Shloka 24
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
पत्नी उवाच राजन् जातम् अपत्यं मे सतां पुत्रफलाः स्त्रियः ।
स मां प्रदाय वित्तेन देहि विप्राय दक्षिणाम् ॥
patny uvāca rājan jātam apatyaṃ me satāṃ putraphalāḥ striyaḥ |
sa māṃ pradāya vittena dehi viprāya dakṣiṇām ||
قالت الزوجة: «يا أيها الملك، لقد وُلد لي طفل. ولأهل الفضيلة تنال النساء ثمرةَ (إنجاب) الابن. لذلك، بعد أن تُؤمِّن لي المال، فامنحْ براهمنًا كاهنًا الأجرةَ القربانيةَ اللائقة (dakṣiṇā).»
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FAQs
The verse links domestic prosperity (childbirth) with dharmic reciprocity: the householder should support dependents first (“provide for me with wealth”) and then complete social-religious obligations by honoring learned Brahmanas with dakṣiṇā. It presents childbirth not merely as private joy but as an occasion for righteous giving and sustaining the ritual-ethical order.
This passage aligns primarily with Vamśānucarita / Dharma-upadeśa-type material (conduct and social duty within lineage/household life) rather than Sarga (creation), Pratisarga (re-creation), Manvantara, or detailed genealogical Vamśa. It functions as normative dharma instruction embedded in narrative.
On a symbolic level, “offspring” signifies continuity of dharma and tradition; “dakṣiṇā” represents the right circulation of wealth (artha) toward sacred knowledge (brahma-tejas). The sequence—secure the household, then offer to the worthy—encodes an inner discipline: stabilize life-force and responsibility first, then dedicate surplus to higher aims.