Shloka 187

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

Sanskrit

चेतः संप्राप्य राजेंद्रो राजपत्नी च तै समम् ।

विलेपतुः सुसंतप्तौ शोकभारावपीडितौ ॥

Transliteration

cetaḥ samprāpya rājendro rājapatnī ca tai samam | vilepatuḥ susantaptau śoka-bhārāv apīḍitau ||

Translation

ครั้นได้สติคืนมา พระราชาและพระมเหสีพร้อมกับพวกเขาก็คร่ำครวญ—ถูกความระทมเผาผลาญ และถูกภาระแห่งความโศกกดทับ

Word by Word

• cetaḥ: consciousness
• cetaḥ: Karma (कर्म/object of regaining)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; idiomatically ‘consciousness/senses’ as object of regaining

• samprāpya: having regained
• samprāpya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्), ‘having regained/obtained’

• rājendraḥ: the king (lord of kings)
• rājendraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; Karmadhāraya: ‘king-lord’

• rājapatnī: the queen
• rājapatnī: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + patnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st), Singular; Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी): ‘king’s wife’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• taiḥ: with them
• taiḥ: Sahakāraka (सहकारक/सह-करण; association)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• samam: together
• samam: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya usage (क्रियाविशेषण), ‘together/equally’; often with instrumental

• vilepatuḥ: they two lamented
• vilepatuḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-lap (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Dual (द्विवचन)

• su-santaptau: greatly afflicted
• su-santaptau: Karta (कर्ता; qualifier of subjects)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (अव्यय) + santapta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त from √tap)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual; Avyayībhāva: su + santapta = ‘very afflicted’; agrees with the dual subjects

• śoka-bhārau: (as) burdens of grief
• śoka-bhārau: Karta (कर्ता; qualifier in apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śoka (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual; Tatpuruṣa: ‘burden of grief’

• apīḍitau: oppressed, pressed down
• apīḍitau: Karta (कर्ता; predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-pīḍ (धातु)
• Form: Past participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Dual; predicate/qualifier of the two

Speakers

• Narrator

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Collective lament
• Sorrow as burden
• Impermanence

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Duḥkha persists even after the shock passes; the verse captures grief’s ‘weight’ as something carried. The implied lesson is the need for inner resources—dharma, wisdom, and ultimately devotion—when worldly supports fail.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Ākhyāna; it is a human drama used to teach detachment and the search for higher meaning.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘burden’ motif points to saṃskāra-weight (latent impressions) that press the mind; liberation-oriented teaching aims to lighten this through insight and surrender.