Shloka 3

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

Devanagari script

वनं घोरं सुगुल्माढ्यं नदीं शालूकिनीमनु शाक्वेयं पर्वतश्रेष्ठं समावसति सुन्दरि

Transliteration

vanaṃ ghoraṃ sugulmāḍhyaṃ nadīṃ śālūkinīmanu śākveyaṃ parvataśreṣṭhaṃ samāvasati sundari

Translation

O schöne Frau, er wohnte auf dem vortrefflichen Berg namens Śākveya, am Fluss Śālūkinī, in einem schaurigen Wald, reich an dichtem Buschwerk.

Word by Word

• vanam: forest
• vanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• ghoram: terrible
• ghoram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (vanam)

• su-gulma-āḍhyam: abounding in good shrubs
• su-gulma-āḍhyam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + gulma + āḍhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समास (सु-गुल्मैः आढ्यम् = rich in fine shrubs)

• nadīm: river
• nadīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śālūkinīm: Śālūkinī (river)
• śālūkinīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śālūkinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• anu: along/near
• anu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anu (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गसदृश/संबन्धबोधक (preposition: along/near)

• śākveyam: Śākveya (named/related)
• śākveyam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śākveya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (parvataśreṣṭham)

• parvata-śreṣṭham: the best of mountains
• parvata-śreṣṭham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (पर्वतानां श्रेष्ठः)

• samāvasati: dwells/inhabits
• samāvasati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + ā + vas (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sundari: O beautiful one
• sundari: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sundarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrator addressing a female interlocutor (‘sundari’) within the dialogue frame (exact names not provided in input)

Key Themes

• Tīrtha-topography: locating an episode by river and mountain
• Forest as ascetic/exile landscape
• Myth mapped onto named hydronyms and oronyms

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse emphasize forest density and dread (ghora, sugulmāḍhya)?

Such descriptors mark the site as a liminal wilderness—appropriate for exile, penance, or cursed existence—while also giving a recognizable ecological signature to the sacred geography being mapped.

Is Śālūkinī a known river outside this passage?

Some Purāṇic hydronyms are local or regionally transmitted names. Even when not widely identifiable today, the text treats Śālūkinī as a concrete river-marker anchoring the narrative to a specific pilgrimage landscape.

What does ‘anu nadīm’ contribute to the geography?

‘Anu’ indicates proximity and alignment—dwelling ‘along’ the river’s course/bank—typical of tīrtha descriptions where sanctity and habitation cluster near water.