Chapter summary
कपिस्थलमाहात्म्यम् Kapi Sthala Māhātmyam
The Glory of Kapisthalam
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
In ancient times, there lived a mighty monkey king named Ṛkṣarāja. His two sons, Vāli and Sugrīva, resided in Kiṣkindhā. These great heroes, bound by mutual affection and possessing immense strength and valor, protected all the monkeys under their care. (v.1-2)
One day, two powerful demons, Māyāvī and Dundubhi, hearing of Vāli's prowess, came to challenge him to battle. Upon seeing Vāli and Sugrīva approaching, the demon Māyāvī was struck with fear and fled, taking refuge in a mountain cave. Eager for combat, Vāli angrily pursued him, first instructing Sugrīva to stand guard at the cave's entrance before he himself plunged into its depths. (v.3-5)
After more than a month of arduous battle, Vāli finally slew the demon. Soon, blood began to flow from the cave entrance. Witnessing this, Sugrīva was seized by sudden terror. Believing Vāli to be dead, and fearing the demon, he immediately sealed the cave with a massive rock. When Sugrīva returned, silent and grief-stricken, the other monkeys, also presuming Vāli had been killed, proclaimed Sugrīva as their new king. (v.6-8)
However, Vāli, having indeed killed Māyāvī, eventually emerged and returned. Seeing his brother, whom he had thought dead, return as if alive, Sugrīva joyfully prostrated himself with devotion, begging forgiveness for his perceived offense. But Vāli, consumed by rage, immediately banished his brother Sugrīva and abducted his wife. (v.9-10)
Deprived of his wife, wealth, and home, Sugrīva sought refuge in the Ṛṣyamūka cave, where he was consoled by Hanumān, the son of Vāyu. It was Hanumān, an ocean of compassion, who arranged a friendship for the distressed Sugrīva with the great-souled Rāghava [Lord Rāma], who had arrived there by chance. Sugrīva, the son of the Sun, recounted his sorrowful tale to Rāma, who in turn promised to slay Vāli. Thus, the mighty Rāghava, having had Sugrīva challenge Vāli to a fight, hid behind a tree and struck him down with a single arrow. (v.11-14)
Struck down by stealth, Vāli, seeing Rāghava before him, lamented angrily, failing to acknowledge his own fault. (v.15)
**Vāli said:**
You are wise, You are righteous, and of noble birth, there is no doubt. Yet, what merit have You gained by killing one whose back was turned? The protection of the good and the punishment of the wicked is the eternal *dharma* for kings such as You. But I, though innocent, have been slain by You in vain. My flesh and skin are of no use to You, O Rāghava. (v.16-18)
**Śrī Rāma said:**
Those who do not recognize their own faults but are quick to see the faults of others, only ever censure others, just like you, O best of monkeys. For this crime of abducting your brother's wife, this punishment has been meted out. You act on your whims, O fool, and censure Me in vain. Seeing the fault in open battle—which would have led to the destruction of all monkeys—I killed you alone, O wicked one, even if by stealth. (v.19-21)
**Vāli said:**
O Lord, O ocean of compassion, forgive my offense. O knower of Dharma, guide me with Your words that conform to righteousness. Slain by You today, in Your very presence, I go to the meritorious worlds, purified by the mere sight of You. Protect my brother, O hero, and my son Aṅgada, with affection. I am well-pleased, my life's purpose fulfilled by seeing You. (v.22-24)
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
Having spoken thus, Vāli met his death in Rāghava's presence. Rāghava then had the funeral rites performed by Vāli's son, Aṅgada. Thereafter, in Kiṣkindhā, he anointed the great monkey Sugrīva as king and Vāli's son Aṅgada as the crown prince. (v.25-26)
Despite his new kingship, Sugrīva found no peace, consumed by remorse for the death of his brother Vāli, constantly remembering the great sin he had committed. Pondering his treachery to his brother, the distressed chief of monkeys wished to cleanse himself of the sin. He immediately went to Pañcavaṭī and respectfully asked the sage Agastya, "Please tell me the penance for the sin of treachery to a brother." (v.27-29)
The pot-born sage, Bhagavān Agastya, spoke sweet words, kindly consoling the hero Sugrīva, son of the Sun. (v.30)
**Agastya said:**
O hero, for you, a devoted servant of Rāma, there is indeed no sin. Nevertheless, for your consolation, I shall tell you a penance. Merely by remembrance, the Kāverī river is the destroyer of sins for all beings. What then to say of those who bathe in it daily with unwavering faith and devotion? Where the wind blows after touching the sacred waters of the Kāverī, the inhabitants of that land attain liberation. What then to say of those who actually dwell on its banks? What the Jāhnavī [Gaṅgā] purifies in three nights on its bank, and the Yāmuna in five, the Kāverī purifies instantly, even a sin that lasts until death. (v.31-34)
Therefore, O chief of monkeys, go to the bank of the Sahya-born river [Kāverī], bathe in its waters, and worship Kṛṣṇa Keśava. The sin incurred from treachery to your brother will be instantly destroyed, and you will attain the highest welfare. I tell you the truth, the truth. (v.35-36)
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
Hearing the supreme glory of the Kāverī as told by the sage Agastya, the monkey Sugrīva was delighted and set forth with his retinue. Near Kumbhakoṇam, he bathed with devotion in the Kāverī and worshipped Keśava on the bank of the Sahya-born river. That sacred place is known throughout the world as Kapisthalam, where Kṛṣṇa, the ocean of mercy and destroyer of afflictions, eternally resides. (v.37-39)
By seeing Hari in Kapisthalam, fraternal affection is surely born, just as the monkey Sugrīva was freed from the sin of his brother's death. (v.40)
Thus, the eighth chapter, named "The Glory of Kapisthalam," in the Third Volume of the Divya Deśa Vaibhavam [a work on the 108 sacred Vishnu temples], composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
