The Friendship of Rama and Sugriva

After Ravana carried Sita away to Lanka, Rama wandered the southern forests in grief, searching for any trace of her. His search led him to Rishyamukha hill and to a friendship that would win the war: his alliance with Sugriva, the exiled king of the vanaras, brought about by the wisest of messengers, Hanuman.

The meeting through Hanuman

Sugriva, hiding on Rishyamukha from his brother Vali who had seized his kingdom, saw two armed and princely figures approaching and feared they were Vali’s men. He sent his minister Hanuman, disguised as a brahmin, to learn who they were. Hanuman spoke with such grace and learning that Rama knew at once he was no ordinary being, and when Hanuman understood that these were the exiled prince of Ayodhya and his brother Lakshmana, he carried them on his shoulders to Sugriva.

A friendship of the fallen

The two who met were alike in sorrow. Rama had lost his wife to a demon; Sugriva had lost his wife and his throne to his own brother Vali, who had driven him into exile. Around a sacred fire the two swore friendship and vowed to help each other: Rama would restore Sugriva to his kingdom, and Sugriva would lend all the strength of the vanaras to find Sita.

The token from the sky

Sugriva then brought out a bundle of ornaments that had fallen from the sky, dropped by a weeping woman being carried south in a flying chariot. When Rama saw them his heart broke, for they were Sita’s; Lakshmana knew only her anklets, for in his reverence he had never raised his eyes above her feet. Now Rama knew which way his beloved had been taken.

Rama keeps his word

To free Sugriva, Rama helped him challenge Vali to single combat, and ended the fight with a single arrow, as told in the slaying of Vali. Sugriva was crowned king of Kishkindha, and each of the two friends had now kept his vow halfway.

The search begins

After the rains had passed, Sugriva summoned the vanara hosts from every direction and sent them to search the earth for Sita. It was the party sent south, with Hanuman at its heart, that at last reached the ocean and learned that Sita was held in Lanka, setting in motion Hanuman’s great leap across the sea and the war to come.

The meaning of the story

The friendship of Rama and Sugriva is the Ramayana’s great portrait of mitrata, true friendship: two beings brought low by loss who lift each other up, each keeping his word even at great cost. It teaches that help freely given and promises faithfully kept are the foundation of every victory, and that even a god in human form accomplishes his purpose through the loyalty of friends.