Vali’s wife. (Glossary for the Vahinis)

Extract taken from – Ramayana: A Divine Drama, Vol.4

Wife of Vali:

Tara was the faithful wife of Vali. She was a chaste wife, who had many virtues. She was highly intelligent. (SSB 2002, p.104)

Tara counsels Vali not to fight with Sugriva:

(Tara dissuades Vali (centre), as Sugriva challenges him)

She wanted to restrain him from entering into a fight with Sugriva. She pleaded with him by holding his hands; “You should not go for a fight now. I have heard that Sugriva has befriended some powerful princes to help him. Do not be in haste, it is dangerous. The wise ones pause and ponder before undertaking any task. Haste can make waste. It can be dangerous too.” Tara spoke these words to Vali and took him back. (SSB 2002, p.104)

Tara clasped his feet and reminded him of the words spoken by his own son some days earlier. She said, “Lord, the brothers who have sought his (Sugriva’s) help are no ordinary men. They are endowed with mighty powers. Sugriva, who was hiding all this time, has come now with new confidence and courage. He has even dared challenge you. He would not venture to do so without looking before and after. He must have received conviction about their capabilities and won promise of assistance. The princes, Rama and Lakshmana have Divine Powers. It is not propitious that you enter into battle with them.” 

Listening to her pathetic importunities, Vali burst into a jeering laugh. “Cowardly woman,” he said, “It is said that Rama is equal-minded. If that is true, he will certainly look upon both of us with an equal eye. Moreover, I have not done him any harm, have I? In spite of this, if Rama kills me, well, I shall believe my birth and years of life have been fulfilled thereby!

Tara was happy on the one hand that he had such outlook. On the other hand she could not entertain for a moment the idea of separation from her lord. So, she pleaded again, “Lord it is considered a bad omen when a woman objects. Do not rashly accept the challenge.”  But Vali set aside all her pleadings. When battle calls, no one cares for omens. Either the enemy should die or one’s own life should end,” So saying Vali pushed Tara aside and rushed towards the main entrance to the Fort roaring in terror striking rage. (RKRV Part II p. 96-97)

Rama explains to Vali the wrong acts done by him:

Though struck by the fatal shaft, Vali rose and assumed a sitting posture. He was strong and courageous beyond compare! With folded palms, he cast his lingering looks on that cloud-blue complexion, those lotus-petal eyes, and shed streams of tears in his ecstatic exhilaration. He could scarce contain his joy. He exclaimed, “I desire to learn from you the sin for which you have killed me. Please identify for me the error I was responsible for.”

Rama graciously sat by the side of the dying Vali and said, “Vali! You know that my deeds are not motivated by selfish ends. Give up your wrong notion that I sought and secured the friendship of Sugriva in order to search the whereabouts of Sita. Why, you yourself said just now that I have assumed this human form for the purpose of re-establishing righteousness on earth! Now, tell me, if I simply witness the wrong, the unjust and vicious deeds of yours, what would you call it? Service or disservice to the world? Righteous or unrighteous? The brother’s wife, the sister and the daughter-in-law are all three equivalent in status to one’s daughter. To cast sinful eyes on them makes one a heinous sinner. No sin affects one when such a sinner is killed.

When you sent him out, you should have allowed his wife too to go with him. Instead you chose her to be your wife, the person whom you should have treated as your own daughter. Do you call this a sin or don’t you? There is no sin more heinous than this.”

Tara laments the death of Vali:

(Tara (right), depicted as a human, wailing with dying Vali in her arms)

The inhabitants of Pampa Town gathered in sad groups as soon as they heard the news of Vali’s demise. His wife, Tara, came to the place, accompanied by her retinue. She fell upon the body and lost consciousness. The agonizing wail of Tara was so poignant that stones melted in sympathy. When she recovered consciousness, off and on, she looked on the face of her lord and cried in utter grief. “In spite of all the protest I made and the arguments I used to stop you, you rushed forward to this doom. The wife should ever be vigilant about the security and happiness of her lord. There is no one more concerned about the welfare of the husband than the wife. Others, however eminent, will always have some little egoism mixed in the advice they give. Lord! On account of the mischief of Destiny, my counsel could not prevail.

Lord, how am I to foster and bring up this son? Will those who killed you desist from harming your son? Who will guide us now? How did your mind agree to leave us behind and proceed to the next world? For whose sake must I continue this life?” (RKRV Part II, pp.105-106)

Tara pours out her anguish at the Feet of Rama:

Then, Tara turned to Rama and poured out her heart. “You sent my dear Lord, my very breath, to the next world. Do you want us, who are left behind, to live at the mercy of strangers? Is this the right thing for a noble person, a person devoted to right conduct, to be proud about? Is it appropriate? If you do not desire our progress, if you have no wish to alleviate our sorrow, then kill me and my son. The arrow that killed the mighty hero will not quail before a weak woman and a stripling lad. Let us join him in his journey.” She fell at the feet of Rama and wept in inconsolable anguish.

Rama counsels and consoles Tara:

Rama said, “Tara, why do you weep so? You are a heroic wife. Do not behave in this manner, for it brings your role into infamy. Be calm. Control yourself. The body is a temporary phase. It is contemptible. Vali himself regarded this body as debased! Its fall, its end, might happen any day, it cannot be avoided. It is but an instrument to achieve the Supreme Goal and if that end is not kept in view and attained through it, the body is but a lump of coal whose destiny is the fire. Weeping for Vali as this body is foolish, for the body is here. Do you then weep for the Atma that was in this body? That Atma is eternal. It cannot die or decay, diminish or disintegrate. Only those who have not realised the Atma principle suffer from the delusion that the body is themselves; until then, even the most learned are led into error. Being enamoured of the body as if it is you is ‘ignorance.’ Being aware of the Atma, which you really are is ‘wisdom.’ Getting the knowledge of the Atma is as precious a piece of good luck as getting a diamond in the dust. The Atma is the gemstone embedded in this mass of flesh. The body carries urine and faeces, bad odours and bad blood. It is pestered by pests and problems. Its decay cannot be arrested. It must die someday. The achievement that one can realise through it is its justification. That is the crown of human life. Your husband has achieved many heroic and honourable victories through his body. While ruling this kingdom, he protected and promoted his servants and faithful followers as if they were his very breath. He destroyed the Rakshasas. He had deep devotion towards God. But he inflicted injury on his brother. Besides that sin, he did not commit any other. His death at my hands was the consequence of that sin. Therefore, believe that it too has been washed away. Now, you have no reason to grieve.

Sugriva crowned King:

When Tara heard these words of counsel and consolation wisdom dawned in her mind and she was calmed. Rama said that there should be no more delay. He asked Tara to go back and have the funeral rites for Vali performed by Sugriva. He advised Sugriva to bring up Angada with love and care. When the rites were over, he sent Lakshmana into the Capital City, and had Sugriva installed on the throne. (RKRV Part II, pp.106-107)