Shloka 53
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
पक्षिण ऊचुः अथ वृद्धो द्विजः कश्चिदागत्याह नराधिपम् ।
समर्पयस्व मे दासीमहम् क्रेता धनप्रदः ॥
pakṣiṇa ūcuḥ atha vṛddho dvijaḥ kaścid āgatyāha narādhipam | samarpayasva me dāsīm ahaṃ kretā dhanapradaḥ ||
Disseram as aves: Então veio um brāhmaṇa idoso e disse ao rei: “Entrega-me a serva; eu sou o comprador e pagarei o dinheiro.”
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FAQs
The verse sets up a dharma-case before the king: an elderly brāhmaṇa asserts a transactional claim (“I am the buyer; I will pay”). In the Purāṇic ethical frame, such claims are not resolved merely by force or status, but by examination of rightful ownership, consent, and the king’s duty to protect subjects and uphold fairness in disputes.
This is not primarily sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṁśa/vaṁśānucarita material. It fits best as ancillary dharma-upadeśa and narrative illustration embedded in the Purāṇa’s broader discourse—often accompanying vaṁśānucarita-style storytelling, but here functioning chiefly as rajadharma instruction.
On a symbolic level, the ‘king’ represents discriminative authority (viveka) and societal order, while the ‘claimant’ and the ‘transaction’ represent competing assertions of right and desire. The narrative frame urges that authority must be guided by dharma (principled order) rather than by mere assertion, payment, or social identity.