Shloka 188
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
राजोवाच हाऽ वत्स ! सुकुमारं ते स्वक्षिभ्रूनासिकालकम् ।
पश्यतो मे मुखं दीनं हृदयं किं न दीर्यते ॥
rājovāca hā vatsa! sukumāraṃ te svakṣi-bhrū-nāsikālakam | paśyato me mukhaṃ dīnaṃ hṛdayaṃ kiṃ na dīryate ||
राजोवाच—“हा वत्स! तव कोमलं वदनं स्वनेत्रभ्रू-लघુ-नासिकायुतम्। मम दीनवदनं पश्यति चेत् कथं न हृदयं विदीर्यते?”॥
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FAQs
The verse is a vivid portrayal of karuṇa (pathos), emphasizing how love intensifies suffering when confronted with death. It functions as a moral catalyst: one must seek a meaning beyond the perishable body and beyond possessive love.
Ākhyāna; emotional narration used to lead toward later doctrinal or devotional resolution.
The ‘heart splitting’ image suggests the breaking of egoic enclosure. In a higher reading, such breaking can become the doorway to transcendence—if guided toward wisdom rather than despair.