Week 3 Storytelling: Sampathi and Jatayu Flew Too Close to the Sun

Two magnificent giant eagles, Sampathi and Jatayu, now glorious birds of legend and friends of Rama, were once mischievous young brothers. As little eaglets, the two enjoyed nothing more than they enjoyed friendly competition. They found ways to try to best each other in everything they did. Who had the fluffiest feathers? Who could see the farthest treetop? Who ate their morning worms the fastest? Though they were in constant competition, they maintained a light spirit about it, and there was no doubt Sampathi and Jatayu were best friends. Their father Aruna, however, knew that only one of them would be tribe leader, and he feared their competitive natures would in time reveal something more serious.

Their very favorite thing was to fly. They spent much of every day soaring through the skies, chasing clouds, chasing each other, laughing, and screaming. There were times throughout the day when Aruna, charioteer to the sun god, could almost expect to delight in the sound of his sons’ games as they whirled by not far below. But this, Aruna’s delight, was the sun god’s irritation. He’d grown tired of their noise when he had to concentrate on focusing his rays literally all day. “Could you tell those chickens to keep it down, PLEASE?” he would say to Aruna. Or, “You should send them out to play at night… in the dark… alone, like other eagle fathers.” But Aruna understood these to be jokes, so he gave the boys lighthearted warnings, and the sun god’s agitation only continued.

One day, young Sampathi and Jatayu were perched together on a tree far removed from the village, serious and somber as those two ever were. They had just been fully informed that one of them would be chosen to be tribe leader when they were to come of age. The news made the two of them uncomfortable, and they were not quite sure what to say to each other.

Finally, Sampathi spoke up. “Jatayu, let’s play a game like always.”

Jatayu was only too eager to act on his brother’s suggestion, hoping it would dissolve the discomfort. “What kind of game did you have in mind, brother?”

Sampathi thought for a moment and said, “Let’s see who can fly the highest.”

Both brothers knew their father had always warned them to be careful and to never fly too close to the sun god. But Jatayu didn’t want his brother to seem braver than him. Bravery is an important quality for a tribe leader. So he readily agreed and took off for the stars. Sampathi quickly followed, and before they knew it, they were higher in the sky than they had ever been. Growing uneasy, Jatayu shot his brother a glance to see if he was slowing. Sampathi did the same, and since neither brother showed signs of yielding, neither did. Sampathi noticed he was falling behind, so he began to taunt Jatayu, and Jatayu taunted back until the sound of eagles’ caws filled the sky. The sun god heard the clamor, and he was enraged to see how close this clash was taking place. Now at the very boundary of his patience, the sun god unleashed his blazing energy on the nearest brother.

Sampathi watched as the sun god directed his beams at Jatayu. He felt a sudden sense of shame for jeering his brother to try to get ahead and for suggesting the game in the first place. In a panic, he flew in front of Jatayu and spread his wings, taking the heat of the sun god’s strike.

Sampathi, feathers burnt to ash, went crashing down to earth. He woke up on a mountain, a charred heap of bird bones. He remained on that mountain, broken and unable to fly, for many, many years until he heard the name of Rama spoken aloud. Jatayu went on to become the tribe leader and a good friend of Dasharatha, Rama’s father, as well as a good friend of Rama himself. But as a consequence of their constant need to compete, Sampathi and Jatayu never saw each other again.

(Jatayu with Rama)

Author’s Note: I chose to elaborate on Sampathi’s story about him and Jatayu because it reminded me of the story of Icarus flying too close to the sun. My roommate and I joke when we get excited about homework solutions that turn out to be wrong that we flew too close to the sun, so I wanted to write about that this week. I didn’t make a lot of changes from Sampathi’s story; I just wanted to expand it from a simple explanation of his deformity to a more emotional tale about competitive brothers.

Bibliography: Narayan, R.K. (1972). The Ramayana.