Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
कृतः पुण्यविनाशेन ब्राह्मणस्वापनाशनात् ।
यदा न क्षमते तेषां तैः स शप्तो रुषा तदा ॥
kṛtaḥ puṇyavināśena brāhmaṇa-svāpanāśanāt |
yadā na kṣamate teṣāṃ taiḥ sa śapto ruṣā tadā ||
பிராமணர்களின் அமைதி-இளைப்பாற்றலைக் குலைத்ததால் அவன் புண்ணியநாசத்திற்குத் தள்ளப்பட்டான். அவர்கள் இனி பொறுக்க முடியாதபோது, கோபத்தில் அவனைச் சபித்தனர்।
{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
Merit is fragile when one violates the peace of the virtuous; repeated disrespect erodes puṇya and culminates in moral ‘reaction’ (here dramatized as a curse). The verse also highlights the limit of forbearance (kṣamā) when dharma is continually attacked.
Didactic narrative outside strict pancalakṣaṇa; it functions as dharma-upadeśa embedded in story (closest to vaṃśānucarita-style moral history).
‘Destroying sleep/repose’ symbolizes disturbing inner stillness (śānti) in oneself and others; the curse represents the psyche’s inevitable rebound when harmony is violated.