Vamana Purana — Jabali on the Banyan Tree, Shloka 47

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

Devanagari script

त्वद्दृष्टिरपातेन स्मरेणाभ्येत्य ताडितः तन्मां कुचतले तल्पे अभिशायितुमर्हसि

Transliteration

tvaddṛṣṭirapātena smareṇābhyetya tāḍitaḥ tanmāṃ kucatale talpe abhiśāyitumarhasi

Translation

Struck by Smara as he approached me through the downward fall of your glance, therefore you ought to let me lie upon the bed, at the slope of your breasts.

Word by Word

• त्वत्-दृष्टि-रपातेन: by the impact of your glance
• त्वत्-दृष्टि-रपातेन: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + दृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + अपात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया) Singular (एकवचन), Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुं) — ‘by the fall/impact of your glance’; समासः: त्वद्दृष्टिः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + अपातेन (तृतीया)

• स्मरेण: by Kāma (Love-god)
• स्मरेण: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• अभ्येत्य: having come near
• अभ्येत्य: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-इ (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), from √इ (गमन) with उपसर्ग ‘अभि’; ‘having approached’

• ताडितः: struck/afflicted
• ताडितः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ताड् (धातु)
• Form: Past Passive Participle (कर्मणि क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• तत्: therefore/so
• तत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Particle (निपात) used for emphasis/connection: ‘therefore/so’

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• कुच-तले: on the breast-surface
• कुच-तले: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुच (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘on the surface of the breasts’

• तल्पे: on the bed
• तल्पे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• अभि-शायितुम्: to make (me) lie down / to lie upon
• अभि-शायितुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-शी (धातु)
• Form: Infinitive (तुमुन्), from √शी (शयन) with उपसर्ग ‘अभि’; ‘to lie down upon’

• अर्हसि: you ought/are fit
• अर्हसि: Kriya (क्रिया/Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

Speakers

• Same male speaker addressing the woman; erotic petition framed as consequence of Smara’s assault

Primary Deities

• Smara (Kāma/Kandarpa)

Key Themes

• Erotic supplication
• Personification of desire as Smara’s violence
• Tension between propriety (yukta) and passion

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

How should ‘dṛṣṭirapāta’ be understood?

It conveys the sudden ‘falling upon’ or impactful descent of a glance—an idiom for an overpowering look that ‘strikes’ the observer, fitting the subsequent verb tāḍitaḥ (‘struck’).

Is ‘arhasi’ here moral instruction or rhetorical pressure?

Although arhasi literally means ‘you ought to/it is fitting,’ in erotic speech it functions as persuasive pressure: the speaker claims entitlement to intimacy as a ‘remedy’ for desire, which the narrative may later critique through dharma/propriety.

Any hidden geographical or tirtha reference in ‘talpa’ or ‘kucatala’?

No. These are domestic/erotic spatial terms (bed, breast-surface) and do not denote pilgrimage geography.