66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

of an eye, I will be back after disposing of the nuisance
named Sugreeva.”
Afraid to contradict her husband any further, Tara stood
aside to let him pass. Swollen with the zest for fight, his
figure looked redoubled and struck terror into those who
beheld him. As Vali stepped on the arena at the
mountainside, uttering a variety of challenges and shouts, all
creatures that heard him stood arrested, stunned and
deafened.
Beholding the stature of Vali, Rama whispered to his
brother Lakshmana, “Is there any comparable spectacle of
power in the whole universe, even if you include all the gods,
demons, and the elements?”
Lakshmana had his misgivings. “I am not certain whether
Sugreeva is trying to involve you in anything more than an
ordinary combat between mere monkeys. I do not know if we
should participate in this struggle at all. How can you trust as
an ally one who has not hesitated to intrigue fatally against a
brother?”
“Why limit it to monkeys? Strife between brothers is
common among human beings too. Instances like
Bharatha’s are rare indeed. We should not become too
analytical about a friend, nor look too deeply into original
causes; but accept only what appears good to us in the first
instance, and act on it.”
While they were thus discussing, Vali and Sugreeva