Hari Om.
Let us begin the seventeenth sarga of the kishkindhA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
A furious vAlI rushes out of his inner chambers when sugrIva roared thunderously to challenge him. But his beloved wife tArA intercepted him and offered wise counsel. She estimated accurately that there must be a great force behind the diligent sugrIva which encourages him to challenge him so soon after being beaten squarely by vAlI. She further quoted intelligence information from angada about the friendship between sugrIva and rAma. But vAlI had made up his mind to teach sugrIva a lesson for this affront. So he brushed tArA aside and the two brothers engaged in combat. They rained blows on each other, bled profusely and in due course, vAlI seemed to stay course and gain ground while sugrIva seemed to be taking a beating. He began looking for the assurance of rAma coming to fruition. Recognizing his need for help, rAma, got his bow ready and unleashed an unerring and fatal arrow aimed at vAlI. The twang of the bow reverberated across the forests and scared the birds, beasts and vAnaras. The arrow went straight and hit vAlI’s chest like thunder. At once, the mighty vAlI fell down on the earth like a mighty tree uprooted by mightier winds. Onwards…
Hit by the arrow of the battle-hardened rAma, vAlI, adorned with shining golden ornaments fell on the earth in a swoop like a tree that was cut off. The fall resembled the unhoisting of the flag of indra when its rope is untied.
[this example of the fall of indra’s flag is often used by mahaRshi vAlmIki. It is deeply steeped in tradition and you can read about it briefly here.]
As vAlI fell down, the earth lost its luster just like sky would sans the moon, however vitality, valour, life and radiance had not left him yet, thanks to the necklace that he was adorned with which was given by indra. Adorned with that bright necklace, vAlI appeared like a raincloud in the evening lit brightly by the setting sun.
स तया मालया वीरो हेमया हरियूथपः।
सन्ध्यानुगतपर्यन्तः पयोधर इवाभवत्4.17.6।।
The arrow in his vitals shot by rAma, his own talismanic necklace and his body, the three shone in trifold splendor. For the warrior vAlI, the arrow paved the way to the high heavens, the ultimate destination of the valorous.
rAma along with lakshmaNa slowly approached and beheld the broad shouldered, mighty armed, fallen vAlI with a glowing face, redoubtable like indra and who resembled – yayAtI who had fallen down from the heavens having exhausted his merits; fire whose flames were doused; dim and a spent out Sun fallen on the earth at the end of the dissolution.
तं तदा पतितं सङ्ख्ये गतार्चिषमिवानलम्।
बहुमान्य च तं वीर वीक्षमाणं शनैरिव।4.17.9।।
ययातिमिव पुण्यान्ते देवलोकादिहच्युतम्।
आदित्यमिव कालेन युगान्ते भुवि पातितम्।4.17.10।।
महेन्द्रमिव दुर्धर्षंमुपेन्द्रमिव दुस्सहम्।
महेन्द्रपुत्रं पतितं वालिनं हेममालिनम्।।4.17.11।।
सिंहोरस्कं महाबाहुं दीप्तास्यं हरिलोचनम्।
लक्ष्मणानुगतो रामो ददर्शोपससर्प च।।4.17.12।।
Beholding themighty rAghava and lakshmaNa, vAlI humbly spoke the harsh words laden with dharma –
“You famous and pleasant looking princes belonging to hallowed lineage and endowed with might and good character, what exactly is the merit that you have gained by hitting me with this arrow aimed at my chest when I was engaged with someone else in war. All beings hail you and say – rAma is kind hearted, engaged in the welfare of people, enthusiastic, aware of the appropriate time to do appropriate actions and is committed to his vows.
O king, self restraint, composure, tolerance, forbearance, truthfulness, valor and punishing the offenders are the virtues that a ruler should have. I counted on you being a repository of these virtues on account of your noble lineage and hence in spite of the warning of tAra, I engaged with sugrIva in a combat. I was even more convinced that you would not attack me when I didn’t see you here and battled sugrIva.
I didn’t know that you would be unconscientious, unrighteous while holding the flag of dharma and masquerading as a dhArmic person, sinful while looking noble in appearance, deceitful like a deep pit covered with hay and fire covered with ash. I, a vAnara subsisting on fruits and roots and roaming the forests, have not interfered in your matters or your city nor was I fighting you. While I was engaged in a combat with someone else, why did you choose to kill me?
