Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 8, Shloka 188
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
राजोवाच हाऽ वत्स ! सुकुमारं ते स्वक्षिभ्रूनासिकालकम् ।
पश्यतो मे मुखं दीनं हृदयं किं न दीर्यते ॥
rājovāca hā vatsa! sukumāraṃ te svakṣi-bhrū-nāsikālakam | paśyato me mukhaṃ dīnaṃ hṛdayaṃ kiṃ na dīryate ||
ਰਾਜਾ ਬੋਲਿਆ: “ਹਾਇ ਮੇਰੇ ਬੱਚੇ! ਤੇਰਾ ਨਰਮ ਮੁਖੜਾ—ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਅੱਖਾਂ, ਭੌਂਹਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਛੋਟੀ ਨੱਕ ਸਮੇਤ—ਜਦ ਮੇਰੇ ਦੁਖੀ ਚਿਹਰੇ ਵੱਲ ਤੱਕਦਾ ਹੈ, ਤਾਂ ਮੇਰਾ ਦਿਲ ਕਿਉਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਚੀਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ?”
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FAQs
The verse is a vivid portrayal of karuṇa (pathos), emphasizing how love intensifies suffering when confronted with death. It functions as a moral catalyst: one must seek a meaning beyond the perishable body and beyond possessive love.
Ākhyāna; emotional narration used to lead toward later doctrinal or devotional resolution.
The ‘heart splitting’ image suggests the breaking of egoic enclosure. In a higher reading, such breaking can become the doorway to transcendence—if guided toward wisdom rather than despair.