In the previous episode we’ve witnessed that Rama is on the pursuit of Maareecha – the golden deer. As Rama realizes that he has been tricked into a trap, he gets furious and kills Maareecha with his sharp arrows! However, Maareecha tricks Rama further by shouting aloud-alike Rama that stunned him even further! Upon hearing the “Cry of “Rama” Sita gets terrified and asks Lakshmana to check out what had happened to her dear husband. As Lakshmana sets out of the hamlet, Ravana sees his chance when Sita is alone and finally abducts her and takes her to Lanka!
While Ravana was abducting Sita, Sita has a terrified look at the ground as she sees river Godavari! It is to be noted that even today, Panchavati is situated in the banks of the river Godavari. While Ravana’s “Pushpaka Vimana” crosses the river Godavari, Sita prays to the river,
“Hamsadhaarandavaakeernaam vande godaavareem nadhim!
Kshipram raamaaya samsathvam seethaam bharathi raavanaha!!”
Thus through the above sloka, Sita cries aloud – “Oh Mother Godavari! This wicked Ravana is abducting me! My husband Rama will come searching for me in a short while from now! When Rama comes along, will you please let him know that I’m being taken away by this Ravana to Lanka?”
At that point, interestingly Mother Godaavari acknowledges Sita’s request and promised to inform Rama! However, later when Rama and Lakshmana came along searching for Sita, Godaavari remained silent! Due to the fear for Ravana, she did not disclose the truth that he had abducted Sita! Thus, it is said that the river Godavari has lost its purity because she had missed an opportunity to be of service to Lord Rama!
It was at this moment that Ravana crosses the place where Jataayu Mahaaraaja was residing! Upon hearing the cry of Sita, Jataayu senses that something has gone wrong! The moment he looks up the sky, he sees Ravana abducting Sita in a flash! Jataayu was stunned to see this and at the same moment he flies towards Ravana to stop him from proceeding further! Seeing Jataayu flying towards her, Sita folds her hands and prays to him, “Oh Jataayu!! Please rescue me!” Jataayu gets the message from Sita and flies towards Ravana.
“Anena raakshasendrena karunam papa karmanaa!
Tham shabdhamava sukthasthu jataayuradha sishrupe!!”
Thus, Jataayu Mahaaraaja hears the cry of Sita Devi and immediately comes for the rescue!
“Dahsagreevasthitho dharme punye saptha samshravaaha!
Braathastham nindhitham karma sakshunaartithi saampradham!!”
Jataayu Mahaaraaja warns Ravana by saying, “Oh Ravana! Stop! Don’t proceed further! Please realize that you are a responsible king! Please do not do this blunder! Do not detrack yourself from the Dharma! You might be a youngster and I might be an old man! Even then, I won’t allow you to proceed further! Fight and win over me and if that happens, you can proceed further!”
However, as we all know, Ravana doesn’t pay heed to anybody and here too is a classic case of the display of his arrogance! Here we can see an important management lesson as to how not to be a leader! It is to be understood that if someone is conveying an information or a piece of warning, a leader should have the patience to pay heed, think and then take a decision to move forward or not! We can see that Ravana is failing miserably as a leader in this aspect! We’re going to see many more cases like this in the future episodes too!
Upon seeing Ravana proceeding further without paying heed to him, Jataayu Mahaaraaja once again warns him! He says,
“Shashti varsha sahasraani jaathasya mama raavana!
Pithru vaithaamaham raajyam yathaava dhanu sishtithaaha!!”
Jataayu says, “Oh Ravana! I’m repeating my warning again! Please do not commit this huge sin! You might be young and I might be 60,000 years old! But still, I have the power of the “Raama Naamaa” with me and I can win over you easily with that one power! Don’t dare to proceed further!”
Thus, Jataayu engages with a fierce war with Ravana! He attacks Ravana with his wings and sharp beak! However, due to his old age and physical weakness, Jataayu couldn’t match the valour of Ravana! Now Ravana pulls out his sword by name “Chandrahaasa” and with the sword, he cuts away the wings of Jataayu Mahaaraaja! Wounded heavily and bleeding profusely, Jataayu Mahaaraaja falls on the ground!
“Tathoo muhurtham sangramaha babhoovaam athuraveeryayoho!
Raakshasaanaanthu mukyasya pakshinaam prabavarshyasa!!”
Thus, Jataayu Mahaaraaja falls on the ground and is at the verge of death. However, he is waiting and holding his breath till Rama comes along! He wants to convey to Rama that Ravana is abducting Sita!
Enraged by his victory over Jataayu, Ravana now proceeds further with all his pride and arrogance and finally reaches Lanka. He drags Sita along with him and as Soorpanaka and others in the palace witness, Ravana imprisons Sita at Lanka! All Sita can do now is to sober and sober! She is in uncontrollable misery of being separated from her dear Rama and Lakshmana!
As Ravana imprisons Sita on one side, Rama is about to return back to the hamlet at Panchavati, however when he just started to walk his way back, he realizes that Lakshmana is coming towards him! It is to be recollected that Rama had instructed Lakshmana to stay back and not let Sita alone! However when Rama sees Lakshmana coming towards him, he was shell-shocked! What happened next? Why did Lakshmana come along, leaving Sita alone in the hamlet? Let’s wait and witness the further proceedings in the next episode!
The Indian Dharma 