The Ramayana is an epic poem written about Rama, the avatar of Vishnu, and his adventures while living in exile. Rama enlists the help of many different beings in his quest to save his wife, Sita, from the demon king Ravana. Many of the beings who help him are animals, including Sugreeva and Hanuman, who are monkeys, and Jatayu, an elderly eagle. Rama also interacted with animals which did not help him in his quest. Overall, Rama's interactions with animals in the Ramayana are a model of how Hindus should treat other beings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First of all, what is considered normal for Hindus? While it is not necessary to be a vegetarian to practice Hinduism, many Hindus are at least vegetarian to practice the yama of ahimsa. Ahimsa is the ethical observance of nonviolence towards any living being, which extends to animals and insects. There is the concept of sacred cow, so no cows are harmed for eating meat. However, milk from cows is used to make ghee, a clarified butter used in cooking and Hindu rituals. Furthermore, lower castes are assigned the duty of being butchers as killing animals is not the job of a Brahmin or a Kshatriya. The first animal Rama encounters when he begins his fourteen-year exile is the eagle named Jatayu. Jatayu is an old friend of Rama's father, King Dasaratha, who has the duty to protect Lakshmana and Rama while they are exiled from Ayodhya. In the Ramayana, Jatayu becomes a foster parent to Rama and Lakshmana after they are exiled. Rama reveres and respects Jatayu, as Jatayu tells him that he and Dasaratha were so close that “Dasaratha had remarked, 'You are the soul, I am the body. We are one.'” Jatayu is also revered for his wisdom and power, as he is a speaking eagle, which is quite significant in literature. Rama holds Jatayu with the same level of affection and respect with which he holds his father and begs him to stay alive because Lakshmana and Rama need a father figure now that Dasaratha is dead. Rama follows Jatayu to Panchvati. The interaction between Rama and Jatayu is seen again after Jatayu fights Ravana in an attempt to save Sita. As Jatayu is dying, Jatayu tells Rama about how Sita was kidnapped, but cannot tell where Ravana took Sita before dying. In the text, there is no further mention of Jatayu until Rama and his group (now including Hanuman) meet Sampati and tell him about Jatayu. Rama shows grace to Sampati by restoring his wings and making him a majestic eagle again. While Rama was quite kind to the eagles, Rama is not so kind or graceful to the former monkey king Vali. At the beginning of the chapter "Vali," Narayan writes that "Yet [Rama] once acted, as it seemed, from partiality, half-knowledge and haste, and shot and destroyed while hiding a creature that had done nothing to him." difficult, I didn't even see it." In this tale, Rama takes the side of Vali's brother Sugreeva and is asked to kill Vali while she hides from sight. Rama goes ahead and states that Vali possesses "enough intelligence to distinguish right from wrong and to argue [his] case" and that Vali is no ordinary animal. If he were, then he would not be in the predicament he is currently in. Furthermore, dharma and obligations towards Sugreeva are points that further complicate the situation for Rama. While Rama could have easily decided to listen to both sides before making a decision, he falters and chooses to support one monkey over another. He kills Vali and proceeds to mourn her., 2006.