Vamana Purana — Jabali on the Banyan Tree, Shloka 55
Jabali Bound on the Banyan Tree and Nandayanti’s Appeal at Sri-Kantha on the Yamuna
अकृतार्थं नरपतिं योजनानि त्रयोदश अपकृष्टे नपरपतौ सापि मोहमुपागता
akṛtārthaṃ narapatiṃ yojanāni trayodaśa apakṛṣṭe naparapatau sāpi mohamupāgatā
“The king, his purpose unfulfilled, was dragged away for thirteen yojanas; when the lord of men had been drawn off, she too became overcome by delusion.”
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FAQs
Repetition in Purāṇic narration often functions as a mnemonic and as a geographic anchor—fixing the extent of displacement that may correspond to a later-identified tirtha segment or river-reach.
It frames the king as removed before completing his intended act (ritual, meeting, or protection), heightening the moral-narrative tension that typically resolves through a tirtha act (bath, vow, or propitiation).
Not necessarily. In such episodes, moha can be an affliction produced by curse, separation, or divine/riverine power—setting up the need for guidance, purification, or recognition.