Shloka 1
Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे बलदेवब्रह्महत्यानाम षष्ठोऽध्यायः ।
सप्तमोऽध्यायः ।
धर्मपक्षिण ऊचुः—
हरिश्चन्द्र इति राजर्षिरासीत्त्रेतायुगे पुरा ।
धर्मात्मा पृथिवीपालः प्रोल्लसत्कीर्तिरुत्तमः ॥
iti śrī-mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇe baladeva-brahmahatyā-nāma ṣaṣṭho 'dhyāyaḥ |
saptamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
dharmapakṣiṇa ūcuḥ—
hariścandra iti rājarṣir āsīt tretāyuge purā |
dharmātmā pṛthivīpālaḥ prollasat-kīrtir uttamaḥ ||
Sa gayon nagwakas ang ikaanim na kabanata ng Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, na pinamagatang “Si Baladeva at ang (kasalanan ng) pagpatay sa Brahmana.” Ngayon nagsisimula ang ikapitong kabanata. Wika ng mga ibong Dharma: “Noon, sa kapanahunan ng Tretā, may isang haring-ṛṣi na nagngangalang Hariścandra—likás na matuwid, tagapangalaga ng daigdig, at ang kanyang dakilang katanyagan ay nagniningning nang maliwanag.”
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FAQs
The verse sets Hariścandra up as a paradigm of dharma in rulership: a king becomes ‘rājarṣi’ not by power alone but by truthfulness, protection of subjects, and steadfast righteousness—qualities that generate enduring kīrti (renown) as a moral consequence.
This is primarily within Vaṁśa/Carita (genealogy/royal narrative and exemplary lives): it introduces a famed king in a specific yuga to unfold a dharma-centered story. It is not directly sarga/pratisarga/manvantara, though it uses the yuga time-marker typical of Purāṇic historiography.
Hariścandra’s ‘shining fame’ (prollasat-kīrti) symbolizes the inner luminosity born of satya and dharma; in Purāṇic pedagogy, such a figure functions as a mirror for the listener—teaching that moral integrity itself becomes a protective ‘sovereignty’ over one’s life and legacy.