Shloka 163
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
पतितो यमलोकाच्च विबुद्धो भयसम्भ्रमात् ।
अहो कष्टमिति ध्यात्वा क्षते क्षारावसेवनम् ॥
patito yamalokāc ca vibuddho bhayasambhramāt | aho kaṣṭam iti dhyātvā kṣate kṣārāvasevanam ||
Aus Yamas Welt herabgestürzt, erwachte er in einem Wirbel der Furcht. In dem Gedanken: „Ach, wie unerquicklich!“, empfand er Schmerz, als würde Lauge auf eine Wunde gelegt.
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FAQs
The moral imagination (fear of judgment) has real transformative force: the king’s awakening is marked by dread and a vivid sense of pain, driving humility and ethical seriousness. The wound-and-alkali simile makes consequences feel immediate and embodied.
Carita; a closing experiential image that seals the didactic intent of the episode.
The ‘awakening’ after Yamaloka can be read as a jolt of conscience: when karmic truth is confronted, the psyche burns like caustic on a wound—purifying but painful—prompting reorientation toward dharma.