← 3.48.4 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 48: Jaṭāyu confronts Rāvaṇa · 3.48.6 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.48.5

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 names Rāma as her husband and condemns a ruler who takes another man's wife instead of protecting her

3.48.5

tasyaiṣā lokanāthasya dharmapatnī yaśasvinī
sītā nāma varārohā yāṃ tvaṃ hartum ihecchasi

'This is the illustrious lawful wife of that lord of the world — Sītā by name, the fair-hipped one, whom you here seek to carry off.'

Words: tasyaiṣā — his, this; lokanāthasya — of the lord of the world; dharmapatnī — lawful wife; yaśasvinī — illustrious; sītā — Sītā; nāma — by name; varārohā — the fair-hipped one; yāṃ — whom; tvaṃ — you; hartum — to carry off; ihecchasi — here desire

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.