← 3.48.1 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 48: Jaṭāyu confronts Rāvaṇa · 3.48.3 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.48.2

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

3.48.2

tataḥ parvatakūṭābhas tīkṣṇatuṇḍaḥ khagottamaḥ
vanaspatigataḥ śrīmān vyājahāra śubhāṃ giram

Then that glorious best of birds, huge as a mountain peak and sharp of beak, perched upon a great tree, uttered these noble words:

Words: tataḥ — then; parvatakūṭābhas — resembling a mountain peak; tīkṣṇatuṇḍaḥ — sharp-beaked; khagottamaḥ — best of birds; vanaspatigataḥ — perched on a tree; śrīmān — glorious; vyājahāra — uttered, spoke; śubhāṃ — auspicious, fair; giram — speech

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.