Vamana Purana — Jabali on the Banyan Tree, Shloka 36
Jabali Bound on the Banyan Tree and Nandayanti’s Appeal at Sri-Kantha on the Yamuna
ततो ऽब्रवीच्च विरजा नाहं त्वां पार्थिवात्मज दातुं शक्ता स्वमात्मानं स्वतन्त्रा न हि योषितः
tato 'bravīcca virajā nāhaṃ tvāṃ pārthivātmaja dātuṃ śaktā svamātmānaṃ svatantrā na hi yoṣitaḥ
Darauf sprach Virajā: „O Königssohn, ich vermag mich dir nicht hinzugeben. Denn eine Frau ist nicht unabhängig (um nach Belieben über sich selbst zu verfügen).“
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FAQs
In Purāṇic narrative idiom, ‘na hi yoṣitaḥ svatantrā’ typically reflects the dharma-śāstra social model where a woman’s marriage/major life decisions are mediated by guardians (father/husband/sons). In-context it functions as a plot constraint—Virajā claims she cannot ‘give herself’ unilaterally—rather than a philosophical statement about spiritual capacity.
Literally ‘to give one’s own self’; in such dialogues it commonly denotes consenting to marriage/union or being ‘given’ in marriage. The phrase underscores that the decision is framed as a formal, socially sanctioned transfer rather than private choice.
It establishes refusal on procedural/dharmic grounds, which then motivates the king’s next reaction and the subsequent mention of Śukra’s curse in the following verse, a common Purāṇic mechanism for sudden reversal of fortune.