Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
इमे प्राणाः सुतश्चायमियं पत्नी मुने मम ।
येन ते कृत्यमस्त्याशु तद्गृहाणार्घ्यमुत्तमम् ॥
ime prāṇāḥ sutaś cāyam iyaṃ patnī mune mama | yena te kṛtyam asty āśu tad gṛhāṇārghyam uttamam ||
“Ito ang mismong hininga ng aking buhay; ito ang aking anak na lalaki, at ito ang aking asawa, O pantas. Anumang gawain ang nasa iyo—mangyaring tanggapin agad ang marangal na arghya na ito (handog ng paggalang).”
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The verse foregrounds dharmic etiquette: when approaching a venerable person (or the divine), one begins with honor (arghya) and humility. The speaker also signals total sincerity—calling family and even ‘life-breaths’ as witness—suggesting that true supplication is backed by responsibility, not mere words.
This verse is not primarily sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vamsha/vamshanucharita in content. It belongs to narrative-dharma instruction embedded in the Purana’s kathā style; at best it supports dharma as an applied ethic within the larger vamśānucarita/kathā framework of the text.
‘Prāṇa’ here can be read symbolically: the devotee offers the inner vitality (life-force) along with household ties (son, wife). Esoterically, it suggests that approaching the sacred requires the alignment (and offering) of one’s vital energies and worldly attachments—placing them under the discipline of reverence and right action (arghya as outward sign of inner surrender).