Shloka 23
वालिवधः — Vālī’s Fall and Dharma-Accusation
Kiṣkindhā Sarga 17
विषये वा पुरे वा ते यदा पापं करोम्यहम्।न च त्वामवजाने च कस्मात्त्वं हंस्यकिल्बिषम्।।फलमूलाशनं नित्यं वानरं वनगोचरम्।मामिहाप्रतियुध्यन्तमन्येन च समागतम्।।
viṣaye vā pure vā te yadā pāpaṁ karomy aham |
na ca tvām avajāne ca kasmāt tvaṁ haṁsy akilbiṣam ||
phala-mūlāśanaṁ nityaṁ vānaraṁ vana-gocaram |
mām ihāpratiyudhyantam anyena ca samāgatam ||
我何曾在你的国土或城邑里作过恶？我也未曾轻慢于你。为何你要杀我这无罪之身——我不过是常以果与根为食、出没林野的猿猴？此处我并未与你交战，只是在与他人相斗。
'You are a sinful man covered with the mask of piety thus resembling a hidden fire. I failed to recognise that righteousness is a mere pretext for you.
FAQs
Vāli appeals to just punishment: violence should be grounded in legitimate cause—offense, jurisdiction, and due ethical basis—otherwise it violates dharma and satya.
Dying, Vāli argues he neither harmed Rāma’s kingdom nor insulted him, and he was not fighting Rāma; therefore he questions the moral and political basis of Rāma’s intervention.
The virtue emphasized is justice as restraint: punishment (daṇḍa) must be proportionate and properly authorized, not driven by partiality or concealed methods.