Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
सूर्यवंशप्रसूतो 'यं सुकुमारकराङ्गुलिः ।
सम्प्राप्तो विक्रयं बालो धिङ्मामस्तु सुदुर्मतिम् ॥
sūryavaṃśaprasūto 'yaṃ sukumārakarāṅguliḥ /
samprāpto vikrayaṃ bālo dhiṅ mām astu sudurmatim
हा बालक—सूर्यवंशात जन्मलेला, कोमल हात व बोटांचा—विक्रीसाठी आला आहे। धिक् मला, माझ्या विपर्यस्त बुद्धीला!
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The verse stages a sharp moral shock: even one born to a revered lineage can be reduced to commodification when adharma prevails. The speaker’s self-censure (“dhiṅ mām”) models conscience—recognizing complicity and repudiating the mindset that treats a vulnerable child as property.
Primarily Vamśa (genealogy/lineage) by invoking the Sūryavaṃśa, and secondarily Dharma-oriented Itihāsa-style narrative instruction (upadeśa through story). It is not directly Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara in this single verse.
Symbolically, “Solar dynasty” implies innate luminosity/royal dharma, while “tender fingers” evokes unformed potential. The ‘sale’ becomes an image of the soul’s dignity being traded away under delusion; the turning point is the inner voice that condemns that delusion, the first movement back toward dharma.