Shloka 9
Mohinī-Saṃmohana
The Enchantment of Mohinī
इहैव रमसे बाले अथवा मंदिरे मम । मलये मेरुशिखरे वने वा नन्दने वद ॥ ९ ॥
ihaiva ramase bāle athavā maṃdire mama | malaye meruśikhare vane vā nandane vada || 9 ||
हे बाले! सांग—तू इथेच रमशील की माझ्या मंदिरात? मलय पर्वतावर, मेरुशिखरावर, एखाद्या वनात की नंदनवनात?
A male speaker addressing a young woman (dialogue context within Narada Purana; exact speaker not explicit from the single verse)
Vrata: none
Rasa: {"primary_rasa":"shringara","secondary_rasa":"adbhuta","emotional_journey":"Playful intimacy turns into imaginative wonder as the speaker offers a spectrum of exquisite locales for shared delight."}
FAQs
The verse frames sacred geography as a spectrum of spiritual abodes—home, temple, mountains, forests, and heavenly gardens—suggesting that delight (ramana) can be sought in places associated with sanctity, pilgrimage (tīrtha), and divine presence.
By explicitly including “my temple” among exalted locations like Meru and Nandana, the verse elevates temple-centered worship as a direct and accessible locus for devotion, aligning bhakti with presence, remembrance, and reverential dwelling in sacred spaces.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Kalpa) is taught in this line; the practical takeaway is pilgrimage/temple orientation (a Kalpa-adjacent cultural practice) rather than a technical ritual or grammatical instruction.