Tara is the wife of the monkey King Vali.  He is an arrogant bully, always looking for a fight.  One encounter leads him deep into the mountain, causing the kingdom to think he is dead.  His brother Sugriva regretfully assumes the crown and seals the mountain.  However, Vali escapes enraged and sends Sugriva running for his life.  Vali resumes the throne and forcibly acquires Sugriva’s wife.  From his personal loss, Rama has compassion for Sugriva and promises to help.  Sugriva returns the favor with a vow to help find Sita.  As the two brothers battle, Rama intercedes to save Sugriva’s life by shooting Vali.  Sugriva is again crowned king and Tara becomes his consort.

Tara's thoughts and feelings as she moves on in her new life are terribly complicated.  The story of The Adjustment compares marrying the person you love to loving the person you marry.  The Ambassador explores the perception of the female as the "better half" of a relationship.  My analysis follows these two creative retellings.

The Adjustment:
Life as a Blended Family

How quickly everything had changed in Tara’s life.  And how drastically!  With Sugriva, everything would be different.  She shook her head as she thought all of the changes coming so suddenly.  The future was so uncertain!  She didn’t know whether to dread it or embrace it.       Tara had grown to care for Sugriva.  She wasn’t sure yet if love was the right word for her feelings.  He was a gentle and considerate companion.  Tara was amazed and delighted, following the experiences with the arrogant Vali.  She felt a twinge of guilt comparing the old husband and the new.  She never believed her heart could make room for another man.           Vali, however, was her true love.  He was her first in so many ways: first date, first kiss, and first love.  They share a bond that unites them across the chasm of mortality- their son.  She stayed in Kishkindha to ensure Angada’s position as yuvaraja, or second in command.  As long as Angada lived, her husband’s legacy would carry on.  He will always hold the first place in her heart.

Tara had barely settled into her new life when the rainy season ended.  In the morning she arose early to bake banana muffins, wondering if her present husband would appreciate them more than the former.  There- she had done it again.  That subtle comparison between Sugriva and Vali.  She must not do that.  Ever.  It’s not fair to Vali.         A loud commotion erupted from the palace gates.  Tara spun around, dropping banana muffins all over the floor.  She ran to the window to find Lakshmana ransacking the courtyard, coming to collect on the promise to find Sita.  Sugriva was sleeping off a hang-over of honey-wine.  She never completely understood how both Vali and Sugriva could command such love from everyone around them, even when their actions sometimes left them with emotion which from anyone else would have turned into hatred and resentment.           Hanuman begged Tara to intervene on behalf of the king, on behalf of the kingdom.  In this reign she was treated like an equal among men.  Her opinion mattered as if she was one of the lieutenants.  She felt honored.  Tara took a long, deep breath.  Boldly, she walked to face the wrath of the human alone.  She tried to master her voice, although it trembled slightly.  With supreme intelligence and feminine charm she calmed the angry Lakshmana, thereby ensuring the future of her family and friends.

The practice of the kinsman redeemer or levirate marriage is common in ancient cultures.  The details differ between religions, but basically when a man dies the next of kin steps in by marrying the widow and raising the children.  In Narayan’s version, Sugriva assumes Tara as his wife after the defeat of his brother.  This puts Tara in a precarious position and is the inspiration for The Adjustment. 

As a dutiful mother, she embraces her new role to ensure the future of her son.  This relationship triangle reminds me of today’s blended families.  The death of a spouse or the death of a marriage changes the family dynamics.  And when a partner remarries, they carry the baggage of a previous life into the new one.  It must be hard to find balance and peace in such a situation.  Vali is the one Tara marries because she loves him; Sugriva is the one she might eventually love because she marries him.  As a dutiful wife she loyally serves both husbands.

The other fascinating aspect of this story is Tara’s influence over her two separate husbands.  Despite his faults, Tara loves the brutish King Vali.  She begs her husband to avoid the fight with his brother, but he ridicules her warning.  Facing Sugriva personally, he seals his fate from Rama’s arrow.  Sugriva, on the other hand, depends upon the wisdom of Tara.  When Lakshmana charges the kingdom to redeem a promise, Tara is sent to manage the situation instead of the king.  This difference is the subject of The Ambassador.   

Buck’s version of this story in the Ramayana is markedly different.  Tara, overcome with grief from the loss of her husband, kills herself with Rama’s arrow.  By using the same weapon of death, she blends Vali’s blood with her own.  Even Death cannot separate their hearts.  The contrast of how the two brothers depend on their wives still exists.   Because of Tara's death, Sugriva’s wife Ruma is the one who meets Lakshmana as an ambassador of the king.