Rumá

Rumá is Sugríva’s wedded wife, whose seizure by Báli forms part of the wrong that Ráma cites when explaining why he killed the exiled monkey king. Though the passages give her no speech or independent action, her marriage places her at the center of the conflict’s moral and familial stakes.

Identity and Background

Rumá is identified through her marriage to Sugríva. In Ráma’s account of Báli’s offenses, he says Báli robbed his brother of his wedded wife; Rumá is the woman at the heart of that charge. The episode therefore presents her not as a combatant in the succession struggle but as someone whose marriage and status are violated by the struggle’s victor.

Role in the Conflict

Báli’s taking of Sugríva’s wife is paired with his seizure of his brother’s place. Ráma invokes the act as a breach of ancient right, making the treatment of Rumá one reason the killing of Báli is framed as punishment rather than merely an intervention in a royal rivalry. The account gives no further detail of Rumá’s circumstances during this period, and does not show her speaking or acting in the cited scenes.

Consequences and Significance

After Ráma has paid his debt to Sugríva, he addresses him as king and wishes him an uninterrupted reign. This marks the political reversal of Báli’s ascendancy, while the earlier charge concerning Rumá gives that reversal a personal and marital dimension. Her brief place in the narrative exposes the human cost of Báli’s power and helps explain why Sugríva’s cause is treated as a matter of justice as well as kingship.