Tara (Monkey King)

Tára is identified as a leader of the Vánar race. Though his appearances are brief, they place him both among the assembled companions of Ráma and in the practical work of preparing funeral rites, linking the epic’s collective action with its obligations to the dead.

Identity and Place in the Company

Tára appears in a sequence of companions that includes Nala, Nila, and Hanumán. He comes last in their order and is explicitly identified as a leader of the Vánar race. The detail establishes his standing within the group, while presenting him as part of a larger company rather than as an isolated actor.

Service at the Funeral Rites

In a later scene, Tára hears words spoken in the company of Ráma, quickly enters the town, and returns carrying a litter on his strong shoulders. The litter is prepared for the rites. His response is immediate and practical: he turns speech into the material means for carrying out a funeral observance.

Narrative Role

The two scenes give Tára a compact but distinct role. First, he is placed at the edge of a named group of leaders and companions; later, he acts as a bearer in a solemn ritual setting. The movement from accompanying the company to carrying the funeral litter gives his leadership a concrete form of service, extending beyond the display of martial presence to the care required by death and its rites.