Rama Lakshman Janaki in Exile no-watermark
As soon as Rama saw the ornaments, tears welled up in his eyes and crying out Sita’s name, he fainted. After a while he regained consciousness and asked Lakshmana “Brother, please make sure that these belong to Sita”. But Lakshmana could not identify any head ornament or ear ornament. He bowed his head and said “I have never looked at my respected sister-in-law’s face or any other portion of her body. I can only identify the articles worn by her as I have noticed them while touching her feet every day.” Such was the respect Lakshmana had towards his brother’s wife. Rama then looked at the ornaments and knew for certain that they belonged to his dearest wife. He swore “I will kill Ravana who has separated Sita from me”. Sugriva consoled his friend Rama and promised him that he would send the Vanara army to trace Sita and they help in killing Ravana. In return, the grateful Rama offered to kill Vali and help Sugriva in regaining his kingdom.
Sugriva who was still not aware of Rama’s enormous skill and bravery was doubtful whether he could fight against the very powerful Vali. “Dear friend” he told Rama “I am glad with your offer to kill Vali. But I know my brother well. I have seen with my own eyes how Vali knocked down a line of seven trees with a single arrow. If you can also prove your skill, I will feel assured.” Upon this, Rama felled seven trees in a line with a single arrow. This made Sugriva very happy. So he went to Kishkinda and challenged Vali to duel. This angered Vali a lot and he accepted Sugriva’s challenge at once. But in no time at all, Sugriva was overpowered by Vali. Just at that time, Rama, who was hiding behind a tree, used an arrow capable of killing Vali. It hit him on the chest and Vali fell to the ground. Stunned by such an unexpected attack Vali looked around and saw Rama. “Rama is it fair on your part to hide behind a tree like a coward and kill me?” accused Vali. He added “You are a righteous man. How could you stoop to such level? And moreover, what grudge do you bear against me? Am I your enemy? Answer me, Rama. Without any reason you have killed me. What you have done is wrong?” In reply Rama said “Vali, Sugriva is my friend. In fact, he is like a brother to me. You had forcibly taken away his wife. So, I had to kill you. Moreover, you are not a human being. You are a Vanara. So, I am justified in killing you in a surprise attack.” Vali could not say anything against this argument. So, he took Sugriva’s hand in his own and asked him to look after his own son angada well. In a few moments Vali was dead.
Sugriva, who regained the kingdom of Kishkinda, soon forgot all about helping Rama to trace Sita. While Rama and Lakshmana lived in a cave, waiting for Sugriva’s help, Sugriva lived the life of a king, enjoying all the luxuries. This annoyed Lakshmana very much as he could no longer watch his brother pining for Sita. So he immediately rushed to Kishkinda swearing that he would kill Sugriva for breaking his promise. Alarmed at such anger, Hanuman hurried to Sugriva and remained him about his promise to Rama. “Hasn’t Rama proved his friendship to you? Should not you repay his gratitude? He asked. Realising his mistake, Sugriva hastened to Rama and begged for forgiveness. He then ordered Hanuman to summon all the Vanaras to Kishkinda. Soon thousands of Vanaras assembled at Kishkinda and Sugriva instructed them to search for Sita in all the four directions. He separately instructed Hanuman “Maruthi! You are the most capable of all the Vanaras. I am sure that you will bring us the good news very soon.” Rama also agreed with Sugriva. He called Hanuman aside and gave him his ring. “When you meet Sita, please show her this ring. She will then know that you are truly my messenger.” Hanuman accepted the ring with devotion and after touching Rama’s feet in reverence, left on his mission. Sugriva had given one month’s time to the Vanaras to trace Sita. They searched and searched but just could not get any news about her. One group of Vanaras which had gone in the southerly direction under Hanuman’s leadership was also unlucky. Tired and dejected, they sat on the seashore wondering what to do next. None of them dared to go to Sugriva for he had warned them not to come back without news about Sita.