Sugriva's Story

Hanuman got up and stood before Lord Rama with folded palms

Feeling satisfied that he had worshipped His Lord as per norms

Then, about The Brothers’ purpose in the jungle, he decided to ask

As a loyal servant to Sugriva, He was keen on his task

“Lord! As if searching for something, where do you go?

The reason, You are not in Your regal attire, may I know?

Your moustache and beard, down to your chest, has fully grown

By which, the time You spent in the jungle is clearly shown

I understand You have taken up some noble goal

Yet, my mind is shattered by questions, please make it whole”

Hanuman became silent after asking his question

At Lord Rama’s behest, Lakshman explained their mission

“Hanuman! Let me tell you Our story in brief

About why We are in the jungle and why We are in grief

Brother Rama’s coronation was announced by the king, who knew no defeat

But it was obstructed and stopped by Mother Kaikeyi’s deceit

A boon given to her, by the king, She demandingly asked

Her greed, under love for her son, she cunningly masked

Her son Bharatha’s coronation and Brother Rama’s exile she wanted

By the king, though shocked and in sorrow, these two boons were granted

This bitter misfortune, like honey, Brother Rama swallowed

He happily walked out, while His wife Sita and I followed

Though the king himself and the people insisted that He must rebel

Only in upholding his father’s promise, not wealth, my Brother did revel

Mother Sita, Brother Rama and I happily lived in the jungle

Visiting ashrams with sagacious people, we did cordially mingle

Then we moved on to Panchavati and settled building a hut

We lived peacefully until Surphanaka came and spoiled that

Towards Brother Rama she amorously advanced

At Mother Sita, she threateningly glanced

After enough warning I cut off her nose

She ran away from the spot shouting her woes

By her Brother Khara’s army, we were then attacked

Brother Rama, single handedly, wiped it with skill and tact

After a few weeks, by a deer, Brother and I were led astray

Mother Sita was lost, by the time, we came back our way

That a prince named Sugriva can help us, we were helpfully told

To the prospect of finding Her with his help, we hopefully hold

At this point, dear Hanuman, we happen to meet

Your presence, to our dull minds, is an uplifting treat”

