Shloka 31
वालिविलापः
Vali’s Final Counsel and the Succession Charge
हते तु वीरे प्लवगाधिपे तदाप्लवङ्गमास्तत्र न शर्म लेभिरे।वनेचराः सिंहयुते महावनेयथा हि गावो निहते गवां पतौ।।
hate tu vīre plavagādhipe tadā plavaṅgamās tatra na śarma lebhire | vane-carāḥ siṃha-yute mahā-vane yathā hi gāvo nihate gavāṃ patau ||
勇猛なる猿族の主が討たれると、そこにいたヴァーナラたちは安らぎを得られなかった――獅子の満ちる広大な森で、群れの長を失った牛たちのように。
Just as the cattle get frightened when the leader of the herd gets killed in a huge forest full of lions, the young monkey became puzzled when the chief of monkeys got killed.
FAQs
Dharma here stresses the protective function of leadership: when a guardian falls, the vulnerable suffer fear and instability. It implies the duty of the next leader to restore order and fearlessness through righteous rule.
After Vāli’s death, the Vānaras are depicted as shaken and unable to find composure.
The virtue emphasized indirectly is the ruler’s rakṣakatva (capacity to protect), shown by the panic that follows his absence.