Vali’s Story

Vali’s Story

“Once, my brother Vali, because of a woman, antagonized a demon named Mayavi. You know who Mayavi was: his father was the great architect of the Asuras, Maya Danava. Mayavi decided to take revenge for the insult and to challenge Vali to a duel to kill him. One day he came to the city gates and roared fiercely, shouting furious insults against my brother. Vali, who had never been able to tolerate offenses and had always had a short temper, rushed out, undaunted by the opponent’s strength. I followed him to help him. When Mayavi saw that there were two of us, he preferred to flee.

We chased him, and even though he ran very fast, we did not lose track of him until he entered a deep, dark cave. 

We stopped, afraid to go inside. But the Asura had to be killed, otherwise he would always have been a thorn stuck on our side. Bravely Vali told me to remain guarding the entrance to the cave. He would get in alone kill the demon.

I feared for his life, but Vali heard no reasoning. If anything happened to him, the kingdom of Kiskindha would need another king. So, he went into the dark cave.

A long time passed and Vali didn’t come back. I spent a whole year in anguish when, coming from the bowels of the cave, I heard furious cries and roars similar to those of a giant lion. I saw a stream of blood flowing through the cave’s entrance. In a state of panic, I thought that Vali had been killed and that I should think about the safety of the kingdom. So, I took a huge boulder and closed the cave’s entrance. 

Back in Kiskindha, I mourned my brother’s dead and celebrated his funeral. So I became the king.

But Vali wasn’t dead; he actually won the duel and that blood was Mayavi’s. 

After killing him, Vali returned to the cave’s exit and found it blocked. With great effort, he managed to move the boulder and ran to Kiskindha. A suspicion had taken hold of his mind: he thought I had betrayed him trying to prevent him from leaving the cave for me enjoy his kingdom. And he found me on the throne. At that point his anger exploded and he openly accused me of treason. He drove me out of the kingdom and threatened me, telling me that if he saw me again he would kill me. So I took refuge here where Vali cannot come.”

“I can’t do anything against him,” Sugriva continued. “Vali is too strong. None of us can challenge him. That’s why we hide here, in this place forbidden to him.”

“Why do you say Vali can’t come here?” Rama asked. “What’s so special about this place for him?”

“Before the battle with Mayavi,” Sugriva answered, “Vali had fought and killed Dundubhi, the demon’s brother. This Asura had taken the form of a gigantic buffalo and, proud of his extraordinary physical strength, wandered the world in search of an opponent worthy of confronting him. When he went to the Himalaya mountain to challenge Himavat, the divinity that predominated there, he was heard saying: 

“Oh, great Asura, you cannot find an opponent because you are too strong. I also don’t want to fight against you because by nature I am peaceful, and I shelter the wise and those of my own nature. But I can give you some advice: in this world there is a worthy opponent for you and that is Vali, the son of Indra. You can be sure that he will appease your desire to fight.”

“Then, Dundubhi ran to Kiskindha and challenged the invincible Vali, who killed him. In a fury, Vali threw him many miles away. 

“As the buffalo-demon carcass flew through the air, a few drops of blood fell into the hermitage of the sage Matanga. Then the carcass fell nearby. Disturbed by the noise, the sage went out and saw the body.

‘Who threw this corpse next to my ashrama?’ Matanga wondered. ‘Who has irreparably contaminated it in this way?’

In meditation, he saw what had happened and knew it was Vali’s fault. Angry, he cursed Vali:

«If that monkey ever sets foot in this place, he’ll die instantly.»

“Matanga changed hermitage. For this reason Vali does not dare to come here. He knows well the spiritual power of Matanga. So I’m safe in this place. Now I will take you to see what remains of the Dundubhi carcass, so that you can realize how strong Vali is.”

The group set off, and in a few minutes they arrived in the vicinity of what was previously Matanga’s hermitage. Not far away, they saw the huge carcass of the demon. Rama approached. He needed Sugriva’s help to find Sita, and for that he had to help him against Vali. However, it was necessary to convince him that he was capable of killing the very powerful Vanara. 

Without any effort, Rama touched that mountain of bones with the big toe of one foot. And, as if by magic, it got detached from the ground and flew through the air at a distance of many kilometers. Sugriva smiled, pleased. But he wasn’t convinced.

“Dear friend,” he said with a big smile, “with this you have given me proof of your great strength, but when Vali threw up the body was full of flesh and entrails. No offense, therefore, if I ask you for another sign of your courage.”

Solemnly calm, Prince Rama drew an arrow from his quiver and aimed in the direction of seven huge sal trees. The arrow left, pierced the trees, entered the earth and reached the Patala planets. After an hour the arrow returned to the quiver. Sugriva was astonished and at the same time full of irrepressible joy. Now he felt confident that Rama could defeat Vali.

“Rama,” Sugriva said with eyes shining with joy, “I ask you, please, kill Vali and give me back the serenity that I have lost. In return, I promise that I will help you find Sita. “

 

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