"One of the dramatic episodes in the Ramayana is the abduction by Ravana, the demon-king of Ceylon, of Sita, wife of Rama exiled in the forest. Rama is lured into the forest in pursuit of a deer (a demon in disguise), and his brother Lakshmana, guarding Sita, is tricked into leaving her. Ravana then appears, sweeps Sita off in his aerial chariot. A great vulture, Jatayu, tries to rescue her and though mortally wounded lives long enough to tell Rama of Sita's abduction."