The Ramayana

by

R. K. Narayan

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Sugreeva Character Analysis

Sugreeva is a monkey from Kiskinda. His brother, Vali, banished him from the kingdom because he believed that Sugreeva tried to usurp the crown, though Sugreeva remained honorable and loyal to his brother's claim. Sugreeva asks Rama for help in killing Vali, but feels extremely guilty when their plan works and Vali dies. As the king of Kiskinda, Sugreeva gives himself over to material pleasures and spends his time drinking alcohol and enjoying the company of beautiful women, causing him to ignore the promise he made to Rama to provide an army to search for Sita. When Sugreeva is made to see the error of his ways, though, he vows to give up alcohol and becomes one of Rama's greatest and most loyal allies in the fight against Ravana.

Sugreeva Quotes in The Ramayana

The The Ramayana quotes below are all either spoken by Sugreeva or refer to Sugreeva. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Heroism Theme Icon
).
6. Vali Quotes

The perfect man takes a false step, apparently commits a moral slip, and we ordinary mortals stand puzzled before the incident. It may be less an actual error of commission on his part than a lack of understanding on ours; measured in Eternity, such an event might stand out differently.

Related Characters: Rama, Lakshmana, Sugreeva, Vali
Related Symbols: Bows and Arrows
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis:

"We should not become too analytical about a friend, nor look too deeply into original causes; but accept only what appears good to us in the first instance, and act on it."

Related Characters: Rama (speaker), Lakshmana, Sugreeva, Vali, Bharatha
Page Number: 99
Explanation and Analysis:
7. When the Rains Cease Quotes

"Even in jest, do not hurt anyone's feelings, not even the lowliest," he said—remembering how he used to make fun of Kooni's deformity when he was young...

Related Characters: Rama (speaker), Sugreeva, Kooni
Page Number: Book Page 106
Explanation and Analysis:
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Sugreeva Quotes in The Ramayana

The The Ramayana quotes below are all either spoken by Sugreeva or refer to Sugreeva. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Heroism Theme Icon
).
6. Vali Quotes

The perfect man takes a false step, apparently commits a moral slip, and we ordinary mortals stand puzzled before the incident. It may be less an actual error of commission on his part than a lack of understanding on ours; measured in Eternity, such an event might stand out differently.

Related Characters: Rama, Lakshmana, Sugreeva, Vali
Related Symbols: Bows and Arrows
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis:

"We should not become too analytical about a friend, nor look too deeply into original causes; but accept only what appears good to us in the first instance, and act on it."

Related Characters: Rama (speaker), Lakshmana, Sugreeva, Vali, Bharatha
Page Number: 99
Explanation and Analysis:
7. When the Rains Cease Quotes

"Even in jest, do not hurt anyone's feelings, not even the lowliest," he said—remembering how he used to make fun of Kooni's deformity when he was young...

Related Characters: Rama (speaker), Sugreeva, Kooni
Page Number: Book Page 106
Explanation and Analysis: