Shloka 82
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
कृष्णो लम्बोदरः पिङ्गरूक्षाक्षः परुषाक्षरः ।
गृहीतपक्षिपुञ्जश्च शवमाल्यैरलङ्कृतः ॥
kṛṣṇo lambodaraḥ piṅgarūkṣākṣaḥ paruṣākṣaraḥ /
gṛhītapakṣipuñjaś ca śavamālyair alaṅkṛtaḥ
وہ سیاہ رنگ، توند والا، زردی مائل اور سخت آنکھوں والا، اور کھردری، کرخت آواز والا تھا۔ اس کے ہاتھ میں پرندوں کا گچھا تھا اور وہ لاشوں کی مالاؤں سے آراستہ تھا۔
FAQs
The verse typifies the asuric disposition through outward signs—cruelty (holding living creatures), delight in death (corpse-garlands), and harsh speech. In Puranic ethics, such imagery warns that inner tamas and हिंसा (violence) manifest as deformity of conduct and perception, contrasting with the Goddess’s role as the restorer of ṛta (cosmic order).
This belongs primarily to Vaṃśānucarita/Carita-style narrative material (accounts of deeds and episodes), rather than Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara/Vaṃśa proper. Within the Markandeya Purana’s composition, it functions as part of the Devi Mahatmyam’s episodic katha describing the conflict that re-establishes dharma.
The ‘corpse-garlands’ and predatory grasp symbolize tamasic consciousness that feeds on decay and fear; ‘harsh eyes’ and ‘harsh syllables’ indicate perception and speech corrupted by rajas-tamas. In Devi Mahatmyam’s inner reading, such figures represent obstructive tendencies (vighnas) that the awakened Shakti (Chandika) subdues so that sattva and right order can prevail.