Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
नैव पुत्रो न भार्या तु तस्य वै स्मृतिगोचरे ।
नष्टोत्साहो राज्यनाशात् श्मशाने निवसंस्तदा ॥
naiva putro na bhāryā tu tasya vai smṛtigocare / naṣṭotsāho rājyanaśāt śmaśāne nivasaṃs tadā
ทั้งบุตรและมเหสีไม่ปรากฏอยู่ในขอบเขตความทรงจำของเขาเลย จิตใจเขาแตกสลายเพราะสูญเสียราชอาณาจักร แล้วจึงไปอาศัยอยู่ ณ ป่าช้า
{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
The verse underscores how attachment to external power can hollow the inner self; when the outer structure collapses, one may lose even relational memory—hence the Purāṇic insistence on cultivating inner dharma and devotion.
Carita/didactic narrative; functions as moral illustration rather than pancalakṣaṇa enumeration.
Cremation-ground dwelling signals liminality: the ego-king is ‘dead’ though alive; the stripping away of family-memory suggests the dissolution of nāma-rūpa identity, preparing (in narrative logic) for a turning toward higher refuge.