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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.48.7
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
3.48.7
na tat samācared dhīro yat paro 'sya vigarhayet
yathātmanas tathānyeṣāṃ dārā rakṣyā vimarśanāt
'A wise man would not do what another might condemn in him; as one guards one's own wife, so must the wives of others be guarded from violation.'
Words: na — not; tat — that; samācared — would do; dhīro — the wise one; yat — which; paro — another; 'sya — of him; vigarhayet — would censure; yathātmanas — just as one's own; tathānyeṣāṃ — so of others; dārā — wives; rakṣyā — to be protected; vimarśanāt — from molestation, violation
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.