Vali and Sugreeva were the sons of king Riksharaja of Kishkindha. Once, Riksharaja while strolling on Mount Sumeru felt irritated by heat, so he went to take a bath in a pond near by. After having a bath, he was astonished to see his body transformed into a beautiful girl. At the same time, Indra and the Sun-god were on their way to heaven. Both were fascinated by the beautiful girl. As a result, Indra’s eyes fell on the lady’s hair whereas the Sun-god’s eyes fell on her uterus. Thus Vali was born to Indra and Sugreeva was born to the Sun-god. Both looked alike. Vali, son of Indra, was as powerful as the thunderbolt. On the other hand, Sugreeva, son of the Sun-god, had both power and compassion.
Vali became the king of Kishkindha after the death of Riksharaja. Once, Vali punished Mayavi for disturbing the peace in his kingdom. But the demon kept on tormenting the people. One day, Mayavi challenged Vali to a duel.
During the combat, Mayavi fled into a cave. Vali followed him. Vali asked Sugreeva to wait outside. Sugreeva along with his monkey warriors waited for Vali for several days but Vali did not return. Seeing blood gushing out of the cave, he was frightened that the demon had killed Vali. Thus he closed the mouth of the cave with a huge rock and ran back along with his warriors to the kingdom.
Sugreeva did not want to become the king. But Vali’s son, Angad, was still a child. So, Sugreeva had to take up the reins of the kingdom. Everything went on smoothly then. But one day, Vali returned. He thought Sugreeva had been trying to kill him and take his place. He chased Sugreeva out and took over the kingdom and Sugreeva’s wife too. Regarding Vali’s not coming to Mount Rishyamooka Sugreeva told Rama about Vali’s encounter with the horrible demon, Dundubhi. He was a demon in the form of a wild buffalo.
Vali grabbed Dundubhi’s horns and struck him against the ground. The demon was killed there and then. Some blood from Dundubhi’s body got splattered on Sage Matanga who was performing penance on the mountain at that time. He got offended and cursed Vali that he would die as soon as he came to the mountain. Therefore, Vali dared not go there. That was why Sugreeva felt safe and sound on Mount Rishyamooka. He had been living there with a few of his monkeys and bears and other trusted warriors for a very long time.
