Shloka 5
Kāṣṭhīlā-Ākhyāna: Ratnāvalī’s Return, Co-wife Dharma, and the Phālguna Propitiation
रत्नावलिं रत्नभूतां सुद्युम्नस्य महीक्षितुः । तल्पथा रक्षसा रात्रौ स्वपुरस्था हृता द्विज ॥ ५ ॥
ratnāvaliṃ ratnabhūtāṃ sudyumnasya mahīkṣituḥ | talpathā rakṣasā rātrau svapurasthā hṛtā dvija || 5 ||
Oh brāhmana, Ratnāvalī—como si fuera una joya en sí misma—, la esposa del rey Sudyumna, fue raptada de noche por el rākṣasa Talpatha mientras se hallaba dentro de su propia ciudad.
Suta (narrator) to the assembled sages (dvijas)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It frames a dharmic crisis—an unjust abduction—setting the stage for the restoration of order (dharma) through righteous action, a common Purāṇic method for teaching protection of the innocent and the duties of kingship.
Bhakti is implied indirectly: in Purāṇic narrative, such calamities often turn characters toward refuge in the Lord and reliance on divine protection; the episode typically supports the teaching that remembrance and surrender to Hari/Vishnu steadies one amid adversity.
No explicit Vedāṅga instruction appears in this verse; however, the detail “at night” aligns with Purāṇic attention to kāla (time) used in Jyotiṣa-informed ritual and narrative timing, often indicating secrecy, tamas, and vulnerability.