Shloka 4.20.26
ताराविलापः — Tara’s Lament over Vāli
तारा तु शोकसंतप्ता पतिमन्तिकमासदत्।
अन्याभिः सह वानर्यः क्षितौ निषण्णा मरणं प्रतीक्षती॥
tārā tu śokasaṃtaptā patim antikam āsadat |
anyābhiḥ saha vānarīḥ kṣitau niṣaṇṇā maraṇaṃ pratīkṣatī ||
Tārā, scorched by grief, drew near and sat beside her husband; and with the other she-monkeys she remained seated upon the ground, resolved to renounce food and drink, waiting only for death.
Beautiful Tara crying pathetically sat near her husband along with other female monkeys on the ground, determined to abstain from food and drink, awaiting death.ityārṣē śrīmadrāmāyaṇē vālmīkīya ādikāvyē kiṣkindhākāṇḍē viṅśassargaḥ৷৷Thus ends the twentieth sarga of Kishkindakanda of the Holy Ramayana, the first epic composed by sage Valmiki.
The verse highlights steadfast marital devotion and the human (and social) cost of violent rivalry: grief can drive one toward self-negation, reminding readers that dharma must consider consequences beyond victory.
After Vāli’s fall, Tārā, overwhelmed with sorrow, sits beside him with the other female monkeys and resolves to abandon food and drink, waiting for death—an intense depiction of communal mourning in Kiṣkindhā.