O rAma, you are the son of a king, illustrious, pleasant and there are clear marks on your body that you are righteous. Which person born in the race of kshatriyas, learned, free of apprehensions would do a cruel act in the guise of a dhArmic? You are born in a high lineage and are famous and yet having done this unrighteous act why do you roam around as a dhArmic?
राम राजकुले जातो धर्मवानिति विश्रुतः।।4.17.27।।
अभव्यो भव्यरूपेण किमर्थं परिधावसि।
नयश्च विनयश्चोभौ निग्रहानुग्रहावपि ।
राजवृत्तिरसङ्कीर्णा न नृपाः कामवृत्तयः ॥
Kings ought not be carried away by their impulsive desires but on the other hand should rule espousing morality, humility, restraint and favor. However, you rAma, are taken over by your anger and desire, neither do you know dharma nor are you bothered about the means, you only use your bow and arrow drawn by your senses to achieve you whims and fancies.
Having performed this abominable act of slaying an innocent like me with your arrow, how will you defend yourself in the middle of the learned?
हत्वा बाणेन काकुत्स्थ मामिहानपराधिनम्4.17.34।।
किं वक्ष्यसि सतां मध्ये कर्म कृत्वा जुगुप्सितम्।
राजहा ब्रह्महा गोघ्नश्चोरः प्राणिवधे रतः4.17.35।।
नास्तिकः परिवेत्ता च सर्वे निरयगामिनः।
Thieves, atheists and all those who murder a king or a brAhmin or a cow, butchers, those who marry before their elder siblings are all destined to go to hell. The informers, misers, deceivers of friends and those who transgress the couch of the guru are destined to go the way of the sinners.
My skin is not fit to be worn by the virtuous. Even my bones and hair are to be discarded. My flesh is not to be partaken by dhArmic people like you. Among the five-nailed animals, the only animals whose flesh is permitted to be eaten by the brAhmins and kshatriyas are the porcupine, hedgehog, crocodile, rabbit and the tortoise. My skin or the bones are not touched by the learned. That being so, you have killed me, a five-nailed one.
Alas, tAra had known, she spoke the truth and spoke for my welfare. Without paying heed to her, out of my ignorance, I fell in to the death trap! O kakutstha, no way, the earth can feel protected with you as its protector just like a chaste wife cannot feel protected in the company of a wicked husband. Deceitful, dishonest, mean and endowed with false humility, how were you born of the great daSaratha? I have been done to death by that elephant called rAma which broke the restraining shackles of good conduct and the moral code laid down by the sages and hurled the goad called dharma. How will you defend yourself of this heinous and inauspicious deed in the middle of the learned when questioned? You are showing your might against the innocent like me. I do not see you showing your might against those who have offended you! If only you had fought me while being in my sight, you would be seeing the lord of death vaivasvata yama just now. Just like an inebriated person who is fast asleep is killed by a snake, I have been killed totally unaware by you.
You have killed me in order to bestow favour on sugrIva. However, if you had approached me before sugrIva, I have would have vanquished rAvaNa, brought him dragging by the neck and restored maithilI to you, whether she was in the ocean or in the nether worlds, all in a day. I would have brought sItA to you by your command just like lord viSNU restored the vEdas in the form of a white horse (hayagrIva). It is appropriate that upon my death, sugrIva inherits the kingdom but it is not appropriate that you kill me thus in an adhArmic manner.
काममेवं विधो लोकः कालेन विनियुज्यते।
क्षमं चेद्भवता प्राप्तमुत्तरं साधु चिन्त्यताम्4.17.52।।
Indeed, the world is driven by destiny and one meets his end when it is time. I have met mine through you. Think over and let me know what response you have got for my questions”.
Belaboring his questions thus, the son of the immortal gods, with his mouth dried up, fell silent and beheld the brilliant rAma shining like the Sun.
Here we conclude the seventeenth sarga of the kishkindhA kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Click on the above link for word by word meaning from IITK website
Click on the above link to listen to the audio by SrIrAma ghanApATi
Next: 4.18. rAma preaches dharma, vAlI realizes folly
Previous: 4.16. One arrow to end the enmity
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
