Vali (Ramayana)

In the Hindu epic Ramayana, the vanara Vali was king of Kishkindha, a son of Indra and the elder brother of Sugriva. He was killed by Rama, an avatar of Vishnu.

File:Vali.jpg

A depiction of Rama killing Vali during the fight with Sugriva. Note the arrow cuts throuh the seven trees

He was famous for the boon that he had received, according to which anyone who came before him lost half his/her strength to Vali, thereby making Vali invulnerable to any enemy. Hence Rama slew him with an arrow in his back. Rama, though on exile, was the king of the jungles (representing Bharata, who was the king of the rest of the country) and justly punished Vali for his evil deeds. It is said that Vali was reborn as the hunter Jara who killed Lord Krishna by his arrow in the Dwapara Yuga.

Vali had been known as a good and pious vanara-king, but had been too arrogant to listen to Sugriva after his brother had sealed the entrance to a cave in which Vali was fighting a demon. Sugriva mistook the blood flowing out of the blocked cave to be his brother's and left for Kishkindha assuming that his brother was dead. When Vali had emerged over the demon, he had found that the entrance to the cave was blocked (not a problem for his strength), and had then discovered Sugriva ruling in his place. An enraged Vali also learned that Sugriva had married his "widowed" wife. Sugrivatried to explain the situation to Vali, but Vali would not listen, and had him driven out of the kingdom.

Vali is known for his leaping abilities.

Reference

• Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dhallapiccola