Vamana Purana — Jabali Bound by the Monkey, Shloka 14

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

Devanagari script

अथापश्यत् समायान्तमञ्जनं गुह्यकोत्तमम् नन्दयन्त्या समं पुत्र्या गत्वा जिगमिषुः कपिः

Transliteration

athāpaśyat samāyāntamañjanaṃ guhyakottamam nandayantyā samaṃ putryā gatvā jigamiṣuḥ kapiḥ

Translation

Bấy giờ con khỉ, đang định đi (đến đó), thấy Anjanā đang đến—bậc ưu tú nhất trong hàng Guhyaka—cùng với Nandayantī và con gái của nàng.

Speakers

• Narrator voice (Purāṇic narration) describing events; no direct speech in this verse.

Primary Deities

• Kubera (implied via Guhyakas)

Key Themes

• Tirtha Mahima
• Encounter with semi-divine beings (Guhyakas)
• Pilgrimage/approach to a sacred place

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who are the ‘Guhyakas’ and why is Anjanā called ‘guhyakottamā’ (best among them)?

Guhyakas are semi-divine beings associated with Kubera and with ‘hidden’ (guhya) places—caves, forests, and liminal sacred geographies. Calling Anjanā ‘guhyakottamā’ elevates her status and signals that the episode belongs to a tirtha-landscape where such beings guard or inhabit sacred zones.

Is ‘Anjanā’ here a place (tirtha) or a person?

In this śloka the grammar and epithets (‘guhyakottamā’) indicate a person approaching, not a place. However, Purāṇic tīrtha narratives often personify or closely associate figures with specific bathing-places; the name may also echo a local tīrtha tradition.

What is the narrative function of introducing Nandayantī and her daughter?

Their presence frames the scene as a social/ritual movement toward a sacred act (often bathing or visiting a tīrtha). It also sets up recognition, misunderstanding, or fear in the subsequent verses, which is a common Purāṇic device to transition into the tīrtha’s ‘mahima’ (power/legend).