Shloka 5
Kāṣṭhīlā-Ākhyāna: Ratnāvalī’s Return, Co-wife Dharma, and the Phālguna Propitiation
रत्नावलिं रत्नभूतां सुद्युम्नस्य महीक्षितुः । तल्पथा रक्षसा रात्रौ स्वपुरस्था हृता द्विज ॥ ५ ॥
ratnāvaliṃ ratnabhūtāṃ sudyumnasya mahīkṣituḥ | talpathā rakṣasā rātrau svapurasthā hṛtā dvija || 5 ||
Ó brāhmana, Ratnāvalī—como se fosse uma joia em si—, a esposa do rei Sudyumna, foi raptada à noite pelo rākṣasa Talpatha enquanto estava dentro de sua própria cidade.
Suta (narrator) to the assembled sages (dvijas)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It frames a dharmic crisis—an unjust abduction—setting the stage for the restoration of order (dharma) through righteous action, a common Purāṇic method for teaching protection of the innocent and the duties of kingship.
Bhakti is implied indirectly: in Purāṇic narrative, such calamities often turn characters toward refuge in the Lord and reliance on divine protection; the episode typically supports the teaching that remembrance and surrender to Hari/Vishnu steadies one amid adversity.
No explicit Vedāṅga instruction appears in this verse; however, the detail “at night” aligns with Purāṇic attention to kāla (time) used in Jyotiṣa-informed ritual and narrative timing, often indicating secrecy, tamas, and vulnerability.