Shloka 26
जटायुस्संवादः — Encounter with Jaṭāyu and the Genealogy of Beings
Aranyakanda 14
गोलाङ्गूलांश्च शार्दूली व्याघ्रांश्चाजनयत्सुतान्।दिशागजांश्च काकुत्स्थ श्वेताप्यजनयत्सुतान्।।3.14.26।।
golāṅgūlāṁś ca śārdūlī vyāghrāṁś cājanayat sutān |
diśāgajāṁś ca kākutstha śvetāpy ajanayat sutān ||3.14.26||
Wahai Kakutstha (Rāma), Śārdūlī melahirkan putera-putera—harimau-harimau dan vānara Golāṅgūla yang bulat tubuhnya lagi suka bermain; dan Śvetā pula melahirkan gajah-gajah penjuru, yang ditetapkan menjaga lapan arah.
O Rama, Sarduli gave birth to tigers and playful, round-bodied monkeys called Golangula and Sweta delivered elephants as sons for guarding the eight quarters.
FAQs
The verse frames creation as ordered and purposeful: beings arise with roles (e.g., directional elephants as guardians). Dharma here is the idea of a structured moral cosmos where protection and duty are embedded in existence.
Jaṭāyu is introducing himself and recounting genealogical/cosmic origins, continuing a lineage narrative addressed to Rāma in the Daṇḍaka forest.
Jaṭāyu’s virtue of truthful instruction and respectful counsel—he speaks as an elder well-wisher, grounding Rāma in sacred tradition.