Araṇya Kāṇḍa 48: Jaṭāyu confronts Rāvaṇa · 3.48.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.48.1

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 48: Jaṭāyu confronts Rāvaṇa. The aged vulture condemns the abduction, demands Sītā’s release and challenges the armed ruler despite his own disadvantage

In the sequence: Sītā's cries wake Jaṭāyu → from a tree he sees Rāvaṇa carrying her and identifies himself as the vulture King

3.48.1

taṃ śabdam avasuptasya jaṭāyur atha śuśruve
niraikṣad rāvaṇaṃ kṣipraṃ vaidehīṃ ca dadarśa saḥ

Then Jaṭāyus, roused from sleep, heard that cry; at once he looked upon Rāvaṇa and saw Vaidehī.

Words: taṃ — that; śabdam — cry, sound; avasuptasya — (who had been) asleep; jaṭāyur — Jaṭāyus; atha — then; śuśruve — heard; niraikṣad — looked at; rāvaṇaṃ — Rāvaṇa; kṣipraṃ — quickly; vaidehīṃ — Vaidehī; ca — and; dadarśa — saw; saḥ — he

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.