Seeing the inert body of her dear husband, Tara closely whiffed the face of that valiant king of vanaras, Vali and told her dead husband "You did not heed my advise and you are now reposing miserably on a very rough and uneven ground spread with stones. It seems that this earth is now your most beloved one, and that is why you are embracing her while reclining on her. And that is the reason why you are not replying me.
"Don't you hear the despairing wails of these chiefs of bears and vanaras who adore you in every respect as their most worshipful one. See our dear Angada has become very desperate.
"A Single arrow released by Rama has doubly benefited Sugreeva. Now he has become the king and his fear from your persecution is vanished." Tara went on wailing in this vein.
Then the vanara chief Nila extricated that arrow stuck in the chest of Vali. The sparkle of Rama's arrow while it is being extracted from Vali's chest was vying with the sparkles of brilliant sunrays.
The blood streams flown out of the gashes of Vali filled everywhere like the streams of water flowing from a mountain, saturated with coppery mineral-ores. On wiping off the war dust her husband was smeared with, Tara drenched it (i.e. Vali's body) with the tears gushing from her eyes. On seeing the blood wet limbs of her slain husband, Tara told her son Angada "See the highly harrowing end time plight of your father, oh, son. He reached his end owing to the enmity harnessed by sinful deeds. To him, whose physical splendour vied with the dazzle of rising sun, you pay your last obeisance as he journeyed to the abode of Yama."
Angada rose and touched the feet of his father with both palms saying, "father, I am Angada."
"Why don't you bless Angada saying, 'long live, son or something like that' when he is paying his respects to you, as earlier?" said Tara to Vali in her anguish. Tara could not contain her grief and went on weeping and prattling.
Seeing Tara in such an anguish over the sudden demise of her husband Vali, Sugreeva suddenly hit with an acute pang of affection for his brother Vali. He started feeling remorse extremely for causing the death of Vali. The more he watched Tara lamenting over the death of Vali, the more he felt despair at heart. With tears filled his face, and lamenting very much he, surrounded by his attendants, slowly inched near Rama. Rama, who was still handling his bow and snake-like arrow, like a highly distinguished person as he was, with all of his limbs adorned with great attributes that an emperor should have by birth, was standing nearby and watching Sugreeva approaching him, with a sagacious smile.
Comment.
Rama was still wielding his bow and arrow. The reason for this is attributed by experts on Valmiki Ramayana is the he (Rama) was doing so in order to curb any heroic thought in the minds of any of Vali's aficionados there.
End Comment.
Sugreeva told Rama "Of course, you have accomplished what you promised me. Now, suddenly I am getting a pang in my heart. Now, I do not have the heart to have the kingdom. Now I am getting a despicable feeling in my heart for getting my brother killed. I could not bear to see the agony of Tara, the dear wife of my brother Vali, and that of Angada the only son of my brother.
"Seeing my dear brother Vali dead, I am now painfully remorseful. In retrospect I think it would be better for me to continue to live on that mountain Rishyamuka for ever.
"I now am feeling immensely torturous for getting my brother killed. Now, I do not like to take over the kingdom. He, my dear brother Vali could have killed me at the time of his return after killing Dundubhi. But he never wanted to kill me.
"I was whining for a time when Vali thrashed me with a tree branch, as if with a schoolmaster's cane, but later on he told me in a comforting tone 'do not do this again, this daring me to fight you.'
"Fraternity, dignity and also probity were conserved by him, while I exhibited furiousness, enviousness and also naughtiness of a monkey.
"As Indra acquired the sin on killing Vishvarupa, the son of Tvastha, I too derived a sin by killing my brother, which sin is absolutely and totally undesirable at any given time, wholly derided by sagacious souls, and a disgustingly horrible spectre of brotherly hate.
Comment.
Once Brihaspati, the guru of Indra was irritated with Indra and went in hiding for some days. Then gods have fetched one named Vishvarupa, a son of TvaSTa, where TvaSTa himself is Brahma's brainchild, and made Vishvaruupa to sit on the high seat of Brihaspati, as his substitute. This Vishvarupa became partial to rakshashas and used to give portions of ritual oblations to them. Indra came to know of this and killed Vishvarupa, and thus got attached to the sin called 'brahma paataka paapa', (i.e. Sin for slaying a Brahman).
End Comment.
"Earth, waters, trees and women relieved Indra of his sin by taking the same on themselves, but who will bear the burden of this sin of mine, a vanara.
Comment.
Indra sought the help of earth, trees, waters and women to get rid of his sin. They agreed on some quid pro quo basis. Earth wanted automatic refill of dugout portions, trees wanted regrowth of cut branches, waters wanted an all purifying effect, and the women wanted to have never decreasing sexual desire. When Indra agreed to these conditions, then the earth, trees, waters and women shared the sin and earth acquired automatic refill of dugout portions of wastelands, waters got froth, trees exudation, and women menstruation. This is as detailed in bhaagavata puraNa , sixth canto.
