Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
गच्छ त्वं नरकं घोरमधुनैव नराधम ।
इत्युक्तमात्रे वचने स्वप्नस्थः स नृपस्तदा ॥
gaccha tvaṃ narakaṃ ghoram adhunaiva narādhama |
ity uktamātre vacane svapnasthaḥ sa nṛpas tadā ||
“Vai agora, neste exato momento, ao terrível inferno, ó o mais vil dos homens!” Assim que essas palavras foram ditas, aquele rei encontrou-se num estado de sonho.
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The text portrays consequences as ‘immediate’ through the dream-vision motif: conscience and cosmic order do not always wait for death to instruct; suffering can manifest as psychological and visionary torment that corrects wrongdoing.
Not pancalakṣaṇa content; it is moral narrative illustrating karmaphala.
The dream-state indicates that hell is also an inner realm: when dharma is violated, the mind itself becomes the theatre where retribution is experienced, foreshadowing post-mortem states.