On hearing Sugriva’s name Hanuman smiled with enthuse like a boy

At the prospect of an adventure ahead, his heart jumped with joy

“Lord! I am that Sugriva’s counselor and friend

I am sure, to your trouble, Sugriva would make amend

Lord! Let me first tell You, the story of Sugriva, my boss

About his misfortune, suffering and unjust loss

Though his story, as Yours, is not as sanctifying and great

He too is good and share’s with You a similar fate

In these jungles, a kingdom called Kishkinda lies

Though run by monkeys, with human civilization it vies

It was ruled by Riksharajas, a monkey of strength and stature

Until, one day, he left his body and became one with nature

Vali and Sugriva were his two sons

In the sky of his heart they were like two suns

Before his death, elder Vali as the king, he anointed

With much love, pious Sugriva as the prince, he appointed

Sugriva as a loving brother happily and loyally served Vali well

But why fate played with that good one’s life, I am unable to tell

Once a demon named Mayavi came to Kishkindha’s gate

And challenged Vali in a duel, driven by bad luck and fate

Vali became furious and thrashed him left and right

Unable to bear the blows, Mayavi took flight

Vali’s anger was not subsided and so he started to chase

To be by his brother’s side, innocent Sugriva started to race

Vali and Sugriva saw Mayavi fearfully entering a cave

Vali decided to make it, Mayavi’s permanent grave

Vali, from pursuing with the fight, Sugriva politely obstructed

Surgriva, to wait at the entrance of the cave, Vali mockingly instructed

Vali entered the deep cave and started to fight with his rival

Sugriva obediently started to wait expecting his brother’s arrival

Weeks went by, but Sugriva waited without a falter

Other monkeys and I, often went to give him food and water

Loud thuds and yelps, from within the cave, were heard

The fight taking so long to end was mysterious and weird

Months went by and yet Sugriva waited without a fault

It took one complete year for the fight to come to a halt

With a loud cry from Vali, the fighting sound ended

To Sugriva’s heart, great sorrow, and fear they rendered

That, Vali was killed by Mayavi, Sugriva wrongly thought

Visions of Mayavi coming out angrily, his fearful mind brought

In order to escape from the impending threat

A huge rock from the surroundings he did get

The mouth of the cave, Sugriva tightly shut with the rock

Came back to Kishkinda and revealed his sorrow and shock

Though Sugriva was not in the least interested in his brother’s seat

That he must become the king, his ministers and citizens did repeat

After much convincing and coaxing, Sugriva hesitantly accepted to rule

The monkeys led much happier lives, as Sugriva was polite and cool

Since Sugriva was crowned only a few weeks had went

Vali rushed into Kishkinda and a furious cry he sent

Seeing Sugriva sitting on the royal throne

To unlimited heights his anger had grown

Sugriva was only more than happy to see his brother

He ran with tears and fell at the feet of his brother

He expressed his joy that his brother had survived

But Vali had lost trust on him and it could not be revived

Vali pushed aside Sugriva and started to thrash

By the fire of Vali’s fury, brotherhood became ash

To words about Sugriva’s innocence, Vali paid no heed

He harshly punished anyone who justified Sugriva’s deed

Out of the kingdom of Kishkinda, Sugriva had to run

Vali took for himself Sugriva’s wife Ruma, for carnal fun

Since then, Sugriva lives in hiding on the Rishyamukha Mountain

The tear he sheds out of fear and grief is a non stop fountain

He saw both of You coming and feared You were Vali’s men

I requested him to be in a cave and came to You in disguise then

Lord! I now see light in his life, as You both have come in search

Shall we go up to the cave, where Sugriva, my boss, does perch?”

To meet Sugriva, Lord Rama and Lakshman were eager

Lord Rama had made His decision as the choices left were meager

They walked uphill to the mountain cave and once they were near

Hanuman wanted to go in first and dispel Sugriva’s fear

After a moment, Sugriva with his ministers came out of the cave

Lord Rama saw that he was incapable of wickedness and truly naïve

With fear, wonder and hope, Sugriva looked at the face of Ram

On seeing Lord Rama’s smile Sugriva’s heart became warm

Sugriva’s shoulders with affection, Lord Rama gently touched

Lord Rama’s hands, like his final hope, Sugriva tightly clutched

Each the other’s name, simultaneously, They said

Between them, profusely, waves of friendship did flood

Thus Lord Rama met with Sugriva, his lifetime friend

Like fire and air, mutually benefitting, they would blend

Each other in their problems, they would help

Crushing their problems, with their might, to a pulp

Hanuman suggested that They must sit and talk

Towards a shady meadow nearby They did walk

On wooden seats brought by Hanuman, They comfortably sat

About their problems and solutions They started to chat

“Ram! All about You, and Your noble life, Hanuman did say

My fortune, not Your misfortune, has brought You this way

About the abduction of Your wife, I am sorry

We will definitely find Her, please do not worry

Regarding Her, I think we might have a clue

Please give me a moment, I will show it to You”

Saying thus at Hanuman, Sugriva looked

Once Hanuman left, Sugriva in his chat got hooked

“Once my companions and I were sitting on a tree

To our wonder, on the sky, we happened to see

A golden car shaped like a bird was swiftly flying

From within it a woman was lamenting and crying

We saw in it a man, dark, strong and tall, heartless to her pleas 

He looked like, even mighty mountains, he could lift with ease

With one hand on the golden car and another on his hips

He stood arrogantly with a smug smile on his bloody lips

He seemed to have many heads all with similar faces

He could sprout them out or pull them in like they were his maces

On all his faces he had moustaches that were kempt

To stare at his large red eyes, none would dare to attempt

His face unlike Yours was cruel, harsh and cold

His body was fully decked with ornaments made of gold

On seeing his muscular arms that were dripping with sweat

That he could take on an army alone, I could easily bet

A yellow saree made of silk, the crying Woman wore

On seeing us monkeys, Her saree, She immediately tore

Quickly removing some of Her jewels, She tightly made a knot

And threw the bundle to us, as if propelled by a very quick thought

It was clear the Woman was being abducted by the man

To not melt on hearing such cries only a heartless being can

I think She must be Your wife as She did utter Your name

For not listening to Her brother-in-law, Herself, She did blame”

As Sugriva was speaking thus, Hanuman came with a bundle

On seeing His Wife’s cloth, Lord Rama’s face did dwindle

To Him, seeing the cloth was like seeing His wife

His heart started to pain cut by the longing knife

The bundle was placed on Lord Rama’s outstretched hands

Reminded of His wife’s touch, from His eyes hung tearful strands

His eyes filled with tears, He could not see the jewel

Missing badly The One, who, in His heart did always dwell

Squeezing His eyelids, He let the tears flow

Trying hard to see, the jewels’ sparkling glow

Like a blind man He touched the jewels and felt

More and more tears flooded as His heart did melt

He could not identify the jewels, with tear after tear filling His eyes

For help, to identify the jewels, He turned to Lakshman, the wise

“Do you remember any of them? Lakshman please do see

Tears fill my eyes! And I am unable to think or see!”

