Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
विश्वामित्रे गते राजा भयशोकाब्धिमध्यगः ।
सर्वाकारं विनिश्चित्य प्रोवाचोच्चैरधोमुखः ॥
viśvāmitre gate rājā bhayaśokābdhimadhyagaḥ | sarvākāraṃ viniścitya provācoccair adhomukhaḥ ||
విశ్వామిత్రుడు వెళ్లిపోయిన తరువాత రాజు భయశోకసముద్రంలో మునిగి, అన్ని విషయాలలో దృఢనిశ్చయం చేసుకొని, ముఖం వంచి గట్టిగా పలికెను।
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The verse captures a dharmic psychological pivot: intense grief and fear can become the condition that drives a person toward decisive inquiry and truthful speech. The downcast face indicates humility and inner rupture—often the prerequisite for receiving higher instruction.
Primarily Itihāsa/Upākhyāna within the Purāṇic narrative method (supporting instruction through story). It is not directly Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara/Vaṃśa/Vaṃśānucarita in this single verse, though it contributes to the broader didactic arc that the Purāṇa conveys through royal line and exemplary conduct.
‘Ocean of fear and grief’ symbolizes saṃsāric turbulence; ‘having resolved on every point’ suggests the mind moving from scattered vṛttis toward ekāgratā (one-pointedness). The downcast gaze can signify introversion (pratyāhāra-like withdrawal), a preparatory state before transformative knowledge—here, the narrative movement toward Devī-centered insight.