Chapter 50 - Jatayu attacks Ravana

Jatayu, who was fast asleep, awoke on hearing these words and beheld Ravana and the daughter of Videha.

Thereupon, the King of Birds, with his sharp beak resembling the peak of a mountain, perching on the tree, spoke softly to Ravana, saying:—

“O Dashagriva, I am conversant with the Puranas, firm in my vows, and follow the path of dharma. O Brother, it does not become you to commit this infamy in my presence 1 My name is Jatayu, the King of the Vultures; she whom you dost seek to bear away is the beautiful Sita, the faithful and illustrious consort of the Protector of the Worlds, that Lord of Men, Rama, the son of Dasaratha, who is equal to Varuna and Mahendra and ever engaged in the welfare of all beings.

“How can a king, fixed in his duty, look upon another’s wife? O You of mighty prowess, it is for you particularly to defend the consorts of kings, therefore control your base inclination to insult the wife of another. A noble person will ever eschew that which may bring reproach on him, and protects another’s wife as if she were his own.

“O Delight of Paulastya, whether it concerns that which is expedient or agreeable, in the absence of the authority of the scriptures, men of honour follow the example of a king in matters of duty. A king represents duty, a king represents desire and is the supreme treasury of his subjects; he is the root of good and evil.

“O King of the Titans, you are wicked and fickle by nature; how hast you obtained a kingdom, like unto a sinner winning the celestial abode? It is hard for an unruly and passionate man to change his nature; noble counsels are not long remembered by perverse persons. Since the mighty and virtuous Rama has never done a wrong in your kingdom or capital, why dost you seek to provoke him? Is Rama of irreproachable action to blame if he slew the wicked Khara in Janasthana on account of Shurpanakha? Why dost you seek to bear away the consort of that Lord of Men? Release Vaidehi this instant, lest, with his dread glance resembling a glowing brazier, he consume you, as Indra reduced Vritra to ashes with his thunderbolt.

“O Ravana, you are unwittingly carrying a highly venomous serpent in your robe; without discerning it, you are wearing the noose of death round your neck. A man should only bear that weight which will not crush him and eat only that which does not give rise to sickness. Who will engage himself in an act which is neither praiseworthy, just, nor honourable, and which will cost him his life?

“O Ravana, I am sixty thousand years old and have ruled over the domain of mine ancestors with justice. I am exceedingly aged, you are youthful and furnished with a bow, armour and arrows, mounted on a car, yet you shalt not escape without injury, if you seeks to bear Vaidehi away. You shalt no more be able to carry her away by force in my presence, than it is possible to destroy the wisdom of the Veda by logic.

“If you are not afraid, O Ravana, then halt an instant and fight! You shalt fall on the earth as Khara before you! Rama, clad in robes of bark, who more than once vanquished the Daityas and Danavas in the field, would soon have slain you in combat. As for me, what can I do? The two princes are far away and undoubtedly you are fleeing in all haste in fear of them, You Wretch! Yet while I still live, you shalt not bear away the lovely Sita, the beloved consort of Rama, whose eyes resemble the petals of the lotus. Even at the risk of my life I shall render this service to the magnanimous Rama, as if to King Dasaratha himself. Stay! Stay 1 O Dashagriva, reflect but for a moment. O Ravana, I shall hurl you from your great chariot like a ripe fruit from its stalk 1 O Prowler of the Night, I challenge you to fight to the last.”