Vamana Purana — Jabali Bound by the Monkey, Shloka 56

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

Devanagari script

ततो ददर्श देवाभां स्थितां देववतीं शुभाम् संशुष्कास्यां चलन्नेत्रां परिम्लानामिवाब्जिनीम्

Transliteration

tato dadarśa devābhāṃ sthitāṃ devavatīṃ śubhām saṃśuṣkāsyāṃ calannetrāṃ parimlānāmivābjinīm

Translation

于是他看见一位光辉的女子，形貌如天女，吉祥而立于其处——口已干涸，双目游移不定——宛如枯萎的莲华。

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable); तस्मात्/ततः = ‘then, thereafter’ (adverb)

• dadarśa: saw
• dadarśa: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपद

• devābhām: divine-radiant (one)
• devābhām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: deva + ābhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया (accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: देवस्य आभा यस्याः/देव-आभा = ‘divine-lustrous’

• sthitām: standing
• sthitām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle, PPP); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘standing/placed’

• devavatīm: goddess-like
• devavatīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: devavatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; -वत्/वती-प्रत्यय (possessive) = ‘having divinity/like a goddess’

• śubhām: beautiful
• śubhām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘auspicious/beautiful’

• saṃśuṣkāsyām: with a parched mouth/face
• saṃśuṣkāsyām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-śuṣka + āsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: सं-शुष्कम् आस्यं यस्याः = ‘whose mouth/face is completely dried’

• calat-netrām: with restless eyes
• calat-netrām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: calat (कृदन्त) + netra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: चलन्ति नेत्रे यस्याः = ‘whose eyes are moving/restless’

• parimlānām: withered
• parimlānām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-mlāna (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: क्त/क्तवत्-भावार्थ (PPP sense ‘withered’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘completely faded/withered’

• iva: as if/like
• iva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• abjinīm: a lotus-plant
• abjinīm: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abjinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘lotus-plant/lotus-creeper’ (abja = lotus)

Speakers

• Narrator voice (third-person epic narration; specific interlocutors not named in the given excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Distress as a narrative signal
• Poetic simile (lotus imagery)
• Recognition of divine radiance despite suffering

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the woman compared to a withered lotus (abjinī)?

The lotus is a standard Purāṇic marker of beauty, purity, and auspiciousness. Calling her ‘like a withered lotus’ preserves her inherent divinity (devābhā/devavatī) while emphasizing that fear, fatigue, or grief has visibly diminished her vitality—an immediate cue that a crisis has occurred.

What do ‘parched mouth’ and ‘unsteady eyes’ signify in Purāṇic narrative technique?

Such bodily signs function as stock indicators of intense emotional or physical strain—panic, long travel, fasting, or shock. They prepare the reader for an explanation (kathā) that follows, often involving danger, separation, or a plea for protection.

Does this verse establish any tīrtha or geographic setting typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

Not here. This śloka is purely descriptive and contains no toponyms. Geographic anchoring—so central to the Vāmana Purāṇa—must be inferred from surrounding verses/chapters, not from 38.56 alone.