Shloka 23
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
हरिश्चन्द्र उवाच विमुञ्च भद्रे सन्तापमयं तिष्ठति बालकः । उच्यतां वक्तुकामासि यद्वा त्वं गजगामिनि ॥
harīścandra uvāca vimuñca bhadre santāpamayaṃ tiṣṭhati bālakaḥ | ucyatāṃ vaktukāmāsi yadvā tvaṃ gajagāmini ||
哈利施旃陀罗说道：“噢，吉祥的夫人，请止息悲伤；孩子在此，正为苦恼所压。你欲言者尽可言之——噢，步态如象者。”
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FAQs
The verse models dharmic composure and compassionate speech: grief should be set aside to address urgent suffering (the child’s distress), and one should speak clearly and purposefully rather than remain overwhelmed by emotion.
This is best classified under Vaṃśānucarita/Carita (dynastic and exemplary narratives) rather than Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara; it belongs to the Purana’s didactic-legendary material illustrating righteous conduct through royal exemplars.
Symbolically, the ‘child afflicted by sorrow’ can represent the vulnerable jīva under duḥkha, while the king’s injunction to ‘release grief’ suggests turning from tamasic paralysis toward sattvic clarity—speech (vāk) and right action begin when lamentation is relinquished.