Shloka 3.50.24
जटायुरुपदेशः — Jatāyu Confronts Rāvaṇa (Ethical Admonition and Challenge)
किं नु शक्यं मया कर्तुं गतौदूरं नृपात्मजौ।।।।क्षिप्रं त्वं नश्यसे नीच तयोर्भीतो न संशयः।
tasyaiṣā lokanāthasya dharmapatnī yaśasvinī |
sītā nāma varārohā yāṃ tvaṃ hartum ihecchasi ||
This illustrious woman is Sītā, the noble and lawful wife of Rāma, lord of the world—the very one whom you seek to carry away from here.
What can I do? O mean fellow! the two princes have gone far away.You will soon be destroyed out of fear for them. There is no doubt.
The sanctity of lawful marriage (dharma-patnī) and the moral prohibition against abducting another’s spouse—especially through force or deceit.
Jatāyu identifies Sītā to Rāvaṇa and frames the abduction as a direct assault on dharma and social order.
Protective righteousness: Jatāyu speaks as a guardian of moral boundaries and familial honor.