Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
अग्नेश्चटचटाशब्दो वयसामस्थिपङ्क्तिषु ।
बान्धवाक्रन्दशब्दश्च पुक्कसेषु प्रहर्षजः ॥
agneś caṭacaṭā-śabdo vayasām asthi-paṅktiṣu /
bāndhavākranda-śabdaś ca pukkaseṣu praharṣajaḥ
अस्थिपङ्क्तिषु गृध्रसमाकीर्णासु वह्नेरिव स्फुटितध्वनिरभवत्; पुक्कसादिषु च स्वजनविलापसदृशो ध्वनिरुत्थितः, स तु घोरानन्दसमुद्भवः।
{ "primaryRasa": "bibhatsa", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
The verse intensifies vairāgya (dispassion) through śmaśāna-darśana: worldly identity and social order collapse in the face of death; fear and fascination arise together, warning against attachment and heedlessness.
Primarily narrative embellishment rather than a direct pañcalakṣaṇa unit; it supports later dharma/itihāsa-style instruction by setting a stark moral atmosphere (closest to vaṃśānucarita/ākhyāna usage).
Śmaśāna symbolizes the threshold where ordinary norms dissolve; the ‘wailing’ that is actually ‘delight-born’ points to inverted consciousness—tamasic beings revel where sattvic minds recoil.