Shloka 3.68.38
जटायुनिर्वाणसंस्कारः — Jatayu’s Final Testimony and Funeral Rites
कृतोदकौ तावपि पक्षिसत्तमे स्थिरां च बुद्धिं प्रणिधाय जग्मतुः।प्रवेश्य सीताधिगमे ततो मनो वनं सुरेन्द्रविव विष्णुवासवौ।।।।
jaṭāyo yadi śaknoṣi vākyaṃ vyāharituṃ punaḥ |
sītām ākhyāhi bhadraṃ te vadham ākhyāhi cātmanaḥ ||
O Jatāyu, if you are still able to speak once more, tell me about Sītā—may you be blessed—and tell also how you yourself were struck down.
Rama and Lakshmana, like two lords of gods, Indra and Visnu, offered libations for the great bird with their settled minds and concentrated and then entered deeper into the forest turning their attention to the search for Sita.ityārṣē śrīmadrāmāyaṇē vālmīkīya ādikāvyē araṇyakāṇḍē aṣṭaṣaṣṭitamassargaḥ৷৷Thus ends the sixtyeighth sarga of Aranyakanda of the holy Ramayana the first epic composed by sage Valmiki.
Dharma here is gratitude and respect for a righteous ally: Rāma seeks truthful testimony from Jaṭāyu while also honoring him with compassionate speech and blessings.
After finding the mortally wounded Jaṭāyu, Rāma asks him—if he can still speak—to report what happened to Sītā and how Jaṭāyu was felled.
Rāma’s karuṇā (compassion) and satya-anveṣaṇa (commitment to truth-seeking) are emphasized.