Shloka 23
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
हरिश्चन्द्र उवाच विमुञ्च भद्रे सन्तापमयं तिष्ठति बालकः । उच्यतां वक्तुकामासि यद्वा त्वं गजगामिनि ॥
harīścandra uvāca vimuñca bhadre santāpamayaṃ tiṣṭhati bālakaḥ | ucyatāṃ vaktukāmāsi yadvā tvaṃ gajagāmini ||
ハリーシュチャンドラは言った。「おお吉祥なる御方よ、悲嘆を捨てよ。子はここに立ち、苦悩に打ちひしがれている。汝の言わんとするところを語れ——象の歩みのごとく歩む者よ。」
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FAQs
The verse models dharmic composure and compassionate speech: grief should be set aside to address urgent suffering (the child’s distress), and one should speak clearly and purposefully rather than remain overwhelmed by emotion.
This is best classified under Vaṃśānucarita/Carita (dynastic and exemplary narratives) rather than Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara; it belongs to the Purana’s didactic-legendary material illustrating righteous conduct through royal exemplars.
Symbolically, the ‘child afflicted by sorrow’ can represent the vulnerable jīva under duḥkha, while the king’s injunction to ‘release grief’ suggests turning from tamasic paralysis toward sattvic clarity—speech (vāk) and right action begin when lamentation is relinquished.