Shloka 13

Devanagari script

तां त्वकामयत श्रीमान्‌ वरुण: पूर्वमेव ह । स चागम्य वनप्रस्थं यमुनायां जहार ताम्‌

Transliteration

tāṁ tv akāmayata śrīmān varuṇaḥ pūrvam eva ha | sa cāgamya vanaprasthaṁ yamunāyāṁ jahāra tām ||

Translation

Der ruhmreiche Varuṇa hatte jenes Mädchen von Anfang an begehrt. Er kam zur Einsiedelei des im Wald lebenden Asketen und entführte sie, als sie im Yamunā badete.

Word by Word

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• अकामयत्: desired
• Type: Verb
• Root: कम् (कामयति)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• श्रीमान्: glorious/illustrious
• श्रीमान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रीमत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वरुणः: Varuṇa
• वरुणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरुण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पूर्वम्: formerly/beforehand
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• ह: indeed (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आगम्य: having come/approached
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-गम्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• वनप्रस्थम्: the forest-dweller (hermit)/one in vānaprastha
• वनप्रस्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वनप्रस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• यमुनायाम्: in the Yamunā (river)
• यमुनायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यमुना
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• जहार: carried off/abducted
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Varuṇa
• Yamunā (river)
• forest hermitage (āśrama) of a muni/ascetic
• the maiden (kanyā; identified in the prose as Bhadrā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical danger of kāma (desire) when it overrides dharma: even a powerful being’s desire can lead to adharma-like conduct (abduction), underscoring that moral restraint—not mere power or status—should govern action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna narrates that Varuṇa had long desired a certain maiden; he came near a forest ascetic’s hermitage and abducted her while she was bathing in the river Yamunā.