The Story of Jatayu, the Devotee of Shri Ram

We are all familiar with Jatayu, the son of Aruna and the younger brother of Sampati. We also know how Jatayu attempted to protect Mother Sita from Ravana. While most people are aware that Jatayu was slain by Ravana during this effort to protect her, very few know that he displayed extraordinary valor in that battle, forcing even a mighty warrior like Ravana to descend to the ground.

First of all, most people believe that Ravana abducted Mother Sita and carried her away in his *Pushpak Vimana*, which is entirely incorrect. In reality, Ravana arrived to abduct Sita in a divine aerial chariot yoked to two donkeys that possessed the form of *Pishachas* (demons). Jatayu, the King of Vultures, used his valor to destroy that chariot, forcing Ravana to personally carry Mother Sita away through the air. An account of their extraordinary battle can be found in Cantos 50 and 51 of the *Aranya Kanda*.

According to the legend, when Ravana was abducting Mother Sita and flying through the sky in his chariot, she caught sight of Jatayu and called out to him for help. At that moment, Jatayu was asleep, but upon hearing her voice, he immediately rose and positioned himself in front of Ravana’s chariot. Before engaging in direct combat, he tried to reason with Ravana in various ways, explaining that he had committed a grave error by abducting Mother Sita and urging him to release her immediately; however, Ravana refused to do so.

Then Jatayu said, “O Ravana! Sixty thousand years have passed since my birth; I have grown old, while you are in the prime of youth. I possess no weapons of war, whereas you have a chariot, a charioteer, a bow, arrows, armor, and all the rest; yet, as long as I live, you cannot take away the daughter of Videha. Sri Rama and Lakshmana are far away at this moment; if I were to go and summon them, you would quickly flee. Therefore, I must perform this task dear to Sri Rama and Dasharatha, even at the cost of my life.”

It is important to note here that Ravana was also of a very advanced age at that time. Although there is no explicit record of his exact age, calculations based on the duration of his reign indicate that he was over 40,000 years old. Yet, he was 20,000 years younger than Jatayu, which is why Jatayu referred to him as a young man. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding this matter, as some calculations suggest that Ravana’s age far exceeded even that of King Dasharatha. Now, since Dasharatha was of the same age as Jatayu—meaning he too had ruled Ayodhya for 60,000 years—Ravana’s age would have been far greater still. However, only the account provided in the Ramayana has been stated here.

Then, a fierce battle ensued between the two, and they began raining savage blows upon each other. Ravana unleashed a barrage of arrows at Jatayu, yet the bird endured the onslaught. Jatayu then struck Ravana with his talons, inflicting numerous wounds upon his body. Enraged, Ravana fired ten celestial arrows that severely mangled Jatayu’s body and wings. Although Jatayu suffered immense pain, seeing Mother Sita weeping in the chariot spurred him to launch himself at Ravana once more.

First, Jatayu shattered Ravana’s infallible bow by striking it with both his feet. Ravana then took up another bow and unleashed a barrage of arrows at Jatayu. However, Jatayu swept all those arrows away with his massive wings as if they were mere straws and once again broke the bow. Following this, Jatayu used his talons to tear apart Ravana’s armor, which shone as brilliantly as fire.

Thereafter, the mighty Jatayu killed the donkeys yoked to Ravana’s chariot and smashed the divine vehicle to pieces; he knocked away Ravana’s royal parasol and fly-whisk, and with a blow from his beak, severed the head of Ravana’s charioteer from his body. With the chariot destroyed, Ravana fell to the ground along with Mother Sita. Meanwhile, exhausted by this display of valor, Jatayu—burdened by old age—also grew weary.

Seeing them exhausted, Ravana was greatly pleased. He immediately lifted Mother Sita into his arms and began to flee through the sky. Although all his other weapons had been destroyed, he still had a sword left. Upon seeing Ravana fleeing, Jatayu once again lunged after him. He fiercely rebuked Ravana and, mounting his back, began to tear at it with his talons; he lacerated Ravana’s back with his claws and tore out clumps of his hair with his beak.

At that moment, distressed by Jatayu’s blows, Ravana lifted Mother Sita with his left hand and struck Jatayu with his right. However, displaying extraordinary valor, Jatayu used his beak to tear off all ten of Ravana’s left arms. Yet, as soon as those arms were severed, new ones instantly grew back. Consequently, Ravana was forced to set Mother Sita down on the ground, and then, in a fit of rage, he began striking Jatayu with his fists and kicks.

The battle between the two warriors raged for a long time. Then, seeing the delay and fearing that Shri Ram and Lakshman might return, Ravana used his sword to sever both of Jatayu’s wings and legs, as well as his flanks. Consequently, Jatayu fell helplessly to the ground. Witnessing this, Mother Sita embraced Jatayu and began to lament; however, being left helpless, she was ultimately abducted by Ravana, who carried her off to Lanka through the air.

Later, while searching for Mother Sita, Shri Ram and Lakshman encountered Jatayu, who was breathing his last; Jatayu breathed his final breath in their very arms. Subsequently, Shri Ram and Lakshman performed his last rites and proceeded with the search for Mother Sita.