Vamana Purana — Jabali on the Banyan Tree, Shloka 61

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

Devanagari script

गोमत्यां परिचिक्षेप तरङ्कुटिले जले तयापि तस्यास्तद्भाव्यं विदित्वाथ विशां पते

Transliteration

gomatyāṃ paricikṣepa taraṅkuṭile jale tayāpi tasyāstadbhāvyaṃ viditvātha viśāṃ pate

Translation

民众之主啊，她被抛入戈摩提河，波浪使水势曲折回旋。那条河亦洞悉她所当承受的宿命，遂随其所定而行。

Word by Word

• गोमत्याम्: in the (river) Gomati
• गोमत्याम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोमती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• परिचिक्षेप: threw / cast
• परिचिक्षेप: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तरङ्ग-कुटिले: in (water) made turbulent by waves
• तरङ्ग-कुटिले: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तरङ्ग + कुटिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषण; ‘curved/whirling with waves’

• जले: in the water
• जले: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• तया: by her
• तया: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (also/even)

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• तत्-भाव्यम्: that (her) destined fate
• तत्-भाव्यम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् + भाव्य (प्रातिपदिक; √भू + यत्/ण्यत् sense ‘to be’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष; भाव्य = ‘future/what is to happen’

• विदित्वा: having known
• विदित्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• विशाम्: of the people
• विशाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; ‘people/subjects’

• पते: O lord
• पते: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrator addressing a king (viśāṃ pate)

Key Themes

• Tirtha Mahima
• Rivers personified as conscious sacred agents
• Fate (bhāvya) operating through geography

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Does the verse treat the river as a deity or a sentient being?

Yes. The feminine pronoun ‘tayāpi’ and the verb ‘viditvā’ (having known) attribute awareness to the river, consistent with Purāṇic convention where rivers are goddesses who can protect, punish, or guide beings according to dharma and destiny.

What does ‘tadbhāvyaṃ’ mean in narrative terms?

It denotes the protagonist’s impending fate—what must unfold. The text suggests that even the river ‘knows’ the destined outcome, reinforcing the Purāṇic idea that sacred landscapes participate in cosmic order.

Why mention ‘taraṅkuṭile jale’ (wave-crooked water)?

It is both descriptive and symbolic: physically, it conveys turbulence and danger; symbolically, it mirrors the twists of fortune and the testing nature of the tirtha-journey.