September 7 - Sargas 8 and 9 of Kishkindha Kanda.
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Sugriva is immensely pleased to have made friends with such a wonderful person as Sri Rama. He extols the greatness of true friendship.
धनत्यागः सुखत्यागो देशत्यागोऽपि चानघ ।
वयस्यार्थे प्रवर्तन्ते स्नेहं दृष्ट्वा तथाविधम् ॥
"Dear friend Sri Rama, for the sake of a friendship such as this, no sacrifice is too big - either one's wealth or one's comforts and pleasures or even one's country...that is the true value of friendship to be honoured in life."
Sugriva also mentions that humility and decorum forbid him to sing his own praises and recount his own capabilities. Sri Rama will surely come to know of it from others soon.
Sugriva makes sure they are seated comfortably on another splendid flowered and leafy branch of a saal tree. Similarly, Hanuman arranges to sit on another such branch with Lakshmana. Then Sugriva starts shedding tears, recalling all the ignominies heaped on him by his angry brother Vali. Sri Rama consoles him and repeats his assurance that he will rid Sugriva of the troubles from Vali.
Then Sri Rama asks Sugriva to tell him the actual story of how this terrible enmity came about. He says this is essential for him to know before carrying out Vali's destruction.
Surgiva says that Vali and he are sons of a great vanara king by name Riksharaja. As the worthy son and the elder one, Vali was anointed by their father as the king of vanaras. Vali was a very strong ruler and powerful in every way. Once he developed an enmity with a rakshasa called Mayavi (the son of Mayasura) over their rivalry in courting a woman.
Mayavi wanted to kill Vali. He came and shouted a war cry in the middle of a night in Kishkindha. Vali heard that cry and burst into a fury. Although Sugriva himself and Vali's women tried their best to restrain him, saying it was inopportune to start a battle with a rakshasa impetuously at night, Vali rushed out in a blaze of anger. Sugriva dutifully followed him.
When Mayavi saw the two rushing out of Kishkindha's main gate, he panicked and started running away. The two brothers pursued him vigorously, unhampered as his path was visible in moonlight.
Soon Mayavi entered a deep cave surrounded by much vegetation. Vali took off after him. Sugriva also wanted to enter the cave with Vali but Vali, now burning with an unquenchable fury of combativeness, said that he shall proceed alone, kill the rakshasa and come out. He foreswore Sugriva by making him touch his feet that Sugriva would stand guard and wait in the same spot till Vali came out.
Fierce war cries and sounds of a raging battle emanated from the cave. A whole year passed but the war went on unabated. A worried Surgiva held vigil. Then, slowly, only the rakshasa cries remained. He got really worried about Vali's well-being. Soon, foamy blood gushed out of the cave. Sugriva was now convinced that Mayavi had got the better of Vali. He panicked, covered the entrance of the cave with a huge rock, and rushed back to Kishkindha. All the ministers and citizens could deduce that Vali had been killed. They forced Surgiva to take over as the king.
King Surgiva was astonished when Vali soon returned. He was drenched in blood, wounded all over, but triumphant after killing Mayavi. The sight of a Sugriva crowned as the king in his absence gave a totally wrong idea to Vali that Surgiva had usurped his kingdom.
नत्वा पादावहं तस्य मुकुटेनास्पृशं प्रभो ।
अपि वाली मम क्रोधान्न प्रसादं चकार सः ॥
"Rama, even when I bowed to Vali and touched his feet with my crown, his extreme rage towards me was unmitigated and he did not accept my prostration or bless me."
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॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
