Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 8, Shloka 51
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
राक्षसो वातिकठिनस्ततः पापतरोऽपि वा ।
विक्रेतुं दयितां प्राप्तो यो न प्राणांस्त्यजाम्यहम् ॥
rākṣaso vātikaṭhinas tataḥ pāpataro ’pi vā /
vikretuṃ dayitāṃ prāpto yo na prāṇāṃs tyajāmy aham
“纵使有人是罗刹（rākṣasa）——如风般刚硬——且罪业更深；然而若他竟至于出卖所爱之人，我也决不交出我的性命（生命之息），决不屈服。”
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FAQs
The verse highlights the extremity of adharma: when one’s inner hardness and sin intensify, even the most intimate bonds (symbolized by “dayitā,” the beloved) become commodified. The ethical warning is that moral collapse proceeds by degrees—cruelty and obstinacy culminate in betrayal of what should be protected—yet the ego still clings to life and refuses surrender.
Primarily within Vaṃśānucarita/Carita (narrative episode) rather than Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara/Vaṃśa proper. In the Devi Mahatmyam portion of the Markandeya Purana, this functions as dharma-illustrative kathā (exemplary narrative) embedded in the Purāṇic corpus.
“Selling the beloved” can be read symbolically as the surrender of one’s inner śraddhā and refined consciousness to lower impulses (kāma, lobha). The refusal to ‘give up prāṇa’ reflects the tenacity of ahaṅkāra (ego) that persists even when virtue has been traded away—setting the stage for Shakti’s intervention, where divine power restores order by breaking that hardened resistance.