Shloka 72
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
विश्वामित्रस्ततः प्राप्तो नृपं वित्तमयाचत ।
तस्मै समर्पयामास हरिश्चन्द्रोऽपि तद्धनम् ॥
viśvāmitras tataḥ prāpto nṛpaṃ vittam ayācata /
tasmai samarpayāmāsa hariścandro 'pi taddhanam //
అప్పుడు విశ్వామిత్రుడు వచ్చి రాజును ధనం అడిగాడు; హరిశ్చంద్రుడూ ఆ ధనాన్ని అతనికి సమర్పించాడు.
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FAQs
The verse highlights the king’s readiness to give when approached by a sage—an emblem of rājadharma joined to dāna. In the Harīścandra cycle, such giving is not mere generosity but a deliberate endurance of hardship to preserve virtue (especially truthfulness and fidelity to one’s pledged duty).
This passage is primarily narrative instruction supportive of Dharma within the Purana’s didactic storytelling, rather than a direct treatment of sarga/pratisarga. It aligns most closely with the Purana’s ethical-illustrative function often embedded alongside vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita (dynastic and exemplary royal accounts).
Viśvāmitra’s demand and the king’s surrender of wealth can be read as an inner renunciation: ‘wealth’ symbolizes grasping and ego-security, while the sage functions as the force that extracts attachment. The act of handing it over signifies purification through voluntary loss, preparing the aspirant (or ruler) for steadfastness under more severe trials.