← 3.48.7 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 48: Jaṭāyu confronts Rāvaṇa · 3.48.9 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.48.8

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 reminds Rāvaṇa that subjects follow their King's example and that power cannot endure through wrongdoing

3.48.8

arthaṃ vā yadi vā kāmaṃ śiṣṭāḥ śāstreṣv anāgatam
vyavasyanty anu rājānaṃ dharmaṃ paurastyanandana

'In matters of profit or of pleasure not laid down in the scriptures, O scion of Pulastya, the wise determine what is right by following the king's example.'

Words: arthaṃ — profit, wealth; vā — or; yadi — if; vā — or; kāmaṃ — pleasure, desire; śiṣṭāḥ — the wise, learned; śāstreṣv — in the scriptures; anāgatam — not found, not laid down; vyavasyanty — they determine; anu — following, after; rājānaṃ — the king; dharmaṃ — dharma, what is right; paurastyanandana — O scion of Pulastya

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.