Shloka 27

जटायुरावणयुद्धम्

Jatayu’s Combat with Ravana

Devanagari script

बद्धस्त्वं कालपाशेन क्व गतस्तस्य मोक्ष्यसे।।।।वधाय बडिशं गृह्य सामिषं जलजो यथा।

Transliteration

baddhas tvaṃ kāla-pāśena kva gatas tasya mokṣyase | vadhāya baḍiśaṃ gṛhya sāmiṣaṃ jalajo yathā ||

Translation

నీవు కాలపాశంతో బద్ధుడవు; ఎక్కడికి వెళ్లినా దానినుండి ఎలా తప్పించుకుంటావు? ఆమిషం ఉన్న గాలాన్ని చేప పట్టుకొని వధకు లోనయ్యేలా, నీవు కూడా నీ వినాశకారణాన్నే పట్టుకున్నావు।

Word by Word

• baddhaḥ: bound
• baddhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √bandh (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; kta-pratyaya (past passive participle/क्त): 'bound'

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Prathamā, Ekavacana

• kāla-pāśena: by the noose of death
• kāla-pāśena: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla + pāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: kālasya pāśaḥ (noose of death/time)

• kva: where
• kva: Deśa (देश/Locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: Praśna-avyaya (interrogative adverb: where?)

• gataḥ: gone
• gataḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √gam (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; kta (past participle): 'gone'

• tasya: from that / of it
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/Napuṃsaka, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana; pronoun

• mokṣyase: will you be released?
• mokṣyase: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc (धातु)
• Form: Lṛṭ-lakāra (Future/भविष्यत्), Madhyama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; ātmanepada

• vadhāya: for death/destruction
• vadhāya: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Caturthī, Ekavacana; purpose dative

• baḍiśam: fishhook
• baḍiśam: Karma (कर्म/Object of taking)
• Type: Noun
• Root: baḍiśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसakaliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• gṛhya: having taken
• gṛhya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया/Anterior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √grah (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: Absolutive/gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय in -ya form): 'having taken'

• sa-āmiṣam: baited
• sa-āmiṣam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa + āmiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसakaliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; 'with bait/flesh' qualifying baḍiśam

• jalajaḥ: a fish (water-born)
• jalajaḥ: Upamāna (उपमान/Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jalaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• yathā: like
• yathā: Upamā (उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Upamā-vācaka avyaya (as/like)

Context

You are bound by the noose of death like a fish holding on to the bait of the fishing hook. Where can you go now?

Characters & Entities

• Jaṭāyu
• Rāvaṇa
• Kāla (Death)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Adharma ensnares the doer: wrongful gain becomes a hook. Dharma warns against temptations that bind one to inevitable suffering.

What is the narrative situation?

Jaṭāyu compares Rāvaṇa’s choice to a fish taking a hook, stressing that Rāvaṇa has already stepped into death’s snare.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Truthful admonition grounded in realism: Jaṭāyu names the inevitability of consequences without fear.