Though surrounded by controversies, the Vali-Sugriva combat is an eye opener into the quality of boundless compassion that is the hallmark of Rama, pointed out Srimati Jaya Srinivasan in a discourse.
The valiant Vali is bewildered when he is shot unexpectedly by the deadly arrow that sends him crashing to the ground. He is eager to identify the archer who must have shot it. He is unable to pluck it out of his body and, ignoring the pain and torture, he strains to scrutinise it and finds the name of Rama in it.
He cannot but be cynical about the supposedly great hero who stands for Dharma. He then sees Rama walking towards him and he does not mince words when he accuses the Lord of the unbecoming and unjust act of killing him. How unbelievable it is to accept that Rama should belong to the family of Dasaratha whose vow of upholding his word is beyond compare.
More incredible is Rama’s claim to be called the elder brother of the impeccable and pure Bharata. Does Manu sastra sanction the killing of a vanara in Kishkinta for Rama losing His wife to the cunning plot hatched by a rakshasa in Lanka, he asks.
But Rama’s benign presence and straight responses to his many charges bring about an intuitive realisation in him. Vali is now overwhelmed by the Lord’s compassion as he is most fortunate to have the Lord with him as his life ebbs out. To think of Rama, to chant His name during one’s last moments, is the aspiration of realised souls seeking salvation. He prays to the Lord to grant him the grace by which he would always be devoted to Him and remember Him at all times. He calls Angadha to his side and tells him that the Rama standing before them is the very Supreme Brahman in human form.