Aranya Kanda
Analysis
We had earlier talked about Maricha and understood that Maricha symbolizes the voice or expression that lives within us. Now the story moves to Jatayu, also called the king of vultures (Gridhraj). This too represents something within us — a quality, a power, or a specific thought that exists inside us. The story calls this inner quality Jatayu.
So first, let’s look at what this Gridhraj actually stands for.
In our tradition, whenever we want to understand something deeply, we first turn to its Sanskrit roots. So let’s do that here as well. The word Gridhra comes from the root gridh, which means “to desire” or “to long for.” It refers to having an aspiration or a wish for something.
Now, in the story, what is it that Jatayu, the Gridhraj, desires?
We read that his aspiration is to protect Sita. That’s his longing.
And what does Sita represent?
We’ve discussed this before — Sita is the purity of our mind, the purity of our thoughts — the sanctity of our inner being.
So, what does the aspiration of Gridhraj Jatayu signify?
It is the desire to protect purity.
The word Gridhra means desire, but here, it is the desire to preserve the purity of thought, the purity of mind.
Therefore, Gridhraj Jatayu represents an inner force or quality within us — a power within the mind or intellect that seeks to protect and preserve purity. It does not want the sanctity of our inner nature to be corrupted or destroyed.
This is the meaning of Gridhraj: the quality within us that longs to defend purity.
But this power doesn’t exist in everyone. It does not reside in an ordinary mind — the mind that only thinks about eating, sleeping, and basic living.
When the mind rises above this ordinary state and moves toward knowledge and awareness, then this Jatayu power awakens within.
Look at it practically.
When a person who is entirely absorbed in material life — selfish or immoral — does something wrong, no inner resistance arises. There’s no voice inside saying, “Don’t do this.” Such a person is so used to wrongdoing that no inner conflict occurs.
But when someone begins to walk on the path of understanding — when awareness begins to dawn — then, in that person’s mind, this inner voice starts to arise. It’s the voice that says, “Why do this wrong thing?”
Let’s take an example. Suppose I’m a sincere person, but I want my child admitted to a college. Someone says, “Pay this bribe and we’ll get it done.”
Now two thoughts arise within me:
One says, “Just pay — admission is difficult to get. Why lose the chance?”
That’s the thought born of ego and attachment — the lower self.
The other voice says, “Even if admission doesn’t happen this year, so what? It can happen next year or somewhere else — but I shouldn’t do wrong.”
These two thoughts — the pull of temptation and the call of purity — start to battle within us.
This inner battle is exactly what the Ramayana shows as the fight between Ravana and Jatayu.
Ravana fires arrows, Jatayu strikes back — it’s the war between impurity and purity within us.
Jatayu represents the inner force that wants to defend purity, and Ravana represents the arrogance of the body — the self-centered pride that says, “Let my work get done; I don’t care about right or wrong.”
A person full of bodily pride and selfishness loses the sense of purity — they act wrongly without remorse.
But when a person turns toward wisdom, when awareness awakens, then Jatayu — the power that protects purity — arises within.
In the story, Ravana abducts Sita — meaning, our ego steals away our inner purity.
And Jatayu rises to stop him — that’s the awakened mind trying to protect purity from being lost.
Now, the word Jatayu itself has meaning.
It is formed from Jata and Ayu.
Here, Jata actually comes from Jara — which means “old” or “ancient.” Ayu means “life.”
So Jatayu (or Jara-ayu) means “one of ancient life” — something timeless, ever-present.
That means this inner power to protect purity isn’t something new that appears suddenly — it has always been there in the higher mind.
It is eternal, always dwelling in the enlightened part of our being.
That’s why it is said that Jatayu lives in the higher mind — it’s a constant, ancient quality that awakens whenever knowledge dawns.
And why is Jatayu called Gridhraj — the king of vultures?
Because among all the desires that exist in the mind, the desire to protect purity is the highest.
That’s why it is called the king of desires — Gridhraj.
Finally, the story says Jatayu is the son of Aruna.
Aruna means the redness of dawn — the time just before sunrise, when darkness has faded but full light hasn’t yet arrived.
So when the Ramayana calls Jatayu the son of Aruna, it means this power of purity arises when dawn approaches within us — when ignorance is fading and knowledge begins to rise.
This Jatayu within us is born from that dawn of awareness.
It awakens as we move toward light, as we turn from ignorance to wisdom.
So, in summary:
Jatayu is the inner force — eternal and noble — that awakens in the higher mind and strives to protect the purity of thought.
Ravana is the ego and self-centeredness that tries to snatch that purity away.
Their battle is the eternal inner struggle between awareness and desire, purity and pride, within every human being.