Shloka 106

Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala

Sanskrit

इति प्रतिसमादिष्टो जगाम शवमन्दिरम् । दिशन्तु दक्षिणां यत्र वाराणस्यां स्थितं तदा ॥

Transliteration

iti pratisamādiṣṭo jagāma śava-mandiram / diśaṃ tu dakṣiṇāṃ yatra vārāṇasyāṃ sthitaṃ tadā

Translation

ครั้นได้รับคำสั่งสอนดังนั้น เขาจึงไปยัง “เรือนศพ” คือป่าช้าเผาศพ ที่นั้นในกาลนั้นอยู่ทางทิศใต้ ณ เมืองพาราณสี

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: सम्बन्ध (Quotation marker/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय; quotative particle

• प्रतिसमादिष्टः: having been instructed
• प्रतिसमादिष्टः: विशेषण (Adjectival to implied subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रति-सम्-आ-√दिश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘having been duly instructed/commanded’

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: क्रिया (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्शभूत/Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; ‘went’

• शवमन्दिरम्: to the corpse-house (charnel place)
• शवमन्दिरम्: कर्म (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शव-मन्दिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शवस्य मन्दिरम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• दिशन्: pointing/showing
• दिशन्: कर्ता (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दिश् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; present active participle ‘pointing/showing’

• तु: indeed
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; emphatic

• दक्षिणाम्: the southern direction
• दक्षिणाम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular (direction)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: अधिकरण (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक-अव्यय; relative adverb ‘where’

• वाराणस्याम्: in Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याम्: अधिकरण (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; Locative singular

• स्थितम्: situated
• स्थितम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘situated/located’ (agreeing with implied ‘शवमन्दिरम्’)

• तदा: then
• तदा: कालाधिकरण (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय; adverb ‘then/at that time’

Speakers

• Narrator voice

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Sacred geography (Vārāṇasī/Kāśī)
• Cremation-ground as narrative setting
• Directional symbolism (south as Yama/death quarter)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The move to Kāśī’s cremation-ground intensifies the confrontation with mortality. Kāśī is a famed liminal sacred space—holy yet closely tied to death rites—supporting a theme that spiritual insight often arises where fear and impurity are faced directly.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ākhyāna/Upākhyāna with a tīrtha/geography flavor, but not a full tīrtha-māhātmya section in the excerpt.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘southern direction’ evokes Yama’s quarter and the path of the departed. Going southward to the śmaśāna can symbolize a deliberate entry into the domain of death to test resolve and discernment.