Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

तां त्वकामयत श्रीमान्‌ वरुण: पूर्वमेव ह । स चागम्य वनप्रस्थं यमुनायां जहार ताम्‌

Transliteration

tāṁ tv akāmayata śrīmān varuṇaḥ pūrvam eva ha | sa cāgamya vanaprasthaṁ yamunāyāṁ jahāra tām ||

Translation

威德显赫的伐楼那自始便觊觎那位少女。他来到林栖苦行者的精舍近旁，趁她在阎牟那河沐浴之时，将她掳走。

Word by Word

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• अकामयत्: desired
• Type: Verb
• Root: कम् (कामयति)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• श्रीमान्: glorious/illustrious
• श्रीमान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रीमत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वरुणः: Varuṇa
• वरुणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरुण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पूर्वम्: formerly/beforehand
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• ह: indeed (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आगम्य: having come/approached
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-गम्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• वनप्रस्थम्: the forest-dweller (hermit)/one in vānaprastha
• वनप्रस्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वनप्रस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• यमुनायाम्: in the Yamunā (river)
• यमुनायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यमुना
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• जहार: carried off/abducted
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Varuṇa
• Yamunā (river)
• forest hermitage (āśrama) of a muni/ascetic
• the maiden (kanyā; identified in the prose as Bhadrā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical danger of kāma (desire) when it overrides dharma: even a powerful being’s desire can lead to adharma-like conduct (abduction), underscoring that moral restraint—not mere power or status—should govern action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna narrates that Varuṇa had long desired a certain maiden; he came near a forest ascetic’s hermitage and abducted her while she was bathing in the river Yamunā.