Shloka 39

Narmadā

Revā) Tīrtha Greatness: The Gandharva Maidens’ Curse Narrative (Acchodā Episode Begins

Devanagari script

योषितां नयनतीक्ष्णसायकैर्भ्रूलतासुदृढचापनिर्गतैः । धन्विना मकरकेतुना हतः कस्य नो पतति वामनो मृगः

Transliteration

yoṣitāṃ nayanatīkṣṇasāyakairbhrūlatāsudṛḍhacāpanirgataiḥ | dhanvinā makaraketunā hataḥ kasya no patati vāmano mṛgaḥ

Translation

ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯರ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳ ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣ ಬಾಣಗಳು—ಭ್ರೂಲತೆ ಎಂಬ ದೃಢ ಧನುಸ್ಸಿನಿಂದ ಹೊರಟವು—ಅವುಗಳಿಂದ ಮಕರಕೇತು ಧನುರ್ಧರ ಕಾಮನು ಹೊಡೆದಾಗ, ಯಾರ ಭೀತ ‘ಮೃಗ’ (ಮನಸ್ಸು) ಬೀಳದೆ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ?

Word by Word

• yoṣitām: of women
• yoṣitām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoṣit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन) — 'of women'

• nayana-tīkṣṇa-sāyakaiḥ: by the eye-sharp arrows
• nayana-tīkṣṇa-sāyakaiḥ: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nayana (प्रातिपदिक) + tīkṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + sāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन) — 'by/with eye-sharp arrows'

• bhrū-latā-su-dṛḍha-cāpa-nirgataiḥ: shot forth from the very firm bow of eyebrow-vines
• bhrū-latā-su-dṛḍha-cāpa-nirgataiḥ: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhrū (प्रातिपदिक) + latā (प्रातिपदिक) + su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + dṛḍha (प्रातिपदिक) + cāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + nir-gata (कृदन्त; √gam गम् + नि-)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); past passive participle 'nirgata' qualifying 'sāyakaiḥ' — 'having gone out from the very firm bow (made of eyebrow-creeper)'

• dhanvinā: by the archer
• dhanvinā: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन) — 'by the archer'

• makara-ketunā: by Makara-bannered (Kāma)
• makara-ketunā: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: makara (प्रातिपदिक) + ketu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन) — epithet of Kāma: 'by the one whose banner is a makara'

• hataḥ: struck
• hataḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement with implied 'mṛgaḥ')
• Type: Adjective
• Root: han (धातु; √han हन्) → hata (कृदन्त)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); past passive participle — 'struck/killed'

• kasya: of whom
• kasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसक), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन) — interrogative 'of whom'

• na: not
• na: None (अकारक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निषेध-अव्यय) used in rhetorical question with 'kasya' — 'not/indeed not'

• patati: falls
• patati: Kriya (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु; √pat पत्)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद) — 'falls'

• vāmanaḥ: wayward/leftward
• vāmanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāmana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) — qualifying 'mṛgaḥ'; 'left/contrary' (contextual)

• mṛgaḥ: the deer
• mṛgaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) — 'deer' (metaphor for mind/lover)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator/poetic voice within Svargakhaṇḍa 22)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shringara

Secondary Rasa: hasya

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: nayanatīkṣṇasāyakairbhrūlatāsudṛḍhacāpanirgataiḥ → nayanatīkṣṇa-sāyakaiḥ + bhrū-latā-su-dṛḍha-cāpa-nirgataiḥ; nirguṇe'śucau not in this verse.

Characters & Entities

• Makara-ketu (Kāma)

FAQs

Who is Makara-ketu mentioned in this verse?

Makara-ketu is Kāma (Manmatha), the god of desire, traditionally depicted with a banner marked by a makara (sea-creature) and described as an archer who shoots flower-arrows to arouse attraction.

What is the metaphor of the “deer” (mṛga) in this shloka?

The “timid deer” commonly symbolizes the easily startled, easily captivated heart or mind; the verse says it naturally “falls” or succumbs when struck by desire stimulated through alluring glances.

What ethical or reflective lesson can be drawn from this verse?

It highlights the power of sensory attraction and desire, implicitly encouraging vigilance and self-mastery (indriya-nigraha) so that the mind is not effortlessly carried away by seductive perceptions.