Shloka 4.24.40
वालिवधोत्तरशोकः — Sugriva’s Remorse and Tara’s Lament after Vali’s Death
आर्तामनाथामपनीयमानामेवं विधामर्हसि मां निहन्तुम्।अहं हि मातङ्गविलासगामिनाप्लवङ्गमानामृषभेण धीमता।।विना वरार्होत्तमहेममालिनाचिरं न शक्ष्यामि नरेन्द्र जीवितुम्।इत्येवमुक्तस्तु विभुर्महात्मातारां समाश्वास्य हितं बभाषे।।
ārtām anāthām apanīyamānām evaṃ-vidhām arhasi māṃ nihantum |
ahaṃ hi mātaṅga-vilāsa-gāminā plavaṅgamānām ṛṣabheṇa dhīmatā ||
vinā varārhottama-hema-mālinā ciraṃ na śakṣyāmi narendra jīvitum |
ity evam uktas tu vibhur mahātmā tārāṃ samāśvāsya hitaṃ babhāṣe ||
O king, you may well slay me—helpless and husbandless as I am. For I cannot live long without that wise bull among the monkeys. Thus implored by Tārā, the great-souled lord consoled her.
'O king! it is proper on your part to kill me as I am in great distress. I am a helpless orphan torn away from her husband.O king! I will not live long without the wise leader of monkeys who walked majestically like an elephant and wore the choicest golden necklace'. Implored by Tara this way, the great soul, Rama, lord of the earth said to Tara these words of consolation:
The verse foregrounds how grief can drive a person to self-destructive speech; Dharma here is the movement from lamentation toward steadiness, which Rāma is about to provide through consoling, truth-aligned counsel.
After Vāli has been slain, Tārā mourns intensely and addresses Rāma, saying she cannot live without her husband; the narration then turns to Rāma’s consoling response.
Rāma’s compassion and moral leadership: he responds to bereavement not with harshness but with calming, welfare-oriented instruction.