Shloka 29

Jabali Bound by the Monkey — Jabali Bound by the Monkey: Nandayanti’s Ordeal and the Yamuna–Hiranyavati Sacred Corridor

Devanagari script

ततो मामब्रवीत् तातो नाम कृत्वा शुभानने जाबालीति परिख्याय तच्छृणुष्व शुभानने

Transliteration

tato māmabravīt tāto nāma kṛtvā śubhānane jābālīti parikhyāya tacchṛṇuṣva śubhānane

Translation

ثم قال لي أبي، يا حسنةَ الوجه: بعدما وضع لي اسمًا وأعلنه معروفًا بأنه «جابالي» (Jābāli)، فاسمعي ذلك، يا حسنةَ الوجه.

Speakers

• Narrator (a named/unnamed figure speaking in first person) recounts: ‘my father’ speaking to the narrator; the narrator addresses a listener as ‘śubhānane’ (likely a woman or respectfully addressed interlocutor within the frame-story).

Key Themes

• Name-bestowal (nāmakaraṇa) as a narrative marker
• Lineage/identity formation
• Didactic setup for a boon/prophecy

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Who is ‘Jābālī’ here—does it indicate the famous materialist minister from epic literature?

In Purāṇic usage, ‘Jābālī’ can function simply as a personal name and may also evoke the Jābāla affiliation/lineage. This verse alone does not establish identity with the Mahābhārata/Rāmāyaṇa figure; it primarily signals a formal naming within the story.

Why is ‘śubhānane’ repeated twice in one verse?

Repetition of vocatives is a common kāvya/purāṇic stylistic device: it maintains the listener’s presence in the discourse and heightens the solemnity of the father’s pronouncement.

How does a naming episode fit a tirtha-mahātmya chapter?

Tīrtha-māhātmyas often embed personal narratives (birth, naming, vows, boons, curses) to explain why a place is sacred or how a particular merit/fruit is obtained. The naming here functions as the preface to a consequential prediction in the following verses.