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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.48.20

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: Jaṭāyu says he is sixty thousand years old and acknowledges Rāvaṇa's youth, armor, weapons, and chariot, but refuses to let the abduction proceed unopposed

3.48.20

vṛddho 'haṃ tvaṃ yuvā dhanvī sarathaḥ kavacī śarī
tathāpy ādāya vaidehīṃ kuśalī na gamiṣyasi

'I am old, and you are young, armed with bow, chariot, armor, and arrows; yet even so, you shall not carry Vaidehī off and go your way unscathed.'

Words: vṛddho — old; 'haṃ — I; tvaṃ — you; yuvā — young; dhanvī — armed with a bow; sarathaḥ — with a chariot; kavacī — armored; śarī — armed with arrows; tathāpy — even so; ādāya — taking; vaidehīṃ — Vaidehī; kuśalī — safe, unharmed; na — not; gamiṣyasi — you will go

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.