End Comment.
"In view of this I feel that I am not eligible to succeed my dear brother Vali. And, I wish to enter a highly blazing fire, seeking amity with my departed brother and as well with son Angada. These highly capable and valiant vanaras will search for Seetha duly conducting themselves under your control. Oh, prince, even after my death, your mission will be achieved in its entirety. Oh, Rama, having perpetrated infraction I stand eliminated of the propriety of our race, and ipso facto I have become an unworthy one to live. Please therefore permit me to consign myself to fire."
On hearing the anguished words of the younger brother of Vali, namely Sugreeva, Rama was very much moved by the contrite Sugreeva for his punitive recourse he decided for himself and Rama's eyes became moistened and he also became perturbed for a moment.
Rama, who was thinking of the the best course of action to be followed looked at Tara, who was wailing in desperation. Rama paced towards her, who was hugging her departed husband. Seeing Rama approaching Tara, the ministers of Vali disengaged her. When she was disengaged from Vali, she saw Rama with his bow and arrow in his hands and who was resplendent like the sun, by his own resplendence. She recognised him as Rama. She then got up and moved towards him. When she went near Rama she said
"Oh, brave one, kill me, too with the same arrow with which you killed my dear husband. My dear husband Vali will not be happy without me, even though numerous apsaras would be very eager to please him. On getting killed at your hand I wish to reach his near.
"Do not think of me as a woman, but deem me as his soul, as scriptures say that the wife is the soul of husband. Therefore, by killing me you will not be killing a woman but the soul of Vali and as such you will not get any blemish of woman killing.
"As a great scholar you are aware that according to various Vedic sayings, wife is not a separate entity from her husband.
"Endowment of a wife to her husband, by way of killing and sending her to her husband cannot be construed as a sin.
"Anguished and unprotected, such as I am, oh, lord, I am being distracted from my departed husband by these Vanara ministers, and it will not be proper for you to not to kill me, as I am incapable to live without him, whose sprightly gait is like that of an elephant, a best one among vanaras, a courageous one, and who wears a precious and exquisite golden pendant."
Rama, looking kindly at Tara, consoled her saying "Oh, the wife of the most valiant one, let not your mind go raving. You know very well that He the Almighty has decreed all the world to be in this way.
"And HE has ordained mirth and misery, and even their association, so say sagely people. And even the triad of worlds is indeed under HIS control, and that triad too, cannot transgress the foreordained predestination.
"You will get paramount appeasement as before, and your son will become the crown prince. God has ordained destiny in that way only. Wives of the valiant ones are not to mourn emotionally."
Tara could not counter the consoling appeasement of Rama and she, therefore agreed.
Rama then collected Tara, Sugreeva and Angada and told them "Deceased will not derive any bliss by sorrowful mourning. It will, therefore be appropriate to arrange for that work which is subsequent in this matter.
"Worldly observances are to be observed, but continue to mourn sine die will not yield any useful result.
"Fate is the cause of all the worlds, Fate is the instrument for action, Fate is the deciding factor for motivation of all beings in these worlds.
"None is an instrument in motivating someone else to do something or otherwise, none is also a controlling entity of others, and even the world functions in its own nature, and that Time is cardinal for that world.
"Time will not transcend Time, neither Time transgresses itself, and on attaining the nature endowed by Time nothing can overstep its own Fate. Time has no kinship, thus it has no partiality, there is nothing instrumental to override Time, hence nothing can override it, and there are no causative factors to Time that connect through friends or relatives, hence all are equal in its viewpoint. But even the mutations brought forth by Time are observable by a perceiver with a clear vision, and the virtue, wealth and pleasures are to be perceived as cumulated during the course of Time.
"It is destined that the great Vali is to end his life today. There is no point in grieving over the actions caused by Time. Let us proceed to that that are incumbent on us now".
Taking a cue from his brother, Lakshmana told the disconcerted Sugreeva "Sugreeva, you attend to the subsequent funeral rites along with Tara and Angada, and arrange for the cremation of Vali. Order at once for substantial dry firewood, likewise for finest sandalwood, for the purpose of the exequies. Bolster up that miserable Angada who is heartbroken, you too should not become frivolous in thinking, as this city Kishkindha is now dependent on you.
"Let Angada bring wreaths, different cloths, ghee, oils, as well perfumes and other items that are consequently useful in funeral." He then turning to the vanara chief Tara, and told him "you go quickly and come readily fetching a palanquin for the dead. Let suitable, proficient and sturdy Vaanaras be made at ready as the bearers of the palanquin to carry away Vali."
The instructions of Lakshmana were duly complied with, of course. And Vali was cremated with all respects due to him.
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