Shloka 64

Indrajit’s Binding, Restoration by Viśalyā, and Counsel Restraining Rāvaṇa (Āraṇyaka Parva 273)

Devanagari script

जटी यज्ञोपवीती च भगवान्‌ बालरूपधृक्‌ । यज्ञवार्टं गत: श्रीमान्‌ दानवेन्द्रस्य वै तदा

Transliteration

jaṭī yajñopavītī ca bhagavān bālarūpadhṛk | yajñavārṭaṃ gataḥ śrīmān dānavendrasya vai tadā ||

Translation

Bhīmasena said: “At that time, the illustrious Lord—wearing matted locks and the sacred thread, and assuming the form of a young boy—went to the sacrificial enclosure of the lord of the Dānavas.”

Word by Word

जटीmatted-haired (ascetic)

यज्ञोपवीतीwearing the sacred thread

चand

भगवान्the Blessed Lord

बालरूपधृक्bearing the form of a boy

यज्ञवार्टम्the sacrificial enclosure/settlement (place of sacrifice)

गतःwent / having gone

श्रीमान्splendid, illustrious

दानवेन्द्रस्यof the lord of the Danavas (demons)

वैindeed

तदाthen, at that time

Speaker

भीमसेन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

Bhagavān (the Lord, unnamed here)

Dānavendra (lord of the Dānavas)

yajñopavīta (sacred thread)

yajñavārṭa (sacrificial enclosure)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical power of adopting dharmic signs—ascetic restraint (jaṭā) and Vedic discipline (yajñopavīta)—and the motif of divine strategy: the Lord may assume humble forms to enter hostile spaces and guide events toward a righteous outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīma narrates that the Lord, disguised as an ascetic-like figure and taking the form of a boy, went to the sacrificial arena belonging to the leader of the Dānavas, setting up an encounter within the context of a yajña.