Shloka 141

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

Sanskrit

सप्तवर्षं मृतात्मानं पुक्कसत्वे ददर्श ह ।

दिनं दिनन्तु नरके दह्यते पच्यतेऽन्यतः ॥

Transliteration

saptavarṣaṃ mṛtātmānaṃ pukkasatve dadarśa ha |

dinaṃ dinantu narake dahyate pacyate 'nyataḥ ||

Translation

For seven years he saw that dead-souled one in the state of a pukkasa. Day after day in hell, he is burned; elsewhere he is cooked.

Speakers

• Narrator (continuing the vision report; ‘he saw’ refers to the king in the dream-vision)

Key Themes

• Duration of karmic suffering
• Repeated torments
• Degraded rebirth/state
• Naraka mechanics