Ramayana of Valmiki and kamban-7.. Crowning of Sugriva

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7. Sugreeva pattabhishekam

 

Rama told Vali to give up his grief and delusion as he could not change destiny

and assured him that Angadha will be treated by him and Sugreeva as he was by

Vali.

 

Hearing that Vali was at his last moments hit by the arrow of Rama Tara came

there and lamented that the act of Vali in confiscating the wife of Sugreeva

after driving him away was the cause of his downfall when Hanuman consoled her

and advised her thus.

puNya dhoshakrtham janthuH svakarma phala hethukam

avyayaH thadhavaapnothi sarvam prethya SubhaaSubham

 

A jiva after leaving his body obtains the pUNya and Papa according to his good

and evil karma.

And he told her to think of Angadha and make him the king and take care of him,

to which Tara replied that Sugriva alone is in charge of what had to be done

after Vali's demise. She was only interested in following her husband and had no

desire to live.

 

Then Vali opened his eyes and saw Sugriva near him and told him that what had

happened was only due to fate and asked Sugriva not to treat him as a wrongdoer

anymore.

 

He asked Sugriva to treat Angadha as his own son and treat Tara with respect and

listen to her advice. He told Sugriva to fulfil the task he promised to Rama and

if he failed Rama will punish him also.

 

He gave the golden necklace to Sugriva before he died after advising Angadha to

obey Sugriva in all respects. This necklace given to him by Indra whose amsa he

was, and had the power of causing half the strength of his opponent come to

him. This was one of the reasons cited to justify Rama killing Vali from afar

not coming in front of him but Rama being the incarnation of the Lord Himself

would not have been affected by it, yet he had to respect the boon given by

another deva as he took the form of Narasimha to kill Hiranyakasipu to respect

the boon given by Brahma. Hence it may be justified to quote this as a reason

for Rama not coming in front of Vali.

 

After advising Sugriva, Vali died and all Vanaras cried piteously. Sugriva also

realizing that his great brother is no more became grief stricken with remorse

and approached Rama and said that he no longer wished for the kingdom and only

wanted to enter the fire with Vali along with Tara and Anagdha. He told Rama

that his vanaras will accomplish the deed of Rama even after his death.

 

Then Tara came to Rama and beseeched him to kill her also with the same arrow so

that she could join her husband. The sloka by which she addressed Rama who

killed her husband shows the glory of Rama which makes even those who had every

cause to have enmity started praising him like Vali and Surpanakha did, because

they could see that he was vigrahavaan DharnaH.

 

Tara said,

 

Thvam aprameyaScha dhuraasadhaScha

 

jithendhriyaH cha uttham DhaarmikaScha

 

akshayyakeerthiScha vichakshaNaScha

 

kshithikshamaavaan kshathajopamaaksha

 

 

" You are of immeasurable glory and invincible; You are the master of indhriyas

and great follower of dharma; You have imperishable fame and knower of all; You

are patient like the earth and your eyes are like red lotus. " These words came

from a wife to one who killed her husband!

 

Then Rama reminded her the duty of a wife of a hero and told her that no one can

act against one's destiny, meaning that one cannot die before their time. Rama

asked her to become contented with the future of her son who will be the crowned

prince. He consoled Sugriva also thus and told them to carry on the last rites

of Vali, saying that just by lamenting over the death, the one who died will not

come back.

Then Sugriva did the last rites of Vali, who had the good fortune of dying by

the hand of the Lord Himself and hence had gone to meritorious worlds, in a

fitting manner.

 

Then Hanuman asked Rama to come to Kishkindha to crown Sugriva to which Rama

replied that before the fourteen years of exile were over he would not enter

any country or town and asked Lakshmana to perform the coronation. Then after

the coronation Rama and Lakshmana went to reside in the cave in the hills and

told Sugriva that they will be there for the rainy season and Sugriva, after

enjoying his life as the king of vanaras for four months , could arrange for the

search of Seetha. Sugriva promised accordingly and started enjoying his life in

Kishkindha.