Shloka 196

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

Sanskrit

तथास्य नासिका तुङ्गा अग्रतोऽधोमुखं गता ।

दन्ताश्च मुकुलप्रख्याः ख्यातकीर्तेर्महात्मनः ॥

Transliteration

tathāsya nāsikā tuṅgā agrato 'dhomukhaṃ gatā |

dantāś ca mukula-prakhyāḥ khyāta-kīrter mahātmanaḥ ||

Translation

ಅವನ ಮೂಗು ಎತ್ತರವಾಗಿದ್ದು ಮುಂಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಳಕ್ಕೆ ವಾಲಿತ್ತು; ಅವನ ಹಲ್ಲುಗಳು ಮೊಗ್ಗಿನಂತೆ ಇದ್ದವು—ಇವು ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧ ಯಶಸ್ಸುಳ್ಳ ಆ ಮಹಾತ್ಮನ ಲಕ್ಷಣಗಳು.

Word by Word

• tathā: thus/so
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय)

• asya: of him
• asya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसक), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• nāsikā: nose
• nāsikā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāsikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tuṅgā: high/prominent
• tuṅgā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with nāsikā

• agrataḥ: in front/forward
• agrataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण; location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: agratas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adverb (देशवाचक-अव्यय)

• adho-mukham: downward-faced
• adho-mukham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhas (अव्यय) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); अव्ययीभाव: ‘down-faced/downward’

• gatā: had gone/was turned
• gatā: Kriyā (क्रिया; participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with nāsikā; sense ‘has gone/was turned’

• dantāḥ: teeth
• dantāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: danta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध; coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

• mukula-prakhyāḥ: bud-like
• mukula-prakhyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukula (प्रातिपदिक) + prakhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); उपमान-तत्पुरुष: ‘resembling buds’

• khyāta-kīrteḥ: of the famed (one)
• khyāta-kīrteḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khyāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + kīrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारय: ‘of famed renown’ (kīrtiḥ khyātā yasya) used as epithet

• mahātmanaḥ: of the great-souled (man)
• mahātmanaḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

Speakers

• Narrative description (queen’s observation implied by context)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Identification through lakṣaṇa (marks)
• Memory and recognition
• Greatness despite degradation

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Even in extreme reversal, the narrative insists on continuity: the same person endures beneath altered circumstances, inviting reflection on the difference between essence and social appearance.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Not directly pañcalakṣaṇa; it supports vaṃśānucarita-style moral biography by grounding the king’s identity in concrete narrative detail.

What is the esoteric significance?

Lakṣaṇas (marks) can be read as ‘saṃskāra-signatures’: the past (kīrti, merit, identity) leaves impressions that are not erased by present suffering.