Vamana Purana — Jabali on the Banyan Tree, Shloka 48

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

Devanagari script

नोचेत् प्रधक्ष्यते कामो भूयो भूयो ऽतिदर्शनात् ततः सा चारुसर्वाङ्गी राज्ञो राजीवलोचना

Transliteration

nocet pradhakṣyate kāmo bhūyo bhūyo 'tidarśanāt tataḥ sā cārusarvāṅgī rājño rājīvalocanā

Translation

Nếu không, dục vọng sẽ bùng cháy hết lần này đến lần khác do cứ nhìn thấy mãi. Vì thế, người nữ mắt như sen, thân thể mỹ lệ ấy đã tự giữ mình, tránh gặp lại nhà vua.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-निपात)

• उचेत्: if (it be so); in context: otherwise
• उचेत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उ (अव्यय) + चेत् (अव्यय)
• Form: Conditional particle (शर्त-निपात): ‘if’ (चेत्); with preceding न → ‘otherwise/if not’

• प्रधक्ष्यते: will burn up/consume
• प्रधक्ष्यते: Kriya (क्रिया/Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-धक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: Future (लृट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• कामः: desire / Kāma
• कामः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• भूयः: again/more
• भूयः: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूयस् (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभावार्थ)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय): ‘again, more’

• भूयः: again and again
• भूयः: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूयस् (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभावार्थ)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय) repeated for emphasis

• अति-दर्शनात्: from excessive seeing (of you)
• अति-दर्शनात्: Hetu (हेतु/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); समासः उपपद-तत्पुरुष ‘from excessive seeing/overexposure’

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय): ‘then/thereupon’

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• चारु-सर्वाङ्गी: beautiful in all limbs
• चारु-सर्वाङ्गी: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier of सा)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चारु (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + ङीप् (स्त्रीप्रत्यय)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारयः ‘beautiful-limbed/with beautiful whole body’

• राज्ञः: of the king
• राज्ञः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• राजीव-लोचना: lotus-eyed
• राजीव-लोचना: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier of सा)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राजीव (प्रातिपदिक) + लोचन (प्रातिपदिक) + टाप् (स्त्रीप्रत्यय)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); बहुव्रीहिः ‘she whose eyes are like lotuses’

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) describing events; direct interlocutors not explicit in this verse

Key Themes

• Kāma (desire) as intensified by sense-contact
• Ethics of restraint (indriya-nigraha)
• Narrative characterization (beauty epithets)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is “repeated seeing” (atidarśana) singled out as the cause of desire’s increase?

Purāṇic narrative often aligns with dharmaśāstric and yogic psychology: sense-contact (darśana) repeatedly renews saṃskāras and stimulates kāma. The verse frames restraint as practical—avoid the stimulus to prevent escalation.

Does the verse imply moral blame of the woman or the king?

The verse is descriptive rather than accusatory. It uses conventional poetic epithets (cārusarvāṅgī, rājīvalocanā) while emphasizing a general principle: unchecked proximity fuels passion; distance is a protective measure.

Is any tīrtha or sacred locale implied here?

Not in this śloka. Unlike many Vāmana Purāṇa passages that anchor events in rivers/forests/tīrthas, this verse functions as a psychological-ethical observation within a courtly narrative.