Shloka 143

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

Sanskrit

एवं दिनं वर्षशत-प्रमाणं नरकेऽभवत् ।

तथा वर्षशतं तत्र श्रीवितं नरके भटैः ॥

Transliteration

evaṃ dinaṃ varṣaśata-pramāṇaṃ narake 'bhavat |

tathā varṣaśataṃ tatra śrīvitaṃ narake bhaṭaiḥ ||

Translation

Thus a single day there in hell amounted to a hundred years. Likewise, there he ‘lived’ a hundred years in hell, (handled) by the attendants/executioners.

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/प्रकारवाचक)

• dinam: a day
• dinam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), द्वितीया (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• varṣaśata-pramāṇam: measured as a hundred years
• varṣaśata-pramāṇam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: varṣaśata + pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘having the measure of a hundred years’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), द्वितीया (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc), सप्तमी (locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• abhavat: became, was
• abhavat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (singular)

• tathā: likewise, so
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/प्रकारवाचक)

• varṣaśatam: a hundred years
• varṣaśatam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣaśata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), द्वितीया (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/स्थानवाचक)

• śrīvitam: (unclear; possibly ‘made to hear/announced’ or ‘endured’)
• śrīvitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrīvita (प्रातिपदिक; uncertain reading)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), द्वितीया (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular); पाठभेद-सन्देह: सम्भवतः ‘श्रावितम्/श्रीवितम्’ (meaning unclear)

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc), सप्तमी (locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• bhaṭaiḥ: by the guards/soldiers
• bhaṭaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc), तृतीया (instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (plural)

Speakers

• Narrator

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Time dilation in other realms
• Severity of karmic suffering
• Naraka administration (guards/attendants)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse intensifies accountability by portraying disproportionate time-experience: a brief moral lapse can yield vast experiential consequence, urging vigilance in conduct and restraint toward adharmic impulses.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Not pancalakṣaṇa; it is naraka-kāla (hell-time) description used for dharma instruction.

What is the esoteric significance?

Time dilation suggests that in subtler states, experience is mind-dense: a single ‘day’ can contain enormous suffering because consciousness is fully exposed to its own karmic impressions without ordinary distractions.