Shloka 12
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
पक्षिण ऊचुः इत्युक्त्वा प्रययौ विप्रो राजा चाचिन्तयत् तदा ।
कथमस्मै प्रदास्यामि दक्षिणां या प्रतिश्रुता ॥
pakṣiṇa ūcuḥ ity uktvā prayayau vipro rājā cācintayat tadā | katham asmai pradāsyāmi dakṣiṇāṁ yā pratiśrutā ||
పక్షులు అన్నాయి—అలా చెప్పి ఆ బ్రాహ్మణుడు వెళ్లిపోయాడు. అప్పుడు రాజు ఆలోచించాడు—నేను వాగ్దానం చేసిన దక్షిణను అతనికి ఎలా ఇవ్వాలి?
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FAQs
A ruler’s integrity is tested not in grand declarations but in keeping specific commitments. The verse highlights satya and ṛṇa (obligation): once a dakṣiṇā is promised to a brāhmaṇa, the king must find a righteous means to fulfill it, treating the pledge as binding dharma rather than optional charity.
This verse functions primarily under vṛtti/ācāra-oriented dharma narration rather than cosmological pancalakṣaṇa. If mapped loosely, it aligns most with 'vaṃśānucarita' in the broader sense of exemplary conduct of kings (rāja-ācāra) used as instructive narrative within the Purāṇa.
The departing brāhmaṇa can be read as the outward movement of time/opportunity: once the moment of promise passes, only inner resolve (the king’s introspection) can restore harmony. Dakṣiṇā symbolizes the energy that must be returned to the sacred (yajña/knowledge); withholding it creates inner dissonance, while honoring it restores order (ṛta) in the individual and the polity.