Shloka 3.50.3
जटायुरुपदेशः — Jatāyu Confronts Rāvaṇa (Ethical Admonition and Challenge)
दशग्रीव स्थितो धर्मे पुराणे सत्यसंश्रयः।जटायुर्नाम नाम्नाहं गृध्रराजो महाबलः।।।।
kiṃ nu śakyaṃ mayā kartuṃ gataudūraṃ nṛpātmajau |
kṣipraṃ tvaṃ naśyase nīca tayor bhīto na saṃśayaḥ ||
What more can I do, when the two princes have gone far away? You wretch—soon you will perish, for you acted out of fear of them; of this there is no doubt.
O ten-headed Ravana, I am Jatayu, king of vultures. I am mighty. An eternal follower, of dharma, I am an adherent to truth.
Adharma often exploits absence and vulnerability; dharma condemns such cowardly advantage-taking and insists on accountability.
Jatāyu laments that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are away, and accuses Rāvaṇa of abducting Sītā only because he feared facing them.
Moral clarity and protective resolve: Jatāyu names the wrongdoing plainly and stands as a defender in their absence.