Shloka 143

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

Sanskrit

एवं दिनं वर्षशत-प्रमाणं नरकेऽभवत् ।

तथा वर्षशतं तत्र श्रीवितं नरके भटैः ॥

Transliteration

evaṃ dinaṃ varṣaśata-pramāṇaṃ narake 'bhavat |

tathā varṣaśataṃ tatra śrīvitaṃ narake bhaṭaiḥ ||

Translation

یوں وہاں دوزخ میں ایک ہی دن سو برس کے برابر ہو گیا۔ اسی طرح یم کے فرشتوں کے ہاتھوں عذاب سہتے ہوئے اس نے دوزخ میں سو برس ‘جینے’ کے مانند گزارے۔

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/प्रकारवाचक)

• dinam: a day
• dinam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), द्वितीया (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• varṣaśata-pramāṇam: measured as a hundred years
• varṣaśata-pramāṇam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: varṣaśata + pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘having the measure of a hundred years’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), द्वितीया (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc), सप्तमी (locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• abhavat: became, was
• abhavat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (singular)

• tathā: likewise, so
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/प्रकारवाचक)

• varṣaśatam: a hundred years
• varṣaśatam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣaśata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास, नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), द्वितीया (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/स्थानवाचक)

• śrīvitam: (unclear; possibly ‘made to hear/announced’ or ‘endured’)
• śrīvitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrīvita (प्रातिपदिक; uncertain reading)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), द्वितीया (accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular); पाठभेद-सन्देह: सम्भवतः ‘श्रावितम्/श्रीवितम्’ (meaning unclear)

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc), सप्तमी (locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• bhaṭaiḥ: by the guards/soldiers
• bhaṭaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc), तृतीया (instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (plural)

Speakers

• Narrator

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Time dilation in other realms
• Severity of karmic suffering
• Naraka administration (guards/attendants)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse intensifies accountability by portraying disproportionate time-experience: a brief moral lapse can yield vast experiential consequence, urging vigilance in conduct and restraint toward adharmic impulses.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Not pancalakṣaṇa; it is naraka-kāla (hell-time) description used for dharma instruction.

What is the esoteric significance?

Time dilation suggests that in subtler states, experience is mind-dense: a single ‘day’ can contain enormous suffering because consciousness is fully exposed to its own karmic impressions without ordinary distractions.