Shloka 61
Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory
तां तथा ताडितां दृष्ट्वा हरिश्चन्द्रो महीपतिः ।
गच्छामीत्याह दुःखार्तो नान्यत् किञ्चिदुदाहरत् ॥
tāṃ tathā tāḍitāṃ dṛṣṭvā hariścandro mahīpatiḥ /
gacchāmītyāha duḥkhārto nānyat kiñcid udāharat //
तां तथा ताडितां दृष्ट्वा राजा हरिश्चन्द्रः शोकपीडितोऽब्रवीत्—‘गच्छामि’ इति; नान्यद् उवाच।
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FAQs
The verse highlights grief disciplined by resolve: Hariścandra, on witnessing unjust suffering, does not indulge in elaborate speech but chooses immediate action. It models dharmic restraint (vāg-niyama) and the priority of responding to adharma with decisive conduct rather than rhetoric.
This passage aligns most closely with Vaṃśānucarita (accounts of dynasties/royal lineages and exemplary kings) rather than sarga/pratisarga/manvantara. It is an ethical-illustrative royal narrative used to teach dharma through exemplary biography.
On a symbolic level, the ‘beaten woman’ can represent afflicted dharma (or the vulnerable self under karmic pressure), while the king’s terse “I go” signifies the inner resolve (saṅkalpa) that precedes right action. Silence here is not helplessness but concentrated will, turning suffering into a catalyst for dharmic movement.