Vamana Purana — Jabali on the Banyan Tree, Shloka 47

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

Devanagari script

त्वद्दृष्टिरपातेन स्मरेणाभ्येत्य ताडितः तन्मां कुचतले तल्पे अभिशायितुमर्हसि

Transliteration

tvaddṛṣṭirapātena smareṇābhyetya tāḍitaḥ tanmāṃ kucatale talpe abhiśāyitumarhasi

Translation

உன் பார்வையின் வீழ்ச்சியால் ஸ்மரன் வந்து என்னைத் தாக்கினான்; ஆகவே உன் மார்பின் சரிவெனும் படுக்கையில் என்னைச் சாய்த்திட வேண்டும்.

Word by Word

• त्वत्-दृष्टि-रपातेन: by the impact of your glance
• त्वत्-दृष्टि-रपातेन: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + दृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + अपात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया) Singular (एकवचन), Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुं) — ‘by the fall/impact of your glance’; समासः: त्वद्दृष्टिः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + अपातेन (तृतीया)

• स्मरेण: by Kāma (Love-god)
• स्मरेण: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• अभ्येत्य: having come near
• अभ्येत्य: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-इ (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), from √इ (गमन) with उपसर्ग ‘अभि’; ‘having approached’

• ताडितः: struck/afflicted
• ताडितः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ताड् (धातु)
• Form: Past Passive Participle (कर्मणि क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• तत्: therefore/so
• तत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Particle (निपात) used for emphasis/connection: ‘therefore/so’

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• कुच-तले: on the breast-surface
• कुच-तले: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुच (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘on the surface of the breasts’

• तल्पे: on the bed
• तल्पे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• अभि-शायितुम्: to make (me) lie down / to lie upon
• अभि-शायितुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-शी (धातु)
• Form: Infinitive (तुमुन्), from √शी (शयन) with उपसर्ग ‘अभि’; ‘to lie down upon’

• अर्हसि: you ought/are fit
• अर्हसि: Kriya (क्रिया/Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

Speakers

• Same male speaker addressing the woman; erotic petition framed as consequence of Smara’s assault

Primary Deities

• Smara (Kāma/Kandarpa)

Key Themes

• Erotic supplication
• Personification of desire as Smara’s violence
• Tension between propriety (yukta) and passion

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shringara", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

How should ‘dṛṣṭirapāta’ be understood?

It conveys the sudden ‘falling upon’ or impactful descent of a glance—an idiom for an overpowering look that ‘strikes’ the observer, fitting the subsequent verb tāḍitaḥ (‘struck’).

Is ‘arhasi’ here moral instruction or rhetorical pressure?

Although arhasi literally means ‘you ought to/it is fitting,’ in erotic speech it functions as persuasive pressure: the speaker claims entitlement to intimacy as a ‘remedy’ for desire, which the narrative may later critique through dharma/propriety.

Any hidden geographical or tirtha reference in ‘talpa’ or ‘kucatala’?

No. These are domestic/erotic spatial terms (bed, breast-surface) and do not denote pilgrimage geography.