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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.13.3

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 13: Jaṭāyu’s offer. Daśaratha’s vulture friend recounts the ancestry of Devas, animals and humankind, identifies his own lineage and offers to guard Sītā

In the sequence: the bird gently identifies himself as their father's friend → Rāma honors him and asks his name and lineage

3.13.3

sa tau madhurayā vācā saumyayā prīṇayann iva
uvāca vatsa māṃ viddhi vayasyaṃ pitur ātmanaḥ

He, as if gladdening the two with sweet and gentle speech, said: “My child, know me to be a friend of your own father.”

Words: sa — he; tau — the two; madhurayā — with sweet; vācā — speech, voice; saumyayā — gentle, kindly; prīṇayann — gladdening; iva — as if; uvāca — said; vatsa — my child, dear one; māṃ — me; viddhi — know; vayasyaṃ — a friend, comrade; pitur — of the father; ātmanaḥ — your own

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.