# Araṇya Kāṇḍa 63 — Discovery of the wounded Jaṭāyu *Rāma mistakes him for Sītā’s killer, Jaṭāyu names Rāvaṇa and explains the wreckage, the brothers embrace him* Portion: Jaṭāyu’s report and funeral · Verses: 26 · Ref format: 3.63. ## Sequence - Rāma accepts Lakṣmaṇa's advice, controls his anger, and asks what they should do next (63.1–3) - Lakṣmaṇa recommends searching Janasthāna's woods, ravines, mountain strongholds, and caves → the brothers resume the search together (63.4–8) - Rāma sees the great blood-covered bird lying on the ground and wrongly assumes it is a rākṣasa in vulture form that has eaten Sītā (63.9–11) - he fits an arrow and rushes toward it (63.12) - Jaṭāyu speaks through the blood in his mouth and tells him that Rāvaṇa took Sītā and dealt him his fatal wounds (63.13–15) - he identifies the broken chariot and weapons as Rāvaṇa's and recounts how he brought the abductor down → Rāvaṇa then cut his wings and flew away with Sītā; Jaṭāyu begs Rāma not to strike him as well (63.16–18) - recognizing the source of the wreckage and hearing news of Sītā, the brothers embrace Jaṭāyu and weep (63.19) - Rāma laments that this aged friend of Daśaratha has suffered on his account → he tends and embraces the wounded bird before sinking to the ground in grief (63.20–26). ## Verses **3.63.1** pūrvajo 'py uktamātras tu lakṣmaṇena subhāṣitam sāragrāhī mahāsāraṃ pratijagrāha rāghavaḥ As soon as it was spoken by Lakṣmaṇa, the elder brother Rāghava, who grasps the essence, accepted the well-spoken counsel of great substance. **3.63.2** saṃnigṛhya mahābāhuḥ pravṛddhaṃ kopam ātmanaḥ avaṣṭabhya dhanuś citraṃ rāmo lakṣmaṇam abravīt Restraining the swollen anger within him, the mighty-armed Rāma, leaning on his gleaming bow, said to Lakṣmaṇa: **3.63.3** kiṃ kariṣyāvahe vatsa kva vā gacchāva lakṣmaṇa kenopāyena paśyeyaṃ sītām iti vicintaya “What shall we two do, dear one, and whither shall we go, Lakṣmaṇa? Consider by what means I might see Sītā.” **3.63.4** taṃ tathā paritāpārtaṃ lakṣmaṇo rāmam abravīt idam eva janasthānaṃ tvam anveṣitum arhasi To Rāma, thus stricken with anguish, Lakṣmaṇa said: “This very Janasthāna you ought to search.” **3.63.5** rākṣasair bahubhiḥ kīrṇaṃ nānādrumalatāyutam santīha giridurgāṇi nirdarāḥ kandarāṇi ca “It is thronged with many rākṣasas and furnished with all manner of trees and creepers; here are mountain-fastnesses, ravines, and caverns, **3.63.6** guhāś ca vividhā ghorā nānāmṛgagaṇākulāḥ āvāsāḥ kiṃnarāṇāṃ ca gandharvabhavanāni ca “and manifold dreadful caves crowded with troops of various beasts, and dwellings of kiṃnaras and abodes of gandharvas. **3.63.7** tāni yukto mayā sārdhaṃ tvam anveṣitum arhasi tvadvidho buddhisaṃpannā māhātmāno nararṣabha “Those places, joined with me, you ought to search; men of your kind are endowed with wisdom and great of soul, O bull among men. **3.63.8** āpatsu na prakampante vāyuvegair ivācalāḥ ity uktas tad vanaṃ sarvaṃ vicacāra salakṣmaṇaḥ “In calamities they do not tremble, like mountains before the gusts of wind.” Thus addressed, Rāma with Lakṣmaṇa roamed through all that forest. **3.63.9** kruddho rāmaḥ śaraṃ ghoraṃ saṃdhāya dhanuṣi kṣuram tataḥ parvatakūṭābhaṃ mahābhāgaṃ dvijottamam Enraged, Rāma fitted to his bow a dreadful razor-tipped arrow; then, the illustrious best of birds, resembling a mountain-peak— **3.63.10** dadarśa patitaṃ bhūmau kṣatajārdraṃ jaṭāyuṣam taṃ dṛṣṭvā giriśṛṅgābhaṃ rāmo lakṣmaṇam abravīt anena sītā vaidehī bhakṣitā nātra saṃśayaḥ —Jaṭāyu, wet with blood, fallen upon the ground, he beheld. Seeing him, like a mountain-crest, Rāma said to Lakṣmaṇa: “By this creature has Sītā Vaidehī been devoured — there is no doubt of it. **3.63.11** gṛdhrarūpam idaṃ vyaktaṃ rakṣo bhramati kānanam bhakṣayitvā viśālākṣīm āste sītāṃ yathāsukham enaṃ vadhiṣye dīptāgrair ghorair bāṇair