Shloka 44

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

Sanskrit

त्वयि राज्ञि प्रभवति सद्भावः श्रूयतामयम् । अद्य मे दक्षिणां राजन् न दास्यति भवान् यदि ॥

Transliteration

tvayi rājñi prabhavati sadbhāvaḥ śrūyatām ayam / adya me dakṣiṇāṃ rājan na dāsyati bhavān yadi //

Translation

ഹേ രാജാവേ, നിനക്കിൽ സദ്ഭാവം (ധർമ്മനിഷ്ഠ) പ്രബലമാണ്—ഇത് കേൾക്കുക. ഇന്ന് നീ എനിക്ക് എന്റെ ദക്ഷിണ നൽകാതിരുന്നാൽ, ഹേ രാജാവേ…

Word by Word

• tvayi: in you
• tvayi: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location-‘in you’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; 2nd person pronoun

• rājñi: O queen / in the queen
• rājñi: Sambodhana/Adhikarana (सम्बोधनार्थ-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājñī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; ‘queen’

• prabhavati: arises / prevails
• prabhavati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+bhū (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada; 3rd person (प्रथम-पुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• sad-bhāvaḥ: goodwill / good disposition
• sad-bhāvaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (कर्मधारय: ‘good disposition/true feeling’); Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• śrūyatām: let (it) be heard
• śrūyatām: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: Imperative/benedictive-form command (लोट्), Ātmanepada; 3rd person (प्रथम-पुरुष), Singular; passive sense ‘let it be heard’

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta/Pratipādya (प्रस्ताव्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; demonstrative pronoun

• adya: today
• adya: Kāla (काल/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb of time (कालवाचक-अव्यय)

• me: to me
• me: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dative/Genitive enclitic (4th/6th—चतुर्थी/षष्ठी), Singular; ‘to me/of me’ (context favors dative)

• dakṣiṇām: fee / honorarium (gift)
• dakṣiṇām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-अव्यय)

• dāsyati: will give
• dāsyati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: Future tense (लृट्), Parasmaipada; 3rd person (प्रथम-पुरुष), Singular

• bhavān: you (hon.)
• bhavān: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-आदरार्थ)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; honorific pronoun

• yadi: if
• yadi: Hetu (हेतु/Condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: Conditional particle (शर्तार्थक-अव्यय)

Speakers

• A petitioner/priest addressing the king (rājan) within the chapter’s narrative dialogue (exact speaker-name depends on recension/edition).

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Rājadharma
• Dāna
• Satya (keeping one’s word)
• Social ethics

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse foregrounds the king’s reputation for sadbhāva (upright intent) and implicitly tests it through the concrete duty of giving dakṣiṇā. In dharma-literature, refusal to pay a rightful/pledged dakṣiṇā is treated as a breach of satya (truthfulness) and social order, while prompt giving sustains ritual economy and the king’s moral legitimacy.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Primarily in the category of Vaṁśānucarita / ethical narrative material that often accompanies genealogical and royal accounts (ancillary to the core pañcalakṣaṇa). It is not directly sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṁśa data in this specific verse, but part of the Purāṇic narrative-ethical instruction embedded around kingship.

What is the esoteric significance?

Dakṣiṇā symbolizes the rightful circulation of merit and obligation: when authority (kṣatra) honors wisdom/ritual order (brāhmaṇa/ṛta) through giving, the cosmos is mirrored in society as harmony. The conditional ‘if you do not give’ frames dharma as lived verification—inner sadbhāva must manifest as outward action.