Shloka 4.56.15
सम्पातिदर्शनम् (Encounter with Sampāti) — Angada’s Lament and the Vulture-King’s Response
रामलक्ष्मणयोर्वासश्च अरण्ये सह सीतया।।।।राघवस्य च बाणेन वालिनश्च तथा वधः।रामकोपादशेषाणां रक्षसानां तथा वधः।।।।कैकेय्या वरदानेन इदं च विकृतं कृतम्।
upaviṣṭāstu te sarve yasmin prāyaṃ giristhale |
harayo gṛdhrarājaś ca taṃ deśam upacakrame ||
sampātir nāma nāmnā tu cirañjīvī vihaṅgamaḥ |
bhrātā jaṭāyuṣaḥ śrīmān vikhyāta-bala-pauruṣaḥ ||
As all the monkeys sat on a mountain plateau, resolved to die by fasting, the vulture-king came to that very place—Sampāti by name, long-lived, the illustrious elder brother of Jaṭāyu, famed for strength and prowess.
'The exile of Rama and Lakshmana into the forest along with Sita, so also the death of Vali and of the demons in the hands of Rama due to his anger are all evilconsequences of a boon granted to Kaikeyi.'
The verse frames a crisis where duty has not yet been fulfilled (the search for Sītā), and the vanaras’ extreme response (fasting unto death) highlights the ethical tension between perseverance in one’s assigned task and surrender to despair. Dharma here leans toward steadfast continuation of duty despite hardship.
After failing to find Sītā within the allotted time, the vanaras sit on a mountain plateau intending to die by fasting; at that moment, Sampāti, the vulture-king and Jaṭāyu’s elder brother, arrives.
Collective accountability and seriousness of mission: the vanaras treat failure as morally weighty, showing intense responsibility (even if misguided by despair).