Shloka 137

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

Sanskrit

गच्छ त्वं नरकं घोरमधुनैव नराधम ।

इत्युक्तमात्रे वचने स्वप्नस्थः स नृपस्तदा ॥

Transliteration

gaccha tvaṃ narakaṃ ghoram adhunaiva narādhama |

ity uktamātre vacane svapnasthaḥ sa nṛpas tadā ||

Translation

“ຈົ່ງໄປດຽວນີ້ ໃນຂະນະນີ້ເທົ່ານັ້ນ ສູ່ນະລົກອັນນ່າຢ້ານ ໂອ ຄົນຕໍ່າຊ້າທີ່ສຸດ!” ເມື່ອຄໍານັ້ນຖືກກ່າວຈົບ ພຣະຣາຊານັ້ນກໍເຂົ້າສູ່ສະພາບດັ່ງຄວາມຝັນທັນທີ।

Word by Word

• gaccha: go
• gaccha: Kriyā (क्रिया/Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd Person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); parasmaipada

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता/Agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• narakam: to hell
• narakam: Karma (कर्म/Goal object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ghoram: terrible
• ghoram: Karma (कर्म/Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); qualifying ‘narakam’

• adhunā: now
• adhunā: Kāla (काल/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhunā (अव्यय)
• Form: Temporal adverb (कालवाचक-अव्यय) ‘now’

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निपात) ‘indeed/just’

• narādhama: O lowest of men
• narādhama: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Vocative address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara-adhama (प्रातिपदिक; नर + अधम)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारय-समास (‘adhamaḥ naraḥ’)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (उद्धरण-निपात) marking direct speech

• ukta-mātre: at the mere utterance
• ukta-mātre: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location-time circumstance)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ukta-mātra (प्रातिपदिक; उक्त + मात्र)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष (‘ukte mātre’ = at the mere utterance)

• vacane: in the words
• vacane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Locative circumstance)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• svapna-sthaḥ: being in a dream
• svapna-sthaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svapna-stha (प्रातिपदिक; स्वप्न + स्थ)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष (‘svapne sthitaḥ’ = situated in sleep/dream)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• nṛpaḥ: the king
• nṛpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (काल/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Temporal adverb (कालवाचक-अव्यय) ‘then’

Speakers

• Brāhmaṇas (uttering the curse); narrative voice reports the result

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Śāpa (curse)
• Naraka
• Dream-vision as moral revelation
• Immediate karmic repercussion (narrative device)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The text portrays consequences as ‘immediate’ through the dream-vision motif: conscience and cosmic order do not always wait for death to instruct; suffering can manifest as psychological and visionary torment that corrects wrongdoing.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Not pancalakṣaṇa content; it is moral narrative illustrating karmaphala.

What is the esoteric significance?

The dream-state indicates that hell is also an inner realm: when dharma is violated, the mind itself becomes the theatre where retribution is experienced, foreshadowing post-mortem states.