Shloka 107

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

Sanskrit

श्मशानं घोरसंनादं शिवाशतसमाकुलम् । शवमौलिसमाकीर्णं दुर्गन्धं बहुधूमकम् ॥

Transliteration

śmaśānaṃ ghora-saṃnādaṃ śivā-śata-samākulam / śava-mauli-samākīrṇaṃ durgandhaṃ bahu-dhūmakam

Translation

ശ്മശാനം ഭയാനക ശബ്ദങ്ങളാൽ മുഴങ്ങിക്കൊണ്ടിരുന്നു, നൂറുകണക്കിന് കുറുനരികളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞിരുന്നു; ശവശിരസ്സുകൾ ചിതറിക്കിടന്ന് ദുർഗന്ധവും പുകയും കനത്തിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• श्मशानम्: cremation ground
• श्मशानम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular (object of seeing/going, implied)

• घोरसंनादम्: with dreadful noise
• घोरसंनादम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर-संनाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (घोरः संनादः यस्य), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; qualifying śmaśānam

• शिवाशतसमाकुलम्: crowded with hundreds of jackals
• शिवाशतसमाकुलम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिवा-शत-समाकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शिवानां शतम्; तेन समाकुलम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘filled with hundreds of jackals’

• शवमौलिसमाकीर्णम्: strewn with corpse-heads
• शवमौलिसमाकीर्णम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शव-मौलि-समाकीर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शवस्य मौलिः/मौलयः; तैः समाकीर्णम्), क्त-कृदन्त (सम्-आ-√कीर् ‘to scatter’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दुर्गन्धम्: foul-smelling
• दुर्गन्धम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्गन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective used substantively/qualifying śmaśānam

• बहुधूमकम्: full of much smoke
• बहुधूमकम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु-धूमक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (बहु धूमः यस्य), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speakers

• Narrator voice

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Śmaśāna imagery
• Fear and impermanence
• Pollution/impurity motifs
• Horror-aesthetics in Purāṇic narrative

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Graphic description functions as vairāgya-producing imagery: the body’s end is smoke, stench, and scattering. It discourages attachment and exposes the fragility of social identity when confronted with death.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ākhyāna/Upākhyāna: atmospheric scene-setting within a story.

What is the esoteric significance?

The śmaśāna is a ‘truth-field’ where māyā’s beautifying veil drops. Smoke and stench signify the dissolution of form; jackals and scattered heads signify the disintegration of ego and status.