Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
प्राप्ते तु सप्तमे वर्षे श्मशानेऽथ मृतो द्विजः ।
आनीतो बन्धुभिर्दृष्टस्तेन तत्राधनो गुणी ॥
prāpte tu saptame varṣe śmaśāne 'tha mṛto dvijaḥ / ānīto bandhubhir dṛṣṭas tena tatrādhano guṇī
ಏಳನೇ ವರ್ಷ ಬಂದಾಗ ಒಬ್ಬ ದ್ವಿಜನು (ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನು) ಮೃತನಾದನು; ಅವನ ಬಂಧುಗಳು ಅವನನ್ನು ಶ್ಮಶಾನಕ್ಕೆ ತಂದರು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನು ಆ ದರಿದ್ರನಾದರೂ ಪಾತ್ರನಾದ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಕಂಡನು।
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The meeting of social extremes at the cremation-ground—where all bodies end—levels pride and status. The ‘poor yet virtuous’ phrasing reinforces that guṇa (character) is ethically weightier than external rank.
Carita with didactic intent; no direct Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara/Vamśa cataloging in this verse.
The ‘seventh year’ can function symbolically as maturation; the encounter with a dvija’s death signals a catalytic moment for remembrance and ethical reversal amid the universality of mortality.