Shloka 28
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
इत्युक्त्वा स नरश्रेष्ठो धिग्धिगित्यसकृद्ब्रुवन् ।
निपपात महीपृष्ठे मूर्च्छयाभिपरिप्लुतः ॥
ity uktvā sa naraśreṣṭho dhig dhig ity asakṛd bruvan |
nipapāta mahīpṛṣṭhe mūrcchayābhipariplutaḥ ||
இவ்வாறு கூறிய அந்த நரசிறந்தவன் மீண்டும் மீண்டும் “திக்! திக்!” என்று சொல்லிக்கொண்டே மயக்கத்தில் ஆழ்ந்து நிலத்தளத்தில் விழுந்தான்।
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FAQs
The verse portrays the inner consequence of adharma and hubris: when one’s self-justifying pride collapses, it can turn into intense self-reproach (“dhik-dhik”) and mental breakdown. In the Devi Mahatmyam’s moral universe, defeat is not merely physical; it is also the unraveling of delusion and arrogance.
This verse belongs to the puranic narrative (vaṃśānucarita/ākhyāna-type material) rather than the core cosmological fivefold topics. Within pancalakṣaṇa mapping, it is best tagged under illustrative narrative used to teach dharma and the working of divine power, not under sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa as a primary datum.
The repeated “dhik-dhik” signifies the moment the ego turns against itself—an inward combustion of tamas and rajas when their outward project fails. The fainting (mūrcchā) can be read symbolically as the collapse of the limited self when confronted with the inescapable sovereignty of Devī (Mahāmāyā), who governs both delusion and its dissolution.