The process of writing Ramayanam starts...6

The process of writing Ramayanam starts...6

coninued from the last post

The army of the monkey king Sugriva are all assembled ready for action..

The detachments of forces to be deputed in various direction in search of Sita are appointed..

The logistics and geography are discussed in great detail..

The brigade appointed for search in the south is headed by the young crown prince Angada and the team includes the verterans like Hanuman the Anjaneya and Jambavan the boar.

Rama hands over his own ring to Hanuman, expecting it to be shown to Sita as a signal for recognition, if and when the team found the princess Sita.

The team bound for South, searches and searches with no result. Time is running out because Sugreeva had ordered that the search teams should report positive results within a month..

The team of Angada lands up in a maze of a cave of Riksha.. There they meet a divine nymph called Svayamprabha who helps the monkeys to get out of the cave..

But fearing that they had run out of time without prouducing any result regarding discovery of Sita, and being sure that Sugriva would not forgive them but surely punish them with death, the monkeys decide to starve to death instead of going back to Kishkinda.

They spread darbha grass on the beach and lay down awaiting death.. Angada, the crown prince is just recounting the story of Rama.. where the fight between Jatayu and Ravana while the latter was trying to abduct Sita is discussed, and the demise of Jatayu is also recalled..

At that time, an old eagle, by name Sampati, who is the elder brother of Jatayu is listening, from a nearby hill top.. In fact the eagle has alredy overheard the intention of the monkeys to starve and die, and therefore the bird is looking forward for the death of the monkeys one by one so that he could feast on the bodies..

But when he hears about Jatayu and his death, he is overcome by grief ..

(Sampati and Jatayu were brothers, the sons of the great eagle Aruna the elder brother of Garuda..

Once the two brothers had a competition as to who will fly ahead to reach the Sun..

Both started flying towards the solar orb. Jatayu was ahead, but the intense heat of the Sun made him weak and the affectionate brother Sampathi tried to protect his younger brother by shielding him from the solar scorching with his outstretched wings.

The Jatayu fell to the ground but the wings of Sampathi were burned for ever and he became incapable of flying.

He had not heard of his brother Jatayu till Angada and Hanuman refers to the demise of that bird )

Sampati informs the monkeys that he would have loved to take vengeance on Ravana for his brother’s death but he could do very little because he is too old and his wings are burnt..

However he offers them to provide whatever information he could..

He recalls that he had earlier heard the helpless cries of Sita while she was being forcibly led southwards by Ravana, but he could do nothing obviously because of physical infirmities.

Sampathi sees through the great distance across the South seas and reports that Sita was confined in captivity in a bower in the city of Lanka

( This is the turning point in Ramayanam where that Hero Anjaneya takes over.. the story will unravel itself in the coming posts.)

दिशः प्रस्थापनं चैव पृथिव्याश्च निवेदनम्॥२५

अङ्गुलीयकदानं च ऋक्षस्य बिलदर्शनम्।

प्रायोपवेशनं चैव सम्पातेश्चापि दर्शनम्॥२६