Shloka 78

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

Devanagari script

शाखया कृत्तया चासौ भारवाही तपोधनः शरसोपानमार्गेण अवतीर्णो ऽथ पादपात्

Transliteration

śākhayā kṛttayā cāsau bhāravāhī tapodhanaḥ śarasopānamārgeṇa avatīrṇo 'tha pādapāt

Translation

而那负重者——具足苦行威力——以所斩之枝为凭，循由箭矢造成的阶梯之路，自树上降下，至于树脚。

Word by Word

• śākhayā: with a branch
• śākhayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śākhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• kṛttayā: cut
• kṛttayā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛt (कृत्/कृन्त् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्तान्त विशेषण, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; agrees with śākhayā: “cut”

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• asau: he/that one
• asau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; deictic pronoun “that/he”

• bhāravāhī: load-bearing
• bhāravāhī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāra + vāhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (bhāraṃ vahati = “bearing a load”); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; qualifies tapodhanaḥ

• tapodhanaḥ: the ascetic
• tapodhanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas + dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (yasya dhanaṃ tapaḥ = “whose wealth is austerity”, i.e., ascetic); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• śara-sopāna-mārgeṇa: by the arrow-ladder path
• śara-sopāna-mārgeṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śara + sopāna + mārga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (arrow-ladder-path); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; instrumental: “by the path of an arrow-ladder”

• avatīrṇaḥ: descended
• avatīrṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-tṝ (तॄ धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्तान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “having descended”

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरवाचक-अव्यय (particle): “then/now”

• pādapāt: from the tree
• pādapāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pādapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; ablative: “from the tree”

Speakers

• Narrator voice (continuation of the episode)

Key Themes

• Tapas and skill combined
• Ingenious means in travel
• Transition from elevated place to river-route

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is ‘bhāravāhī’ a description or a name?

Grammatically it can function as an epithet (‘burden-bearer’), but in Purāṇic narrative it often behaves like a proper designation for a character. The next verse’s phrasing suggests it is a person closely associated with Ṛtadhvaja and Jābāli.

What does ‘tapo-dhana’ imply about the character?

It marks the person as ascetically accomplished—his ‘wealth’ is spiritual heat/merit—so the extraordinary act (arrow-stair descent) is framed as disciplined capability rather than mere trickery.

Why depict a descent by ‘arrow-steps’?

Such imagery dramatizes liminality: the character moves from a precarious height to the ground and onward to a river encounter, emphasizing controlled passage and preparedness before entering a sacred landscape.