Jabali on the Banyan Tree Shloka 11 - Vamana Purana | German | Vedapath

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Vamana Purana — Jabali on the Banyan Tree, Shloka 11

Jabali Bound on the Banyan Tree and Nandayanti’s Appeal at Sri-Kantha on the Yamuna

Devanagari script

घातयिष्यति वा विप्रं यदा प्रक्षिप्त चासुरान् तदास्य स्वयमेवाहं करिष्ये कायशोधनम्

Transliteration

ghātayiṣyati vā vipraṃ yadā prakṣipta cāsurān tadāsya svayamevāhaṃ kariṣye kāyaśodhanam

Translation

„Oder wenn er einen Brāhmaṇa tötet und wenn er die Asuras bedrängt/angreift (oder unter den Asuras aufgestachelt wird), dann werde ich selbst die ‚Reinigung seines Leibes‘ vollziehen — das heißt, ich werde ihn eigenhändig bestrafen und vernichten.“

Word by Word

घातयिष्यतिwill cause to be killed/will kill

वाor

विप्रम्a brāhmaṇa

यदाwhen

प्रक्षिप्त(having been) thrown/cast

चand

असुरान्demons

तदाthen

अस्यof him

स्वयम्personally

एवindeed

अहम्I

करिष्येwill do

काय-शोधनम्purification of the body

Speakers

A divine or authoritative narrator-voice declaring a personal intervention (‘I myself’) against the offender; in the Andhaka-vadha arc this aligns with Shiva’s direct actionthough the verse itself does not name him.

Primary Deities

Shiva (implied)

Key Themes

Brahmahatyā as extreme adharmaDivine enforcement of dharmaPunishment framed as ‘purification’Protection of brāhmaṇas and cosmic order

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What does ‘kāyaśodhana’ mean here—literal purification or killing?

In this punitive-prophetic context it is best read as a euphemism for decisive divine correction—often culminating in destruction of the offender—so that the moral pollution (especially brahmahatyā) is removed from the world-order.

Why is killing a ‘vipra’ singled out?

Brahmahatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa) is treated in Purāṇic dharma as one of the gravest transgressions, destabilizing ritual order and inviting immediate divine retribution.

How should ‘prakṣipta cāsurān’ be understood?

The phrase can indicate being ‘set upon/let loose against’ the asuras or being ‘driven among’ them—either way, it marks escalation into violent, chaotic conduct that triggers the promised personal intervention.