Tales of Vaali and Hanuman

The Vanara Warriors

The sages reveal two pivotal tales from the vanara world. How Ravana, conqueror of gods, was humbled by Vaali and became his friend instead of his enemy. And the childhood of Hanuman, his leap toward the sun and the curse that made him forget his powers until Rama's cause awakened them.

Ravana's Pride Meets Its Match

As the evening deepened in Rama's court, Agastya continued his tales of the past. But now his subject shifted from rakshasas to vanaras, the monkey beings who had proved so crucial to Rama's victory.

"You knew Vaali only as Sugriva's brother, the king you had to defeat," Agastya said. "But there was a time when Vaali taught Ravana himself a lesson in humility."

Rama leaned forward. He had killed Vaali, the memory still weighed on him. To learn more of the vanara king's true nature was both uncomfortable and necessary.

The tale took place when Ravana was at the height of his power. Drunk on conquests, he had decided to challenge Vaali, whose reputation had spread even to Lanka. The vanara king possessed a unique boon, in any fair combat, half his opponent's strength would flow into him, making him nearly impossible to defeat in direct confrontation.

Ravana arrived at Kishkindha with his armies, demanding that Vaali acknowledge his supremacy. But Vaali was not in his capital. He was performing his evening sandhyavandana, the ritual worship performed at the junction of day and night, at the shore of the southern ocean.

The Humiliation of the Ten-Headed King

Ravana tracked Vaali to the ocean's edge, intending to attack him during his prayers. But as he approached, Vaali sensed him. Without breaking his meditation, without even turning around, the vanara king reached back with his tail.

That tail wrapped around Ravana with force that shocked the demon king. Before Ravana could react, Vaali had tucked him under his arm like a bundle of cloth and continued his prayers, walking from ocean to ocean, performing his rituals at the eastern, western, northern, and southern seas.

For hours, Ravana struggled helplessly. His twenty arms could not break free. His ten heads could not formulate a spell that would work. Vaali's boon was drawing power from Ravana himself, the more the demon struggled, the weaker he became relative to his captor.