Shloka 28

Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala

Sanskrit

इत्युक्त्वा स नरश्रेष्ठो धिग्धिगित्यसकृद्ब्रुवन् ।

निपपात महीपृष्ठे मूर्च्छयाभिपरिप्लुतः ॥

Transliteration

ity uktvā sa naraśreṣṭho dhig dhig ity asakṛd bruvan |

nipapāta mahīpṛṣṭhe mūrcchayābhipariplutaḥ ||

Translation

एवमुक्त्वा स नरश्रेष्ठः पुनः पुनः ‘धिक् धिक्’ इति वदन् मूर्च्छाप्लुतो भूमितले पपात।

Speakers

• Narrative voice within the Devi Mahatmyam frame (storytelling context; not a direct dialogue verse)

Key Themes

• Despair and self-reproach (dhik-dhik)
• Psychological collapse after defeat
• Māyā and the turning of fortune (contextual to Devī Mahatmyam)