Shloka 99

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

Sanskrit

बाला दीनमुखी दृष्ट्वा बालं दीनमुखं पुरः ।

मां स्मरत्यसुखाविष्टा मोचयिष्यति नौ नृपः ॥

Transliteration

bālā dīnamukhī dṛṣṭvā bālaṃ dīnamukhaṃ puraḥ | māṃ smaraty asukhāviṣṭā mocayiṣyati nau nṛpaḥ ||

Translation

Wenn sie das junge Mädchen mit kummervollem Antlitz sieht und das Kind vor ihr ebenfalls mit kummervollem Antlitz, wird sie—vom Gram überwältigt—meiner gedenken; und dadurch wird sie uns befreien, o König.

Word by Word

• bālā: the girl
• bālā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (प्रथमा/nom.), Ekavacana (एकवचन)

• dīna-mukhī: sad-faced
• dīna-mukhī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dīna (प्रातिपदिक) + mukhinī/mukhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of bālā

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/त्वान्त), indeclinable verbal form; pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)

• bālam: the boy
• bālam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Dvitīyā vibhakti (द्वितीया/acc.), Ekavacana

• dīna-mukham: sad-faced
• dīna-mukham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dīna (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकliṅga (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of bālam

• puraḥ: in front
• puraḥ: Deśādhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puras (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) meaning ‘in front/before’

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• smarati: remembers
• smarati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (लट्/present), Prathama puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Ekavacana; parasmaipada

• asukha-āviṣṭā: overcome by sorrow
• asukha-āviṣṭā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + āviṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √viś/√viṣ)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of bālā; ‘asukhenāviṣṭā’ (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

• mocayiṣyati: will free
• mocayiṣyati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: Luṭ lakāra (लुट्/future), Prathama puruṣa, Ekavacana; causative sense (णिच्) ‘will cause to be released’

• nau: of us two
• nau: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma; Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (षष्ठी/gen.), Dvivacana (द्विवचन) ‘of us two’ (enclitic)

• nṛpaḥ: the king
• nṛpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

Speakers

• Narrative voice within the Devi Mahatmyam (Suratha–Samadhi dialogue context)

Primary Deities

• Devī (Durgā/Caṇḍikā)

Shakti Aspects

• Devi as the compassionate liberator who responds when remembered (smaraṇa)

Key Themes

• Shaktism
• Devī-smaraṇa (remembrance of the Goddess)
• Compassion
• Deliverance from suffering
• Human grief as catalyst for turning to the Divine

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Sorrow (duḥkha/asukha) can become a doorway to grace: when beings, moved by compassion and pain, genuinely remember the Divine (Devī-smaraṇa), that turning of consciousness itself becomes the means by which bondage and distress are loosened.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Primarily outside the strict pancalakṣaṇa categories; it belongs to dharma/upākhyāna (didactic narrative) within the Devi Mahatmyam. Indirectly it supports dharma by illustrating śaraṇāgati (seeking refuge) and the fruit of devotion.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘two sorrowful faces’ (the girl and the child) can be read as symbols of the jīva’s vulnerable states—innocence and dependency—prompting the awakening of remembrance. ‘Remembering me’ signifies the reorientation of mind (smṛti) toward Śakti, which dissolves constriction (bandha) and brings release (mokṣa-like ‘mocana’) even amid worldly affliction.