Shloka 103
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य मृतचेलापहारकः ।
हरिश्चन्द्रोऽभवद्राजा श्मशाने तद्वशानुगः ॥
kasyacittv atha kālasya mṛtacelāpahārakaḥ | hariścandro 'bhavad rājā śmaśāne tadvaśānugaḥ ||
Dann, nachdem einige Zeit vergangen war, wurde König Hariścandra auf dem Verbrennungsplatz zum Nehmer des Leichentuchs der Toten und bewegte sich im Gehorsam gegenüber jenem Zustand (Schicksal).
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FAQs
The verse underscores the leveling power of kāla (time) and karma: even a king can be reduced to a grim livelihood among the dead. It serves as a dharmic reminder that status is impermanent, and that one may be compelled to endure harsh conditions as the fruit of prior causes—yet the broader Hariścandra cycle typically highlights steadfastness and truthfulness under extreme suffering.
Primarily within Vaṁśānucarita (dynastic/royal genealogical narrative) rather than sarga/pratisarga. It is an itihāsa-like exemplum embedded in the Purāṇic account of royal lineages and moral causality.
Śmaśāna functions as a liminal symbol: the collapse of worldly identity and the confrontation with impermanence. Hariścandra’s role as mṛtacelāpahārakaḥ signifies the stripping away of external coverings (social power, possessions), pointing to a purificatory ordeal where the ego’s “royal garment” is removed under the governance of kāla.