Jabali Bound by the Monkey Shloka 24 - Vamana Purana | Portuguese | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 24

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

Devanagari script

ददृशे वृक्षशिखरे शिशुं पञ्चाब्दिकं स्थितम् पिङ्गलाभिर्जटाभिस्तु उद्ब्द्धं यत्नतः शुभे

Transliteration

dadṛśe vṛkṣaśikhare śiśuṃ pañcābdikaṃ sthitam piṅgalābhirjaṭābhistu udbddhaṃ yatnataḥ śubhe

Translation

Ela viu, no cimo da árvore, uma criança de cinco anos ali de pé—amarrada com cuidado e com firmeza pelas suas jatas, madeixas emaranhadas de tom castanho-dourado, ó auspiciosa.

Word by Word

ददृशेshe saw

वृक्षशिखरेon the top of the tree

शिशुम्a child

पञ्चाब्दिकम्five-year-old

स्थितम्standing/placed

पिङ्गलाभिःwith tawny/reddish

जटाभिःwith matted locks

तुindeed/but

उद्बद्धम्bound up

यत्नतःcarefully

शुभेO auspicious one / O fair lady

Speakers

Narration (third-person); Nandayantī is the observer; ‘śubhe’ indicates the narrator addresses a female addressee

Key Themes

Child in distressAscetic markers (jaṭā) in an unexpected contextKarmic or punitive binding motifCompassion as a narrative catalyst

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the child described with jaṭā (matted locks)?

Jaṭā is an ascetic signifier (often linked with tapas, sages, or Śaiva/Vedic asceticism). In narrative terms it creates a paradox: a very young child bears ascetic features yet is bound, hinting at a curse, divine test, or extraordinary birth/identity.

Does ‘udbaddhaṃ’ mean the child is tied by his hair?

The grammar allows the sense that the binding involves the jaṭā (matted locks) as the means or locus of restraint—i.e., he is ‘bound up’ with/through those locks. The verse stresses tightness (yatnataḥ), indicating deliberate restraint rather than accidental entanglement.

Is the tree-top setting symbolically important?

Yes. Elevated placement often indicates liminality—between earth and sky—used in Purāṇic storytelling to mark beings under curse, penance, or divine protection, and to stage a ‘darśana’ that requires the seeker to look upward.