Shloka 15
सूर्यानुगमनवृत्तान्तः
The Account of Following the Sun
पक्षाभ्यां च मया गुप्तो जटायुर्न प्रदह्यते।प्रमादात्तत्र निर्दग्धः पतन्वायुपथादहम्।।।।
pakṣābhyāṃ ca mayā gupto jaṭāyur na pradahyate | pramādāt tatra nirdagdhaḥ patan vāyupathād aham ||
Mit meinen Flügeln schirmte ich Jatāyu, damit er nicht verbrannt würde; doch durch meine eigene Unachtsamkeit wurde ich dort versengt und stürzte, fallend, vom Pfad der Winde herab.
'Bereft of my kingdom, my brother and my wings, and having lost my strength I desire to fall down from the mountain top and die.'ityārṣē śrīmadrāmāyaṇē valmīkīya ādikāvyē kiṣkindhākāṇḍē ēkaṣaṣṭitamassargaḥ৷৷Thus ends the sixtyfirst sarga in Kishkindakanda of the first epic, the Holy Ramayana composed by sage Valmiki.
FAQs
Protecting others is dharmic, but dharma also demands vigilance: pramāda (carelessness) can destroy the protector even while saving another.
Sampāti covers Jatāyu from the Sun’s heat/fire; Sampāti himself gets burned and falls.
Protective self-sacrifice (rakṣā-bhāva), tempered by the warning against heedlessness.