HomeMarkandeya PuranaAdhy. 8Shloka 163
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Shloka 163

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

पतितो यमलोकाच्च विबुद्धो भयसम्भ्रमात् ।

अहो कष्टमिति ध्यात्वा क्षते क्षारावसेवनम् ॥

patito yamalokāc ca vibuddho bhayasambhramāt | aho kaṣṭam iti dhyātvā kṣate kṣārāvasevanam ||

เมื่อร่วงหล่นจากโลกของพญายม พระองค์ทรงตื่นขึ้นด้วยความหวาดกลัว ทรงรำพึงว่า 'อนิจจา ช่างทุกข์ทรมานยิ่งนัก!' พระองค์ทรงรู้สึกเจ็บปวดประดุจแผลสดที่ถูกราดด้วยน้ำเกลือ

patitaḥfallen
patitaḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√pat (धातु) + kta (क्त)
FormPast participle (भूतकृदन्त/क्त), Masculine Nominative Singular
yamalokātfrom Yama’s world
yamalokāt:
Apādāna (अपादान)
TypeNoun
Rootyama + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: यमस्य लोकः), Masculine Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन)
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
FormConjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
vibuddhaḥawoke; regained consciousness
vibuddhaḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootvi-√budh (धातु) + kta (क्त)
FormPast participle (भूतकृदन्त/क्त), Masculine Nominative Singular; ‘awakened/came to senses’
bhayasambhramātfrom fear and confusion
bhayasambhramāt:
Hetu (हेतु)
TypeNoun
Rootbhaya + sambhrama (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: भयस्य सम्भ्रमः), Masculine Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); causal ablative
ahoalas!
aho:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootaho (अव्यय)
FormExclamation (विस्मय/खेदबोधक अव्यय)
kaṣṭammisery; hardship
kaṣṭam:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkaṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); used as exclamatory predicate
itithus
iti:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootiti (अव्यय)
FormQuotative particle (इति-प्रयोग)
dhyātvāhaving thought
dhyātvā:
Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√dhyai (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
FormAbsolutive/gerund (क्त्वान्त), ‘having thought/considered’
kṣateon a wound
kṣate:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootkṣata (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); ‘on a wound’
kṣārāvasevanamapplication of alkali (caustic)
kṣārāvasevanam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootkṣāra + avasevana (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: क्षारस्य अवसेवनम्), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative Singular (प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन); action-noun ‘application/usage’
Narratorial (internal thought of the king quoted)

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

Yama (as realm referenced)
Psychological aftermath of moral terrorSomatic metaphor for sufferingAwakening/return from otherworld experience

FAQs

The moral imagination (fear of judgment) has real transformative force: the king’s awakening is marked by dread and a vivid sense of pain, driving humility and ethical seriousness. The wound-and-alkali simile makes consequences feel immediate and embodied.

Carita; a closing experiential image that seals the didactic intent of the episode.

The ‘awakening’ after Yamaloka can be read as a jolt of conscience: when karmic truth is confronted, the psyche burns like caustic on a wound—purifying but painful—prompting reorientation toward dharma.