Shriram and Vali

Friends, Shriram was born on the day of Navami (The Ninth day of the Hindu lunar month of Chaitra). He is the perfect example of an ideal king. Now, we will see how Shriram, who was ready to sacrifice everything, even his wife, for the sake of His subjects, slayed the evil vali and handed over Sugriv his kingdom.

Vali and Sugriv were brothers who lived in the kingdom named Kishkinda. Both loved each other very much. vali, being the elder brother, was the King of Kishkinda. Once, a very powerful demon, named Mayavi, attacked that kingdom. vali and Mayavi had a fierce battle. Both of them were very good warriors. While fighting, they entered a cave. Sugriv, who was standing at the entrance of the cave, could hear the sound of the fierce battle that was going on. All of a sudden, he saw blood flowing out of the cave. Sugriv thought that his brother, vali, was killed and soon the demon would come out of the cave and kill him too. So, out of fear, he shut the entrance of the cave with a huge boulder and returned to his kingdom. Sugriv grieved at his brother’s death. vali had a son, but he was too young to become the King. So, Sugriv took over the reign of the kingdom at the request of the subjects and was thus crowned as the King of Kishkinda.

A few days later, vali returned to the kingdom and was furious to know that Sugriv had been crowned as the king. He thought that Sugriv had deceived him because of his greed to become king. In a fit of anger he drove away Sugriv from his kingdom and imprisoned his wife. Sugriv took shelter on Rushyamuk mountain as vali could not come there because of the curse of Sage Matang. So Sugriv was very safe there.

Once, when Shriram and Lakshman were passing by that mountain in search of Sita, Hanuman told Sugriv to seek their help. Sugriv immediately surrendered at Shriram’s Holy feet and narrated the injustice meted out to him. After listening to Sugriv very patiently, Shriram said, “vali is worthy of death punishment for imprisoning his sister-in-law who is like his mother. I shall slay vali and return your kingdom and wife to you.”

As planned, Sugriv went to Kishkinda accompanied by Shriram and Lakshman and challenged vali to fight. Hewas already furious and listening to the challenge he stood before Sugriv. Both started to fight. Both looked so alike that Shriram and Lakshman who were hiding behind a tree, got perplexed as they could not identify who was Sugriv and who was vali out of the two. So later, they offered a garland to Sugriv in order to recognise him during the battle. As Sugriv had a backing of Shriram, he fought with confidence. However, he could not match vali’s might and was losing his courage. Realising this, Shriram shot an arrow in vali’s direction and killed him. Before breathing his last, he asked for forgiveness from Shriram and Sugriv.

Children, you must have realised from this story how a small misunderstanding can result in a big calamity. So, always inquire about the truth before coming to any conclusion.