ajihmagaiḥ “Clearly this is a rākṣasa in the form of a vulture that roams the forest; having devoured wide-eyed Sītā, it now rests at its ease. I shall slay it with dreadful, flame-tipped, straight-flying arrows.” **3.63.12** ity uktvābhyapatad gṛdhraṃ saṃdhāya dhanuṣi kṣuram kruddho rāmaḥ samudrāntāṃ cālayann iva medinīm Having spoken thus, fitting a razor-arrow to his bow, the enraged Rāma rushed upon the vulture, as if setting the sea-girt earth aquake. **3.63.13** taṃ dīnadīnayā vācā saphenaṃ rudhiraṃ vaman abhyabhāṣata pakṣī tu rāmaṃ daśarathātmajam But the bird, vomiting frothy blood, in a most piteous voice addressed him, Rāma, son of Daśaratha: **3.63.14** yām oṣadhim ivāyuṣmann anveṣasi mahāvane sā devī mama ca prāṇā rāvaṇenobhayaṃ hṛtam “She whom, O long-lived one, you seek in the great forest as though a life-giving herb — that lady and my life-breaths, both, have been carried off by Rāvaṇa. **3.63.15** tvayā virahitā devī lakṣmaṇena ca rāghava hriyamāṇā mayā dṛṣṭā rāvaṇena balīyasā “Bereft of you and of Lakṣmaṇa, O Rāghava, the lady was seen by me being carried off by the mighty Rāvaṇa. **3.63.16** sītām abhyavapan no 'haṃ rāvaṇaś ca raṇe mayā vidhvaṃsitarathacchatraḥ pātito dharaṇītale “I came to Sītā's rescue, and Rāvaṇa, his chariot and parasol shattered by me in battle, was cast down upon the earth. **3.63.17** etad asya dhanur bhagnam etad asya śarāvaram ayam asya raṇe rāma bhagnaḥ sāṃgrāmiko rathaḥ “This here is his broken bow, this his quiver; this, Rāma, is his war-chariot, broken in the battle. **3.63.18** pariśrāntasya me pakṣau chittvā khaḍgena rāvaṇaḥ sītām ādāya vaidehīm utpapāta vihāyasaṃ rakṣasā nihataṃ pūrvma na māṃ hantuṃ tvam arhasi “When I was spent, Rāvaṇa, cutting off my wings with his sword, took Sītā Vaidehī and flew up into the sky; already struck down by the rākṣasa before, I do not deserve to be slain by you.” **3.63.19** rāmas tasya tu vijñāya sītāsaktāṃ priyāṃ kathām gṛdhrarājaṃ pariṣvajya ruroda sahalakṣmaṇaḥ But Rāma, learning from him the welcome tidings that touched upon Sītā, embraced the king of vultures and wept, together with Lakṣmaṇa. **3.63.20** ekam ekāyane durge niḥśvasantaṃ kathaṃ cana samīkṣya duḥkhito rāmaḥ saumitrim idam abravīt Beholding him, alone in that inaccessible, out-of-the-way spot, barely breathing, the sorrowing Rāma said this to Saumitri: **3.63.21** rājyād bhraṃśo vane vāsaḥ sītā naṣṭā hato dvijaḥ īdṛśīyaṃ mamālakṣmīr nirdahed api pāvakam “Fall from the kingdom, dwelling in the forest, Sītā lost, the bird slain — such is this ill fortune of mine, that could burn up even fire itself. **3.63.22** saṃpūrṇam api ced adya pratareyaṃ mahodadhim so 'pi nūnaṃ mamālakṣmyā viśuṣyet saritāṃ patiḥ “Were I today to cross even the brimming great ocean, that lord of rivers too would surely be dried up by my ill fortune. **3.63.23** nāsty abhāgyataro loke matto 'smin sacarācare yeneyaṃ mahatī prāptā mayā vyasanavāgurā “There is none more luckless than I in this world of moving and unmoving things, I by whom this great snare of calamity has been caught. **3.63.24** ayaṃ pitṛvayasyo me gṛdhrarājo jarānvitaḥ śete vinihato bhūmau mama bhāgyaviparyayāt “This king of vultures, a friend of my father's age, worn with old age, lies struck down upon the ground through the reversal of my fortune. **3.63.25** ity evam uktvā bahuśo rāghavaḥ sahalakṣmaṇaḥ jaṭāyuṣaṃ ca pasparśa pitṛsnehaṃ nidarśayan Having spoken thus many times, Rāghava with Lakṣmaṇa caressed Jaṭāyu, showing him a father's affection. **3.63.26** nikṛttapakṣaṃ rudhirāvasiktaṃ taṃ gṛdhrarājaṃ parirabhya rāmaḥ kva maithili prāṇasamā mameti vimucya vācaṃ nipapāta bhūmau Embracing that king of vultures, his wings shorn off and drenched in blood, and crying out “Where are you, Maithilī, dear to me as my own life?”, Rāma let fall his voice and sank to the ground.