Shloka 107

Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala

Sanskrit

श्मशानं घोरसंनादं शिवाशतसमाकुलम् । शवमौलिसमाकीर्णं दुर्गन्धं बहुधूमकम् ॥

Transliteration

śmaśānaṃ ghora-saṃnādaṃ śivā-śata-samākulam / śava-mauli-samākīrṇaṃ durgandhaṃ bahu-dhūmakam

Translation

শ্মশান ভয়ংকর শব্দে প্রতিধ্বনিত হচ্ছিল, শত শত শেয়ালে ভরা ছিল; শবমস্তকে ছড়ানো, দুর্গন্ধময় এবং ধোঁয়ায় ঘন ছিল।

Word by Word

• श्मशानम्: cremation ground
• श्मशानम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular (object of seeing/going, implied)

• घोरसंनादम्: with dreadful noise
• घोरसंनादम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर-संनाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (घोरः संनादः यस्य), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; qualifying śmaśānam

• शिवाशतसमाकुलम्: crowded with hundreds of jackals
• शिवाशतसमाकुलम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिवा-शत-समाकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शिवानां शतम्; तेन समाकुलम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘filled with hundreds of jackals’

• शवमौलिसमाकीर्णम्: strewn with corpse-heads
• शवमौलिसमाकीर्णम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शव-मौलि-समाकीर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शवस्य मौलिः/मौलयः; तैः समाकीर्णम्), क्त-कृदन्त (सम्-आ-√कीर् ‘to scatter’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दुर्गन्धम्: foul-smelling
• दुर्गन्धम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्गन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively/qualifying śmaśānam

• बहुधूमकम्: full of much smoke
• बहुधूमकम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु-धूमक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (बहु धूमः यस्य), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrator voice

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "bibhatsa", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Śmaśāna imagery
• Fear and impermanence
• Pollution/impurity motifs
• Horror-aesthetics in Purāṇic narrative

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Graphic description functions as vairāgya-producing imagery: the body’s end is smoke, stench, and scattering. It discourages attachment and exposes the fragility of social identity when confronted with death.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ākhyāna/Upākhyāna: atmospheric scene-setting within a story.

What is the esoteric significance?

The śmaśāna is a ‘truth-field’ where māyā’s beautifying veil drops. Smoke and stench signify the dissolution of form; jackals and scattered heads signify the disintegration of ego and status.