Lakshman took in his hands, the jewels one by one

To his Brother’s disappointment, he could remember none

At last when he took the anklets, his thoughtful face brightened

The reason makes him, among all brothers, stand tall heightened

“Brother! These anklets are definitely hers!

I can say for sure, without any doubts or fears!

I’ve seen them while worshipping Her Feet and therefore remember well

I have not much noticed the other ornaments of hers and so I cannot tell”

That was the kind of devotion, Lakshman had for Sita and Ram

All that he had in mind was to serve Them, as per a slave’s norm

Hanuman realised the respect Lakshman had for Sita and Ram

Towards Lakshman in salutation Hanuman folded his palm

Lord Rama took those jewels and hugged them to His chest

To the eyes that shed tears, He could not give a rest

By hugging for long those jewels, of His wife’s belonging

He felt like hugging His wife and satiated His Heart’s longing

He took His wife’s bangles in His hands

He was reminded of His wife’s delicate hands

He thought of how those hands made garlands with flowers

And of how they scrubbed His back while He took His showers

He thought of how He kept those hands for long in His clutch

While His wife leaned on His chest for long and remained as such

Now missing Her head resting on His chest

Her jewels unto His bosom He did thrust

On the golden earrings in the bundle His eyes awoke

Reminding of the little ears unto which His love He spoke

He thought of how those earrings dangled alongside Her cheek

Reminded of the innocent dimple, while smiling, He became weak

The anklets reminded Him of Her feet and toes

On which He used to apply Mehendhi in rows

He thought of how His Wife used to feel helplessly shy

While He pulled and kept Her Feet, to decorate, on His thigh

He touched Her beautiful necklace made of the whitest pearls

It reminded Him of Her shoulders on which did fall Her curls

Reminded thus about His gentle wife’s beauty and love

He felt miserable, helpless, and desperate, like a hunted dove

The Tears rolled down His cheeks like an abundant cascade

By His broad forehead wrinkles of sorrow were made

He pressed the bundle on His forehead as if to make them straight

His Heart which contained nothing but love was now a sorrowful crate

On seeing their Lord’s sorrow Lakshman and Hanuman became sad

Sugriva tried to console his Friend hoping to make Him glad

“Shri Ram! Like a weak person, You must not lament thus

If You, The Lord Himself, loose heart, who will protect us

To my heart that suffered from fear, Your arrival gave hope

But if You, Yourself, be weak, how can Your dependants cope?

Accept me and my friends as Your slave and tell us what to do

To amend this loss of Yours, we will risk our lives too!”

On hearing such words from Sugriva who was himself in trouble

Lord Rama decided to be strong, and made His courage double

Lord Rama kissed the bundle and touched His forehead with it

Then handed it to Hanuman to keep it safe in a place that was fit

Pushing back all sorrow, He became the hero He was

And gathered determination to destroy His misery’s cause

Before taking step to remedy His own loss

He decided to make Sugriva, Kishkindha’s king and boss

“Sugriv! Thanks for the encouraging words you Spoke

Your words to my heart were a caressing stroke

I do not accept you as a slave but as my friend

As a sixth brother in my heart You have tightly blend”

"Let us walk around the Fire and make a vow
That we will be friends, no matter how
Times may come and go, good and bad
We'll be with each other, while happy and sad"

"First let us eradicate Vali who is near
To me, his heartless nature has become clear
Then we'll go for Ravana, the ugly wicked king
In the path of Adharma, who does tightly cling"

Lord Rama and Sugriva, walked around the fire
Their hands tied together, from pieces of their attire
Which meant, they are no more two but one
Lifetime loyalty, for each other they have won

Thus Rama and Sugriva became each other's friends
Each for the other will make necessary amends
And wipe off the suffering what ill-fate had brought
And stay together as friends, tied by the friendship knot

Fate brings people together and near
Propelled by fate, life does steer
Vali's and Ravan's ill-fate brought together Sugriva and Ram
Jai Shri Ram! Jai Jai Shri Ram!!