Shloka 78
Jabali Bound by the Monkey — Jabali Bound by the Monkey: Nandayanti’s Ordeal and the Yamuna–Hiranyavati Sacred Corridor
शाखया कृत्तया चासौ भारवाही तपोधनः शरसोपानमार्गेण अवतीर्णो ऽथ पादपात्
śākhayā kṛttayā cāsau bhāravāhī tapodhanaḥ śarasopānamārgeṇa avatīrṇo 'tha pādapāt
Et ce porteur de fardeau—riche en puissance d’ascèse—se servit de la branche coupée et descendit de l’arbre par un chemin d’échelons faits de flèches, jusqu’au pied de l’arbre.
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FAQs
Grammatically it can function as an epithet (‘burden-bearer’), but in Purāṇic narrative it often behaves like a proper designation for a character. The next verse’s phrasing suggests it is a person closely associated with Ṛtadhvaja and Jābāli.
It marks the person as ascetically accomplished—his ‘wealth’ is spiritual heat/merit—so the extraordinary act (arrow-stair descent) is framed as disciplined capability rather than mere trickery.
Such imagery dramatizes liminality: the character moves from a precarious height to the ground and onward to a river encounter, emphasizing controlled passage and preparedness before entering a sacred landscape.