Jatayu is one of the most important characters in Ramayana. His contribution might look small but it was of immense importance to Sita, Rama, Lakshmana and even Ravana.
Sita went to fetch food for the hermit that had come to her hut. She was reluctant to cross the Lakshmana Rekha but when the hermit provoked her that he would curse her, she had no choice but to obey him. Thus, she went ahead. She knew that this can be dangerous. But Sita was the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi and she knew that this needs to be done to win over evil. Also, she had full faith in Lord Vishnu who had taken the Avatar of Rama. Thus, she crossed the Lakshmana Rekha.
Suddenly, the hermit caught her hand. He transformed himself into his normal form of Ravana and started laughing.
He said, “Hahahahaha! You foolish woman. You fell into my trap so easily. Now it would be a good time to surrender to me and forget about Rama. This would also be the revenge for the deeds your brother-in-law did to my sister Shurpanakha. You are mine and no one can take me from you! You would live with me and die with me! You better come with me without any argument or resistance or I would have to use force to do so.”
Sita replied, “Oh evil Ravana, I should have not crossed the Lakshmana Rekha and stayed inside the hut. But I thought of you as a Hermit and wanted to do a good deed. Let my Rama come to know about this deed and he shall punish you. No, I would not surrender to an evil person like you and would not give up.“
Ravana used his force and dragged her to the Pushpak Vimana. It was a struggle for him to take her to the Vimana. Sita was powerful enough to fight and kill Ravana but she also knew the divine destiny and fate. So she only tried to rescue herself as much as possible. However, Ravana overpowered her and put her on the plane and they left.
While he made sure that she could not escape from the plane, Sita screamed for help and cried for his Lord Rama. There was no response for a long time but she kept on screaming. Far away, a vulture named Jatayu heard this call of distress. He was the king of vultures but very old. Still, he did not wait for a second and started to go in the direction of the sound immediately.
Soon, he reached the Pushpak Vimana. He tried to warn Ravana. Ravana laughed off to his puny request. Jatayu had no choice left. He could either try to rescue Sita and lose his life or run away from this situation. He also knew that Rama was the son of Dasharatha, his close friend. Without giving any second thought, he started attacking Ravana. Ravana was surprised to see the might of such a tiny creature. Ravana struggled for a while.
Then, Ravana had enough and he took out his sword. He moved his sword and slain the wings of Jatayu in a single move. Jatayu fell down in anguish and despair. His end was near.
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