Shloka 117

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

Sanskrit

नानोपहारस्त्रग्दीपकाकविक्षेपकालिकम् ।

अनेकशब्दबहुलं श्मशानं नरकायते ॥

Transliteration

nānopahāra-strag-dīpa-kāka-vikṣepa-kālikam /

aneka-śabda-bahulaṃ śmaśānaṃ narakāyate

Translation

Mit mancherlei Opfergaben, Girlanden, Lampen und dem Umherwirbeln der Krähen—durch solche Riten verdunkelt—und dicht von vielerlei Geräuschen, erschien jener Verbrennungsplatz wie die Hölle selbst.

Word by Word

• नानोपहारस्त्रग्दीपकाकविक्षेपकालिकम्: having various offerings, garlands, lamps, and crow-scattering (rites)
• नानोपहारस्त्रग्दीपकाकविक्षेपकालिकम्: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाना (अव्यय) + उपहार (प्रातिपदिक) + स्रज्/स्त्रग् (प्रातिपदिक) + दीप (प्रातिपदिक) + काक (प्रातिपदिक) + विक्षेप (प्रातिपदिक) + कालिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन — Nom/Acc singular; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (having various offerings, garlands, lamps, and crow-scattering rites/occasions)

• अनेकशब्दबहुलम्: abounding in many sounds
• अनेकशब्दबहुलम्: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक (प्रातिपदिक) + शब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + बहुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन — Nom/Acc singular; तत्पुरुष (अनेकैः शब्दैः बहुलम्)

• श्मशानम्: the cremation-ground
• श्मशानम्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा); एकवचन — Nominative singular

• नरकायते: becomes (like) hell
• नरकायते: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक) + या (धातु)
• Form: नामधातु (denominative) from नरक; लट् (Present/लट्); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमा-पुरुष; एकवचन — 3rd singular; ‘becomes like hell’

Speakers

• Narratorial description

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Hell imagery
• Ritual remnants in cremation grounds
• Inauspicious soundscape

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

External ritual traces (lamps, offerings) do not erase the fundamental truth of mortality; ethical living and inner purification are implied as the real refuge.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Not pañcalakṣaṇa exposition; it is ākhyāna scenery supporting the narrative’s moral pressure.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Hell-like’ indicates a psychological state: when consciousness is dominated by fear, grief, and tamas, even the world appears as naraka.