Jaṭáyus

Also known as: Jatáyu / Jaṭáyu · Family: Ráma’s allies · Role: vulture king · First appears: Book I, Canto 1 · Nárad

In Book III, Canto 14, Jaṭáyus tells Ráma that he and Sampáti were born to Aruṇ, and that he was the son of Śyení. He was a friend of Daśaratha, who loved him, and offered to help Ráma and guard his house. In Book III, Canto 43, Ráma says Jaṭáyus will protect Sítá.

In Book III, Cantos 50–51, Jaṭáyus challenged Rávaṇ as he carried Sítá away, fought to stop him, and was struck down with the sword, badly wounded and near death. In Cantos 68–69, Jaṭáyus told Ráma that Rávaṇ had taken Sítá and that he was dying from the fight; he then died of his wounds. Ráma mourned him and performed his funeral rites.

In Book IV, Sampáti speaks of Jaṭáyus as his brother and recounts that he fell from the sky after being overcome by heat and toil; Sampáti shielded him from the sun but lost his own pinions. Later accounts in Books IV and VI remember Jaṭáyus’s fight to save Sítá and his death.