Shloka 78
Jabali Bound by the Monkey — Jabali Bound by the Monkey: Nandayanti’s Ordeal and the Yamuna–Hiranyavati Sacred Corridor
शाखया कृत्तया चासौ भारवाही तपोधनः शरसोपानमार्गेण अवतीर्णो ऽथ पादपात्
śākhayā kṛttayā cāsau bhāravāhī tapodhanaḥ śarasopānamārgeṇa avatīrṇo 'tha pādapāt
E aquele portador de fardos—rico em poder ascético—usando o ramo cortado, desceu da árvore por um caminho de degraus feitos de flechas, até o pé da árvore.
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FAQs
Grammatically it can function as an epithet (‘burden-bearer’), but in Purāṇic narrative it often behaves like a proper designation for a character. The next verse’s phrasing suggests it is a person closely associated with Ṛtadhvaja and Jābāli.
It marks the person as ascetically accomplished—his ‘wealth’ is spiritual heat/merit—so the extraordinary act (arrow-stair descent) is framed as disciplined capability rather than mere trickery.
Such imagery dramatizes liminality: the character moves from a precarious height to the ground and onward to a river encounter, emphasizing controlled passage and preparedness before entering a sacred landscape.