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

[Guest guest]

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.