Thinking About Your Thinking

Metacognitive Reading Worksheet

R.K. Narayan's The Ramayana — Chapter Six: “Vali”

NAME

DATE

A DAY

B DAY

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BEFORE READING: Preparing My Mind

1. Narayan opens this chapter by warning us — before the story begins — that Rama is about to do something controversial: he will shoot and kill someone who has never seen him and never harmed him, while hiding in the trees. Narayan says this is “one of the most controversial chapters in the Ramayana.” Why do you think he tells us this before we read it? What does knowing something is controversial in advance do to how you read it?

2. Think about a time when you were completely certain you were right — so certain that you dismissed anyone who disagreed. What made you so sure? Did it turn out you were wrong? Keep that feeling in mind as you read Vali.

DURING READING: Monitoring My Understanding

Comprehension Check-In: Rate your understanding of each section as you read (1 = confused, 5 = clear).

Section	1	2	3	4	5
Part A: Meeting Hanuman; meeting Sugreeva; Sugreeva’s Story — Vali’s extraordinary power; the underground chase after Mayavi; the 28-month wait; the misunderstanding; Sugreeva’s exile and stolen wife
Part B: Rama promises to help Sugreeva; the archery demonstration through seven trees; Dundubi’s bones; Sita’s jewellery found — Rama breaks down in grief
Part C: The plan — Sugreeva challenges Vali; Tara’s warning; Vali dismisses her completely; the first fight ends without Rama shooting (can’t tell the brothers apart); the flower garland solution
Part D: The second fight; Rama shoots Vali from hiding; Vali reads “Rama” on the arrow; Vali’s dying challenge — his three complaints about what Rama did
Part E: Rama’s defence; Vali’s counter-argument; Lakshmana’s explanation; Vali accepts, forgives, and dies in peace; Tara and Angada’s grief; Sugreeva crowned

Double-Entry Journal: Choose two moments that made you stop — one from anywhere in the chapter, and one specifically from Vali’s dying speech.

Describe the moment in your own words. Include a page number if you can.

The moment (in your own words, with page number if possible)	My reaction: what did this make me think or feel?

Vali’s Three Complaints: As he is dying, Vali accuses Rama of three things. For each one, write down what Vali says, then say whether you think it is a fair complaint.

There is no required answer here. The point is to think carefully and be honest about where you actually land.

Vali’s complaint	What exactly does Vali say?	Is this a fair complaint? What is your honest reaction?
“You shot me from hiding, not in an open fight”
“I had nothing to do with Ravana or your wife — you are punishing me for someone else’s crime”
“If you had just come to me directly, I could have gotten Sita back — you chose the wrong ally”

AFTER READING: Reflecting on My Understanding

3. Look back at your Comprehension Check-In ratings. Which section was hardest to follow? Be specific about what caused the difficulty — the number of characters, the back-story, the argument between Vali and Rama, or something else? What did you do, or what could you do now, to clear it up?

4. When Sugreeva tells Rama he is an exile separated from his wife, Rama immediately feels connected to him — because he is in exactly the same situation. He promises to help. Does shared pain make Rama’s decision to help Sugreeva feel more understandable? Could it also have made him less fair? Think about whether feeling close to someone can sometimes lead to worse decisions.

5. Vali’s wife Tara warned him that Rama was with Sugreeva and that this time was different. Vali was so confident in his own strength — and so certain that someone like Rama would never take sides in a monkey dispute — that he couldn’t imagine being wrong. What did it feel like to read his certainty, knowing what was about to happen to him?

6. At the end of the chapter, Vali — who has just argued powerfully against what Rama did — forgives Rama, calls him a god, and dies in peace. He even says he is grateful to be dying this way. Does this ending settle the moral question for you, or does it leave you with doubts? Explain your honest reaction.

7. Thinking About Your Thinking: Go back to Before Reading Question 1. Did knowing in advance that this chapter was controversial actually change how you read it? Now state clearly where you actually stand: was what Rama did right, wrong, or somewhere in between? What evidence from the text is pulling you in each direction?

The Ramayana Unit — Metacognitive Reading Practice Chapter Six: Vali Monitor. Question. Clarify. Connect.