Shloka 194

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

Sanskrit

एकमुक्त्वा तमादाय बालकं बाष्पगद्गदः ।

परिष्वज्य च निष्चेष्टो मूर्च्छया निपपात ह ॥

Transliteration

ekam uktvā tam ādāya bālakaṃ bāṣpa-gadgadaḥ |

pariṣvajya ca niśceṣṭo mūrcchayā nipapāta ha ||

Translation

ഒരു വാക്ക് പറഞ്ഞ് അവൻ കുഞ്ഞിനെ എടുത്തു. കണ്ണീരാൽ കണ്ഠം മുട്ടി; അവനെ ചേർത്തുപിടിച്ച് നിശ്ചലനായി, മൂർച്ച്ഛിതനായി നിലത്തു വീണു.

Word by Word

• ekam: one (thing/word)
• ekam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used as object/measure ‘one (word/thing)’

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण; pūrvakāla)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), from √vac ‘to speak’; prior action ‘having said’

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ādāya: having taken
• ādāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण; pūrvakāla)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√dā (धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यबन्त/ल्यपन्त), from ā-√dā ‘to take’; ‘having taken’

• bālakam: the boy/child
• bālakam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• bāṣpa-gadgadaḥ: choked with tears
• bāṣpa-gadgadaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bāṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + gadgada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-भाव: ‘with voice choked by tears’

• pariṣvajya: having embraced
• pariṣvajya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण; pūrvakāla)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√svaj (धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यपन्त), from pari-√svaj ‘to embrace’; ‘having embraced’

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

• niśceṣṭaḥ: motionless
• niśceṣṭaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niśceṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• mūrcchayā: by/with a swoon
• mūrcchayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrcchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• nipapāta: fell down
• nipapāta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√pat (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); parasmaipada

• ha: indeed/then
• ha: Prayojaka-nipāta (निपात; emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ha (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), narrative emphasis

Speakers

• Narrator (frame-speaker not specified in input); action centered on Hariścandra

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Grief (śoka)
• Human suffering amid dharma-testing
• Impermanence
• Pathos in Purāṇic narrative

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse depicts grief overwhelming even a great person, underscoring the Purāṇic emphasis that worldly bonds (putra-sneha) can shake the mind; endurance and dharma are tested precisely where attachment is strongest.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Primarily not pañcalakṣaṇa material; it belongs to ākhyāna (didactic narrative) used by Purāṇas to teach dharma through exemplary lives rather than sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita directly.

What is the esoteric significance?

The swoon (mūrcchā) signals the collapse of egoic control under saṃsāric shock; the cremation-ground setting (implicit in surrounding verses) functions as a liminal space where truth about impermanence becomes unavoidable.