Shloka 54

Jabali Bound by the Monkey — Jabali Bound by the Monkey: Nandayanti’s Ordeal and the Yamuna–Hiranyavati Sacred Corridor

Devanagari script

इत्युल्लिख्य शिलापट्टे गता स्नातुं यमस्वसाम् ददृसे चाश्रमवरं मत्तकोकिलनादितम्

Transliteration

ityullikhya śilāpaṭṭe gatā snātuṃ yamasvasām dadṛse cāśramavaraṃ mattakokilanāditam

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ ശിലാപട്ടത്തിൽ എഴുതി അവൾ യമുനയിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്യാൻ പോയി. അവിടെ ഉല്ലസിച്ച കുയിലുകളുടെ കൂജനധ്വനിയാൽ മുഴങ്ങുന്ന ഒരു ശ്രേഷ്ഠവും മനോഹരവുമായ ആശ്രമം അവൾ കണ്ടു.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• उल्लिख्य: having inscribed
• उल्लिख्य: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + लिख् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund), ‘having written/inscribed’

• शिलापट्टे: on a stone slab
• शिलापट्टे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिला + पट्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शिलायाः पट्टः)

• गता: gone/went
• गता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘gone’ (here: ‘she went’)

• स्नातुम्: to bathe
• स्नातुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), ‘to bathe’

• यमस्वसाम्: (to) Yama’s sister (Yamunā)
• यमस्वसाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम + स्वसा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (यमस्य स्वसा)

• ददृशे: she saw
• ददृशे: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• आश्रमवरम्: an excellent hermitage
• आश्रमवरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम + वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (वरः आश्रमः)

• मत्तकोकिलनादितम्: resounding with the calls of maddened cuckoos
• मत्तकोकिलनादितम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मत्त + कोकिल + नादित (नद् धातु, क्त; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (मत्तैः कोकिलैः नादितम् = resounding with calls of intoxicated cuckoos)

Speakers

• Narrative voice (within the chapter’s framed narration)

Primary Deities

• Yamunā (river goddess)
• Yama (by epithet-reference)

Key Themes

• Tīrtha-snāna (purificatory bathing)
• Sacred rivers as goddesses
• Hermitage landscape (āśrama-vana imagery)
• Transition from lament to encounter with sanctity

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why is Yamunā called ‘Yama’s sister’ (yamasvasā)?

In Purāṇic and epic tradition, Yamunā is personified as a goddess who is the sister of Yama. The epithet signals her sanctity and her role in rites of purification and auspicious bathing.

What is the narrative function of the stone-slab inscription?

Inscribing one’s plight on stone is a literary device marking irrevocable testimony—an externalization of inner suffering. It also serves as a plot-anchor: later characters may discover the inscription, or it may underscore the sincerity of her appeal before the tīrtha encounter.

What does the ‘cuckoo-resounding’ hermitage indicate?

The matta-kokila soundscape is a conventional marker of a flourishing, sattvic āśrama environment—suggesting tapas, protection, and auspiciousness. It prepares the reader for a meeting with a powerful ṛṣi or a dharmic turning point.