Shloka 144
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
ततो निपातितो भूमौ विष्ठाशी श्वा व्यजायत । वान्ताशी शीतदग्धश्च मासमात्रे मृतोऽपि सः ॥
tato nipātito bhūmau viṣṭhāśī śvā vyajāyata / vāntāśī śītadagdhaś ca māsamātre mṛto 'pi saḥ
ततः स भूमौ निपातितः श्वा भूत्वा विष्ठाभक्षोऽभवत्। वान्ताशनः शीतदग्धः मासमात्रेणैव ममार॥
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FAQs
The verse depicts the harsh fruition of adharma: consciousness is driven into degrading embodiments where life is brief and painful. It functions as a warning that status and power cannot shield one from karmic consequence.
Primarily within Vamśānucarita / narrative exemplum (ethical history/illustration) rather than Sarga/Pratisarga proper; it is a didactic episode teaching karmaphala through story.
The ‘low foods’ (feces, vomit) symbolize the mind’s fall into tamas and compulsive consumption; ‘burned by cold’ conveys the torment of embodiment when inner dharma-heat (tapas) is absent.