Hari Om.
Let us begin the forty fourth sarga of the araNya kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
The ten headed braggart carryying sItA away like a thief was accosted by the brave bird jaTAyu. The vulture king, rose to the occasion, literally and demonstrated its utmost commitment to the moral code of the universe. The unarmed jaTAyu faced a fully armed warrior and in a spirited effort dedicated to rAma, he attacked the demon relentlessly. Although old, he was not short of spirit and he undid all of rAvaNa’s arrows shot at him. In a daring counter attack, he flew into rAvaNa, broke his mighty bow twice and hurt him badly with his claws and beaks. Then setting his sight on the aerial chariot, he killed the charioteer and destroyed the chariot. And lo, rAvaNa was grounded along with sItA in his left lap. The vulture king was tired but he wouldn’t give up. As rAvaNa rose to the skies to fly off with sItA, the bird chased him down and obstructed his path. Perched on his back, he continued to hurt the demon. Now the demon descended to the earth, left sItA aside and taking out his sword, he clipped off the wings and claws of jaTAyu!! The valiant jaTAyu that made no excuse of being the less equal in combat hit the ground profusely bleeding and the life force escaping it. Alas… sItA was devastated as the bird that fought for her sake met with this fate. She ran to the felled jaTAyu and wailed inconsolably. Onwards…
Beholding the jaTAyu felled thus by rAvaNa with its wings and feet clipped, the moon-faced sItA bitterly wept –
“The screams of the birds and the indications within one’s body help perceive good or bad omens. O rAma, you certainly seem to be unaware of the huge misfortune that has befallen me and for sure the birds and beasts must be rushing to convey the news to you. Even this bird who came to my rescue has been fatally wounded by this sinner who is abducting me. Alas, my misfortune! Oh rAma, Oh lakshmaNa”.
Thus she cried bitterly like an orphan as if the valiant duo were within earshot. Her hair and garlands were disheveled. Her ornaments had crumpled. The lord of demons rAvaNa ran towards the wailing sItA and she caught hold of a tree and twined to a tree like a climber crying for rAma and lakshmaNa aloud. Approaching her like the god of death himself, inviting his own death, rAvaNa thundered to leave the tree and grabbed her by her hair. Seeing sItA thus transgressed by the demon, the entire world plunged into darkness, wind stood still, the Sun dimmed down.
दृष्ट्वा सीतां परामृष्टाम् दीनां दिव्येन चक्षुषा ।
कृतं कार्यमिति श्रीमान् व्याजहार पितामहः ॥ 3.52.11
प्रहृष्टा व्यथिताश्चासन् सर्वे ते परमर्षयः ।
दृष्ट्वा सीतां परामृष्टाम् दण्डकारण्यवासिनः ।
रावणस्य विनाशं च प्राप्तं बुद्ध्वा यदृच्छया ॥ 3.52.12
The glorious grandsire brahma watched through the crystal ball this episode of sItA being assaulted (by rAvaNa) and proclaimed that, the mission is accomplished! The clairvoyant sages of the danDaka forest were both delighted and devastated. Delighted that this surely leads to the destruction of rAvaNa and devastated at what sItA has to go through to make it happen!
Grabbing sItA who was lamenting rAma, rAma all the time, the king of the demons took to the skies. Clad in blazing silks, sItA verily looked like the arc of lightning. Her golden ornaments and the yellow silk made the dark rAvaNa shine like a mountain on fire! The red lotuses worn by sItA were shattered and were showered on rAvaNa. She looked like a cloud rendered in copper colour by the Sun. But bereft of rAma, her beautiful face was as pale as a lotus sans its stalk.
बभूव जलदं नीलं भित्त्वा चन्द्र इवोदितः।
सुललाटं सुकेशान्तं पद्मगर्भाभमव्रणम्।।3.52.19।।
शुक्लैस्सुविमलैर्दन्तै प्रभावद्भिरलङ्कृतम्।
तस्यास्तद्विमलं वक्त्रमाकाशे रावणाङ्कगम्।।3.52.20।।
रुदितं व्यपमृष्टास्रं चन्द्रवत्प्रियदर्शनम्।
सुनासं चारुताम्रोष्ठमाकाशे हाटकप्रभम्।।3.52.21।।
sItA’s auspicious forehead, glorious hair were blemish-less like the interior of a fully blown lotus which housed her brilliant white teeth. She was weeping and wiping her eyes constantly. Sporting the well formed nose and red lips, her face was as pleasing as the moon which just pierced through the black clouds (rAvaNa) and rose! Violated by the demon and deprived of rAma, she looked luster-less like the moon that rose in the day time. The golden complexioned sItA shone in the contrasting dark complexion of rAvaNa like the golden girdle on a black elephant! She shone like a lightning against the black cloud that the demon was and the jingling of her golden ornaments sounded like the thunder.
उत्तमाङ्गाच्च्युता तस्याः पुष्पवृष्टिस्समन्ततः।
सीताया ह्रिममाणायाः पपात धरणीतले।।3.52.26।।
The flowers that she wore in her braid loosened up and were scattered on the earth but due to the speed with which rAvaNa was flying through the skies, again followed him some distance and at that time looked like dazzling stars lined up along the mount mEru.
sItA’s anklet slipped off her foot and fell with a pleasing tinkling sound on the earth, her dropping ornaments looked like dim stars dropping on the earth, the necklace that came off and dropped on her bosom looked like the sacred ganga falling from the skies. The dark demon that carried her off looked like an elephant with a golden girdle and resembled a comet.
Trees on the earth with birds on them shook violently and as they did so, their shaking appeared as if they were asking sItA not to be afraid!
उत्पातवाताभिहता नानाद्विजगणायुताः।
माभैरिति विधूताग्रा व्याजह्रुरिव पादपाः।।3.52.34।।
The lotus ponds with withered lotuses and the aquatic animals like the fish grieved as if they were grieving for a close friend who is suffocated. The wild animals lions, tigers, deer and the bids were angry and they chased the shadow of sItA that fell on the ground. The peaks of the static mountains looked like hands thrown up in despair and the waterfalls falling of them looked like the tears being shed copiously. Beholding the abduction of sItA, the sun’s orb went pale.
नास्ति धर्मः कुतस्सत्यम् नार्जवं नानृशंसता ।
यत्र रामस्य वैदेहीम् भार्यां हरति रावणः ।
इति सर्वाणि भूतानि गणशः पर्यदेवयन् ॥ 3.52.39।।
When the consort of rAma, vaidEhi is thus being abducted there is no dharma, where is truth, where is uprightness, where is compassion in this world, thus all the beings wailed in unison. The deer shed tears, the guardian deities of the forest were mortified.
sItA on her part in sweet voice kept calling out rAma and lakshmaNa and kept an eye on the earth. The ten headed demon inviting his own annihilation abducted sItA whose hair was disheveled and the bright red auspicious mark of kumkum (vermilion) on her forehead was erased. The beautiful face of sItA sporting an impeccable line of brilliant teeth otherwise sporting a lovely smile had gone pale as rAma and lakshmaNa were out of sight and she was terrified.
Here we conclude the forty fourth sarga of the araNya kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 3.53. Chastity castigates the crook
Previous: 3.51. Call him hero, call him loyal, call him jaTAyu!
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
