Shloka 17

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

Devanagari script

गुह्यको वीक्ष्य तनयां पतितामापगाजले दुःखशोकसमाक्रान्तो जगामाञ्जनपर्वतम्

Transliteration

guhyako vīkṣya tanayāṃ patitāmāpagājale duḥkhaśokasamākrānto jagāmāñjanaparvatam

Translation

Als der Guḥyaka seine Tochter in die Fluten des Flusses gestürzt sah, von Leid und Kummer überwältigt, begab er sich zum Berg Añjana.

Word by Word

• guhyakaḥ: the Guhyaka (yakṣa attendant)
• guhyakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guhyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular

• vīkṣya: having seen
• vīkṣya: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल/preceding action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: Kridanta (कृदन्त), Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय/ल्यप्), indeclinable; from √īkṣ with prefix vi-

• tanayām: his daughter
• tanayām: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular

• patitām: fallen
• patitām: Visheshana (विशेषण/modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: patita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Past passive participle (भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त/क्त), Feminine, Accusative, Singular; qualifying tanayām

• āpaga-jale: in the river-water
• āpaga-jale: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āpaga (प्रातिपदिक) + jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘river-water’; Neuter, Locative (सप्तमी), Singular

• duḥkha-śoka-samākrāntaḥ: overwhelmed by grief and sorrow
• duḥkha-śoka-samākrāntaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण/modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + śoka (प्रातिपदिक) + sam-ā-kram (धातु)
• Form: Compound with PPP head samākrānta (क्त); ‘overcome by sorrow and grief’; Masculine, Nominative, Singular; qualifying guhyakaḥ

• jagāma: went
• jagāma: Kriya (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: Tinganta, Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person, Singular; √gam

• añjana-parvatam: to Mount Añjana
• añjana-parvatam: Karma (कर्म/goal of motion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: añjana (प्रातिपदिक) + parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) proper-name compound; Masculine, Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular

Speakers

• Narratorial voice (Purāṇic narrator) describing events (speaker not explicit in the given excerpt).

Key Themes

• Grief as catalyst for ascetic practice
• Movement from riverine space to mountain-āśrama setting
• Tīrtha-associated narrative framing

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who are the Guḥyakas in Purāṇic literature, and why do they appear in tīrtha narratives?

Guḥyakas are semi-divine beings often linked with Kubera, guardianship, and liminal/hidden places (caves, mountains, forests). In tīrtha narratives they frequently function as local supernatural agents whose personal crises or boons become etiological explanations for a place’s sanctity.

What is the narrative significance of the shift from ‘river-water’ to ‘Mount Añjana’?

The river scene marks rupture and loss; the mountain marks withdrawal and tapas. Purāṇic geography commonly pairs rivers (flow, fate, transition) with mountains (stability, austerity, siddhi), using movement between them to signal a change from worldly event to ascetic resolution.

Is ‘āpagā’ a specific river here?

In this verse, āpagā is a generic term for ‘river’ and does not uniquely identify a named stream. Identification would require surrounding verses or a regional tīrtha context; the text here emphasizes the watery locus rather than a proper hydronym.