शास्त्रदृष्टेन विधिना जले गृध्राय राघवौ।
स्नात्वा तौ गृध्रराजाय उदकं चक्रतुस्तदा॥
śāstra-dṛṣṭena vidhinā jale gṛdhrāya rāghavau
snātvā tau gṛdhra-rājāya udakaṁ cakratus tadā
śāstra-dṛṣṭena = of the scriptures; vidhinā = in accordance with the regulations; jale = in the water; gṛdhrāya = for the sake of the vulture; rāghavau = descendants of Raghu; snātvā = bathed; tau = the two; gṛdhra-rājāya = for the benefit of the king of vultures; udakam cakratuḥ tadā = and then offered water.
In accordance with the regulations of the scriptures, the two descendants of Raghu bathed in the water for the sake of the vulture, and then offered water for the benefit of the king of vultures.
1]. A similar verse from the Padma Purāṇa is found in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 10.165: na śūdrā bhagavad-bhaktās te tu bhāgavatā matāḥ / sarva-varṇeṣu te śūdrā ye na bhaktā janārdane. The śūdra referred to herein includes all lower creatures. All creatures who become fully devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead are eligible to be immediately liberated from material existence. Tani-ślokī: na śūdrā bhagavad-bhaktāḥ ity atra śūdra-śabdasyopalakṣaṇārthatvād bhagavad-bhaktānaṁ sarva-prāṇināṁ mokṣādhikārasya gamyamānatvāc ca yuktam evedam iti jñeyam.
2 Here, cows and horses are considered to be animals, for the sake of emphasis.
3 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: brāhmaṇatvādi-jātir hi śāstraika-samadhigamyā, na tu gotvādivad ākṛti-gamyā.
[Though this incident was described in the previous verse,] the author now points out that it took place after Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa bathed and that it was conducted in line with the revealed scriptures.
This was the sequence of events: He cremated the king of vultures, recited the Vedic hymns to send him to the celestial worlds, went to the Godāvarī, bathed [there], offered water [for Jaṭāyu’s benefit] and offered the edible portion of the large roots of great trees [as piṇḍa].
One might object: How is it that Śrī Rāma, the best of the followers of the Vedas, performs a purificatory ceremony (saṁskāra) for one of low birth—a bird?
No, it is not so because Jaṭāyu’s [inferior] caste [due to his birth in a lower species as a bird had already] disappeared because he was extremely devoted [to Lord Rāma]. This is because:
na śūdrā bhagavad-bhaktā viprā bhāgavatāḥ smṛtāḥ
sarva-varṇeṣu te śūdrā ye hy abhaktā janārdane
“Devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are not śūdras. Such devotees of the Lord are considered to be brāhmaṇas. Indeed, those who are not devotees of Lord Janārdana in any varṇa are actually śūdras.”1
The above-quoted statement should not be interpreted to be a mere praise [of a śūdra engaged in devotional service to the Lord for the sake of emphasis] like the following statement:
apaśavo vā anye go-aśvebhyaḥ paśavo go-aśvān
“Those other than cows and horses are [surely] not animals; [only] cows and horses are animals.”2 (Taittirīya Saṁhitā 5.2.9)
This is because there is no reason to prevent [us from accepting the literal meaning of the text beginning na śūdrā] because castes such as brāhmaṇa can be understood only from śāstra. Unlike the nature of a cow and so on, caste cannot be understood on the basis of physical appearance.3 And so, the text beginning na śūdrā and the text beginning apaśavo vā cannot be put on the same level for discussion. Therefore, it has been established in Canto 1 (Bāla-kāṇḍa) that Viśvāmitra’s kṣatriya caste was replaced by the brāhmaṇa caste. This will [also] be established in the section on the female renunciant [Śabarī].
The [case of Jaṭāyu’s liberation] should be considered a historically distinct one applicable to a specific individual, like the case of Draupadī’s wedding and so on, and so there is no opportunity for applying it out of context.
The author again summarizes this very point, for the sake of emphasis, in the next verse.