Shloka 106

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

Sanskrit

इति प्रतिसमादिष्टो जगाम शवमन्दिरम् । दिशन्तु दक्षिणां यत्र वाराणस्यां स्थितं तदा ॥

Transliteration

iti pratisamādiṣṭo jagāma śava-mandiram / diśaṃ tu dakṣiṇāṃ yatra vārāṇasyāṃ sthitaṃ tadā

Translation

So unterwiesen ging er zum „Haus der Leichname“, dem Verbrennungsplatz. Damals lag es in südlicher Richtung, dort, wo es sich in Vārāṇasī befand.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: सम्बन्ध (Quotation marker/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय; quotative particle

• प्रतिसमादिष्टः: having been instructed
• प्रतिसमादिष्टः: विशेषण (Adjectival to implied subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रति-सम्-आ-√दिश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘having been duly instructed/commanded’

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: क्रिया (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्शभूत/Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; ‘went’

• शवमन्दिरम्: to the corpse-house (charnel place)
• शवमन्दिरम्: कर्म (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शव-मन्दिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शवस्य मन्दिरम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• दिशन्: pointing/showing
• दिशन्: कर्ता (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दिश् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; present active participle ‘pointing/showing’

• तु: indeed
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; emphatic

• दक्षिणाम्: the southern direction
• दक्षिणाम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular (direction)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: अधिकरण (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक-अव्यय; relative adverb ‘where’

• वाराणस्याम्: in Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याम्: अधिकरण (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; Locative singular

• स्थितम्: situated
• स्थितम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘situated/located’ (agreeing with implied ‘शवमन्दिरम्’)

• तदा: then
• तदा: कालाधिकरण (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय; adverb ‘then/at that time’

Speakers

• Narrator voice

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Sacred geography (Vārāṇasī/Kāśī)
• Cremation-ground as narrative setting
• Directional symbolism (south as Yama/death quarter)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The move to Kāśī’s cremation-ground intensifies the confrontation with mortality. Kāśī is a famed liminal sacred space—holy yet closely tied to death rites—supporting a theme that spiritual insight often arises where fear and impurity are faced directly.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ākhyāna/Upākhyāna with a tīrtha/geography flavor, but not a full tīrtha-māhātmya section in the excerpt.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘southern direction’ evokes Yama’s quarter and the path of the departed. Going southward to the śmaśāna can symbolize a deliberate entry into the domain of death to test resolve and discernment.