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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.48.24

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.

3.48.24

kiṃ nu śakyaṃ mayā kartuṃ gatau dūraṃ nṛpātmajau
kṣipraṃ tvaṃ naśyase nīca tayor bhīto na saṃśayaḥ

'Yet what can I do, now that the two princes have gone far away? You slink off in haste, base creature, in fear of them both — of that there is no doubt.'

Words: kiṃ — what; nu — indeed; śakyaṃ — possible; mayā — by me; kartuṃ — to do; gatau — (the two) have gone; dūraṃ — far; nṛpātmajau — the two king's sons; kṣipraṃ — quickly; tvaṃ — you; naśyase — slink off, make away; nīca — O base one; tayor — of those two; bhīto — afraid; na — no; saṃśayaḥ — doubt

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.