Vamana Purana — Jabali on the Banyan Tree, Shloka 55

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

Devanagari script

अकृतार्थं नरपतिं योजनानि त्रयोदश अपकृष्टे नपरपतौ सापि मोहमुपागता

Transliteration

akṛtārthaṃ narapatiṃ yojanāni trayodaśa apakṛṣṭe naparapatau sāpi mohamupāgatā

Translation

目的を果たせぬままの王は十三由旬も引きずり去られ、人々の主が引き離されると、彼女もまた迷妄（moha）に圧倒された。

Word by Word

• akṛta-arthaṃ: unsuccessful / unfulfilled
• akṛta-arthaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-kṛta + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुष ('whose purpose is not accomplished')

• nara-patiṃ: the king
• nara-patiṃ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ('lord of men' = king)

• yojanāni: yojanas (a distance measure)
• yojanāni: Karma/Parimāṇa (कर्म/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (measure as extent)

• trayodaśa: thirteen
• trayodaśa: Parimāṇa (परिमाण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trayodaśan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-शब्दः; yojanāni इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (thirteen as numeral qualifier)

• apakṛṣṭe: when (he/it was) drawn away
• apakṛṣṭe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apa-√kṛṣ (धातु) + apakṛṣṭa (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (PPP/क्त), सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative absolute/temporal)

• na-para-patau: with no other husband
• na-para-patau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: na + para + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुष ('in the absence of another husband')

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-निपात (also/even)

• mohaṃ: delusion
• mohaṃ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• upāgatā: came to / fell into
• upāgatā: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-√gam (धातु) + upāgata (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (PPP/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि-भावे

Speakers

• Not specified in the excerpt; narrative continuation describing the king’s displacement and the woman’s ensuing bewilderment.

Primary Deities

• Sarasvati (contextually, as the river whose waters act in the episode)

Key Themes

• Consequences of curse and fate
• Dislocation in sacred landscape
• Psychological aftermath (moha)
• Narrative mapping of space

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the text repeat the ‘thirteen yojanas’ detail?

Repetition in Purāṇic narration often functions as a mnemonic and as a geographic anchor—fixing the extent of displacement that may correspond to a later-identified tirtha segment or river-reach.

What is the significance of ‘akṛtārtha’ for the king?

It frames the king as removed before completing his intended act (ritual, meeting, or protection), heightening the moral-narrative tension that typically resolves through a tirtha act (bath, vow, or propitiation).

Does ‘moha’ imply a moral failing?

Not necessarily. In such episodes, moha can be an affliction produced by curse, separation, or divine/riverine power—setting up the need for guidance, purification, or recognition.