its neck.
Sources
- Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 223, 252
- Agni Mahā Purāṇa
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 17
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 9–25
- Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa