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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.48.23

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 challenges Rāvaṇa to fight rather than flee while the brothers are absent → he vows to serve Rāma and Daśaratha even at the cost of his life.

3.48.23

asakṛt saṃyuge yena nihatā daityadānavāḥ
nacirāc cīravāsās tvāṃ rāmo yudhi vadhiṣyati

'Rāma, by whom the Daityas and Dānavas have been struck down again and again in battle, will before long slay you in combat, though he wears but bark garments.'

Words: asakṛt — repeatedly, more than once; saṃyuge — in battle; yena — by whom; nihatā — slain; daityadānavāḥ — the Daityas and Dānavas; nacirāc — before long; cīravāsās — clad in bark garments; tvāṃ — you; rāmo — Rāma; yudhi — in battle; vadhiṣyati — will slay

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.