Sugriva; a great monkey, was the son of Indra
and AhilyA. She was the wife of Gautama, one of the seven great sages who
appeared from the mind of lord BrahmA. Indra disguised himself as Gautama
Muni and seduced AhilyA, who had been blessed that she would never age
beyond sixteen. She was the most beautiful lady on earth, and both Indra
and the sun-god became enamoured by her beauty. One after the other, Indra
and the sun-god came to her in the form of Gautama Muni and had union with
her, and Sugriva and VAli were born as a result, respectively (Sugriva
of Indra’s union and VAli of Surya’s union).
At first, Sugriva and VAli looked like human beings,
but when Gautama discovered his wife’s infidelity, he angrily threw both
the boys into the ocean saying” If you are not my sons, turn into monkeys”.
Thus they became monkeys. Sugriva helped his friend Rama to find SitA devi,
and in return Rama helped Sugriva regain his kingdom of KishkindhA from
his brother VAli.
Regarding Gautama Muni’s possessing a spectacularly
wife, the moralist Chanakhya Pandita says:
RinakartA pitA shatruh
MAtA cha vyabhichArinI
BhAryA rUpavatI shatruh
Putra shatruh kupanditah
“In this world, a man has four enemies; a father who is
a debtor, a mother who is like a prostitute, a beautiful wife, and a son
who is uninterested in spiritual science” A beautiful wife is an enemy
because many other men will be attracted to her.
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