Shloka 146

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

Sanskrit

मत्स्यं कूर्मं वराहञ्च श्वाविधं कुक्कुटं शुकम् । शारिकां स्थावरांश्चैव सर्पमन्यांश्व देहिनः ॥

Transliteration

matsyaṃ kūrmaṃ varāhañ ca śvāvidhaṃ kukkuṭaṃ śukam / śārikāṃ sthāvarāṃś caiva sarpam anyāṃś ca dehinaḥ

Translation

Er sah (Wesen, die) zu Fisch, Schildkröte, Eber, Stachelschwein, Hahn und Papagei wurden; zum Mynavogel; ja sogar zu unbeweglichen (pflanzenähnlichen) Wesen, sowie zu Schlangen und anderen verkörperten Geschöpfen.

Word by Word

• matsyam: a fish
• matsyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: matsya (मत्स्य) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• kūrmam: a tortoise
• kūrmam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūrma (कूर्म) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• varāham: a boar
• varāham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varāha (वराह) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• śvāvidham: a porcupine
• śvāvidham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śvāvidha (श्वाविध) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• kukkuṭam: a rooster
• kukkuṭam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kukkuṭa (कुक्कुट) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• śukam: a parrot
• śukam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuka (शुक) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• śārikām: a myna bird
• śārikām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śārikā (शारिका) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• sthāvarān: immobile beings (plants etc.)
• sthāvarān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāvara (स्थावर) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक)

• sarpam: a snake
• sarpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpa (सर्प) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• anyān: other
• anyān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (अन्य) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural; qualifies dehinaḥ (understood as objects seen)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• va: also
• va: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: va (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, enclitic particle (विकल्प/समुच्चयार्थक) ‘and/also/or’

• dehinaḥ: embodied beings
• dehinaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dehin (देहिन्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural (form identical to nominative plural in -in stems); object of apaśyat understood from context

Speakers

• Narratorial voice within the frame (speaker not determinable from excerpt alone)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Saṃsāra
• Embodiment across species
• Guṇa-based descent/ascent

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The inclusion of sthāvara (immobile life) intensifies the warning: negligence of dharma can lead not only to animality but to severely constrained modes of experience.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ethical-illustrative narrative (ākhyāna) rather than Sarga/Pratisarga; it uses taxonomy of beings to teach karmic law.

What is the esoteric significance?

Moving from aquatic to terrestrial to immobile forms mirrors contraction of agency (kartṛtva). The ‘serpent’ often signals fear and reactive consciousness—life driven by instinct rather than discernment (viveka).