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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.48.12

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: he argues that Rāma has not injured Rāvaṇa's city or Kingdom: Khara brought his defeat upon himself by attacking for Śūrpaṇakhā's sake

3.48.12

viṣaye vā pure vā te yadā rāmo mahābalaḥ
nāparādhyati dharmātmā kathaṃ tasyāparādhyasi

'When the mighty, righteous Rāma does no wrong to your realm or your city, why do you wrong him?'

Words: viṣaye — in the realm, territory; vā — or; pure — in the city; vā — or; te — your; yadā — when; rāmo — Rāma; mahābalaḥ — the mighty; nāparādhyati — does not offend, wrong; dharmātmā — the righteous-souled; kathaṃ — how, why; tasyāparādhyasi — you offend against him

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.