Shloka 194

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

Sanskrit

एकमुक्त्वा तमादाय बालकं बाष्पगद्गदः ।

परिष्वज्य च निष्चेष्टो मूर्च्छया निपपात ह ॥

Transliteration

ekam uktvā tam ādāya bālakaṃ bāṣpa-gadgadaḥ |

pariṣvajya ca niśceṣṭo mūrcchayā nipapāta ha ||

Translation

ایک لفظ کہہ کر اُس نے بچے کو اٹھا لیا۔ آنسوؤں سے آواز بھرّا گئی؛ اسے گلے لگا کر وہ ساکت ہو گیا اور غشی طاری ہو کر زمین پر گر پڑا۔

Word by Word

• ekam: one (thing/word)
• ekam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used as object/measure ‘one (word/thing)’

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण; pūrvakāla)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), from √vac ‘to speak’; prior action ‘having said’

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ādāya: having taken
• ādāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण; pūrvakāla)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√dā (धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यबन्त/ल्यपन्त), from ā-√dā ‘to take’; ‘having taken’

• bālakam: the boy/child
• bālakam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• bāṣpa-gadgadaḥ: choked with tears
• bāṣpa-gadgadaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bāṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + gadgada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-भाव: ‘with voice choked by tears’

• pariṣvajya: having embraced
• pariṣvajya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण; pūrvakāla)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√svaj (धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यपन्त), from pari-√svaj ‘to embrace’; ‘having embraced’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध; coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

• niśceṣṭaḥ: motionless
• niśceṣṭaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niśceṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• mūrcchayā: by/with a swoon
• mūrcchayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrcchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• nipapāta: fell down
• nipapāta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√pat (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); parasmaipada

• ha: indeed/then
• ha: Prayojaka-nipāta (निपात; emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ha (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), narrative emphasis

Speakers

• Narrator (frame-speaker not specified in input); action centered on Hariścandra

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Grief (śoka)
• Human suffering amid dharma-testing
• Impermanence
• Pathos in Purāṇic narrative

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse depicts grief overwhelming even a great person, underscoring the Purāṇic emphasis that worldly bonds (putra-sneha) can shake the mind; endurance and dharma are tested precisely where attachment is strongest.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Primarily not pañcalakṣaṇa material; it belongs to ākhyāna (didactic narrative) used by Purāṇas to teach dharma through exemplary lives rather than sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita directly.

What is the esoteric significance?

The swoon (mūrcchā) signals the collapse of egoic control under saṃsāric shock; the cremation-ground setting (implicit in surrounding verses) functions as a liminal space where truth about impermanence becomes unavoidable.