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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.49.29

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 49: Jaṭāyu’s battle and fall. He wrecks Rāvaṇa’s chariot and renews the attack, Rāvaṇa cuts his wings, feet and flanks, Sītā embraces him

In the sequence: he lands on Rāvaṇa's back, claws him, drives in his beak, and tears out his hair

3.49.29

taṃ gṛhītvā nakhais tīkṣṇair virarāda samantataḥ
adhirūḍho gajārohi yathā syād duṣṭavāraṇam

Seizing him, he clawed him all over with his sharp talons, as a mounted mahout might scratch a rogue elephant he rides.

Words: taṃ — him; gṛhītvā — having seized; nakhais — with claws; tīkṣṇair — sharp; virarāda — tore, scratched; samantataḥ — all over; adhirūḍho — mounted; gajārohi — a mahout, elephant-rider; yathā — as; syād — would be; duṣṭavāraṇam — a rogue elephant

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.