Shloka 1
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे द्रौपदेयोत्पत्तिर्नाम सप्तमोऽध्यायः ।
अष्टमोऽध्यायः ।
जैमिनिरुवाच ।
भवद्भिरिदमाख्यातं यथाप्रश्नमनुक्रमात् ।
महत् कौतूहलं मेऽस्ति हरिश्चन्द्रकथां प्रति ॥
iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe draupadeyotpattirnāma saptamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
aṣṭamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
jaiminiruvāca |
bhavadbhiridamākhyātaṃ yathāpraśnamanukramāt |
mahat kautūhalaṃ me 'sti hariścandra kathāṃ prati ||
یوں شری مارکنڈےیہ پران میں ‘دروپدیہ جنم’ نامی ساتواں ادھیائے ختم ہوا۔ اب آٹھواں ادھیائے شروع ہوتا ہے۔ جَیمِنی نے کہا—آپ نے میرے سوالوں کے مطابق ترتیب سے سب کچھ بیان کیا؛ تاہم ہریش چندر کی کہانی کے بارے میں میرے دل میں ایک بڑی جستجو باقی ہے۔
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FAQs
The verse models the dhārmic method of learning: attentive listening, verifying that the teaching answers the question in proper sequence, and then extending inquiry toward a paradigmatic narrative (Hariścandra) traditionally used to examine satya (truthfulness), dāna (giving), and adherence to vow under extreme trial.
Primarily it functions as a narrative hinge within the Purāṇic ‘vaṃśānucarita/ākhyāna’ mode (accounts of exemplary lineages and persons). It is not directly sarga/pratisarga; rather it signals transition into an itihāsa-like moral history centered on a righteous king.
The ‘kautūhala’ (burning curiosity) symbolizes the inner readiness (adhikāra) for dharma-śikṣā: the listener’s mind must be stirred toward the archetype of satya. Hariścandra, as a symbol of unwavering truth, becomes a mirror for the aspirant’s commitment to integrity even when identity, status, and possessions are stripped away.