Vamana Purana — Jabali on the Banyan Tree, Shloka 14

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

Devanagari script

भवानपि तपोयुक्तः शास्त्रवेत्ता गुणाप्लुतः नेदृशे पापसंकल्पे मतिं कुर्याद् भवद्विधः

Transliteration

bhavānapi tapoyuktaḥ śāstravettā guṇāplutaḥ nedṛśe pāpasaṃkalpe matiṃ kuryād bhavadvidhaḥ

Translation

ତୁମେ ମଧ୍ୟ ତପଯୁକ୍ତ, ଶାସ୍ତ୍ରବେତ୍ତା ଏବଂ ଗୁଣରେ ପରିପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ; ତୁମ ପରି ବ୍ୟକ୍ତି ଏପରି ପାପସଙ୍କଳ୍ପରେ ମନ ଲଗାଇବା ଉଚିତ୍ ନୁହେଁ।

Word by Word

• bhavān: you (honorific)
• bhavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle)

• tapo-yuktaḥ: endowed with austerity
• tapo-yuktaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + yukta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तृतीया/संबन्ध-तत्पुरुषः ‘endowed with austerity’

• śāstra-vettā: knower of the śāstras
• śāstra-vettā: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāstra (प्रातिपदिक) + vettṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘knower of scriptures’

• guṇa-āplutaḥ: steeped in virtues
• guṇa-āplutaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + āpluta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः ‘immersed in virtues’

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• īdṛśe: in such
• īdṛśe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• pāpa-saṃkalpe: in a sinful resolve
• pāpa-saṃkalpe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भावः ‘sinful intention’

• matim: mind/intent
• matim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kuryāt: should make
• kuryāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; ‘should do/make’

• bhavat-vidhaḥ: a person like you
• bhavat-vidhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘one like you’

Speakers

• Admonishing narrator/elder voice addressing an honored ‘you’ (bhavān)
• warning against a specific ‘sinful resolve’; precise named speakers not given in the excerpt.

Key Themes

• Dharma and moral restraint
• Primacy of intention (saṃkalpa) in ethics
• Authority of śāstra
• Tapas and virtue as safeguards

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse emphasize ‘pāpa-saṃkalpa’ (sinful intention) rather than only sinful acts?

Purāṇic ethics often treat saṃkalpa (inner resolve) as causally potent: intention shapes karma and future action. The verse warns that moral failure begins in the mind before it manifests outwardly.

How do ‘tapas’ and ‘śāstra-jñāna’ function in this admonition?

They are presented as credentials and safeguards: austerity disciplines desire, and śāstra-knowledge clarifies right conduct. The rebuke is sharper because the addressee already possesses both.

What is implied by ‘guṇāplutaḥ’ in a narrative context?

It frames the addressee as fundamentally capable of dharmic conduct, implying that the contemplated wrongdoing is a deviation from their established character and therefore avoidable.