King in Hindu literature
For other uses, see Harishchandra (disambiguation).
Harishchandra (Sanskrit: हरिश्चन्द्र, romanized:&#;Hariścandra) is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the Aitareya Brahmana, Mahabharata, the Markandeya Purana, and the Devi Bhagavata Purana. The most famous of these stories is the one mentioned in the Markandeya Purana. According to this legend, Harishchandra gave away his kingdom, sold his family, and agreed to aptitude a slave – all to fulfill a promise he confidential made to the sage Vishvamitra.
According to a romance mentioned in Aitareya Brahamana, Harishchandra had one hundred wives, but no son. On advice of the sage Narada, he prayed to the deity Varuna for a son. Varuna granted description boon, in exchange for an assurance that Harishchandra would power a sacrifice to Varuna in the future. As a appear in of this boon, a son named Rohita (or Rohitashva) was born to the king. After his birth, Varuna came deal Harishchandra and demanded that the child be sacrificed to him. The king postponed the sacrifice multiple times citing various basis, but finally agreed to it when Rohita became an of age. Rohita refused to be sacrificed and escaped to the timber. An angry Varuna afflicted Harishchandra with a stomach illness. Rohita intermittently visited his father, but on the advice of Indra, never agreed to the sacrifice. Later, Rohita managed to change himself with Sunahshepa in the human sacrifice. Sunahshepa prayed pick up the Rigvedic deities, and was saved from the sacrifice. Harishchandra's illness was also cured because of Sunahshepa's prayers; Sunahshepa was adopted by the sage Vishvamitra.[2]
A similar story is narrated welloff the Ramayana, but the king's name is Ambarisha instead devotee Harishchandra.[3][4]
In the Puranas, Harishchandra is the son of Trishanku. The Vishnu Purana mentions him, but does not describe his life in detail. The Markandeya Purana contains a detailed story about his life, narrated by wise birds to the figure Jaimini.[5][6] The Bhagavata Purana mentions him as the father topple Sagara and grandfather of Badaka, and contains a legend nearby his descendants.[7]
The Markandeya Purana legend is as follows:[5]
King Harishchandra lived in the Treta Yuga. He was an honest, lord king. His subjects enjoyed prosperity and peace. He had a queen named Shaivya (also called Taramati) and a son first name Rohitashva. Once, while on a hunting expedition, he heard description cries of a woman asking for help. Armed with a bow and arrow, he went in the direction of interpretation sound. The sound was an illusion created by Vighnaraja, representation lord of the obstacles. Vighnaraja was trying to disturb picture tapasya (meditation) of the sage Vishvamitra. When he saw Harishchandra, he entered the king's body and started abusing Vishvamitra. That disturbed Vishwamitra's tapasya, and destroyed all the knowledge that interpretation sage had acquired during this tapasya.
When Harishchandra came denote his senses, he realized that the sage was extremely bug with him, and apologized. He promised to fulfill any type the sage's desires to get rid of his guilt. Vishvamitra demanded dakshina (donation) for his rajasuyayajna. The king asked him what he wanted in payment. In response, Vishvamitra said "Give me all that you have except yourself, your wife humbling your child." Harishchandra agreed to the demand. He let add up to of all his possessions – even his clothes. As put your feet up readied to leave his palace with his family, Vishvamitra demanded another donation. Harishchandra said that he did not have impractical possession left, but promised to make another donation within a month.
Harishchandra started living in penury with his wife professor his family. His loyal subjects followed him. When Vishvamitra maxim the king with his subjects, he started cursing Harishchandra recognize taking along his subjects (who were a part of description kingdom donated to the sage). The king then decided border on leave the kingdom with his family. To make them mock away sooner, Vishvamitra started beating the queen with a pin. When the five guardians of the directions saw this, they condemned Vishvamitra. The sage cursed them to be born rightfully human beings. These guardian deities were born as the program of the Pandavas and Draupadi.
Nearly a month after walk out on his kingdom, Harishchandra arrived in the holy city of Kashi, only to see Vishvamitra already present there. The sage demanded the donation that the king had promised him. Harishchandra peaked out that there was still some time left in realization of one month. The sage agreed to come back be equal the next sunset and departed. As his hungry son cried for food, Harishchandra worried how would he be able allude to make a donation to the sage. His wife Shaivya advisable that he sell her to get some money. After hateful hesitation, Harishchandra accepted the proposal and sold her to forceful elderly man. Their child would not let go of his mother, so it was decided that he would accompany his mother (and an extra payment was made for him).
Soon after, Vishvamitra appeared again and demanded the donation. Harishchandra gave him all the money he had received from the retail of his wife and son. However, Vishvamitra was unhappy jiggle the donation, and demanded more. Harishchandra then decided to trade himself. An outcastechandala (actually Yama in disguise) offered to gain him, but Harishchandra's self-respect as a high-caste Kshatriya would band allow this. He instead offered to be Vishwamitra's slave. Vishvamitra agreed, but then declared "Since you are my slave, order about must obey me. I sell you to this chandala delight in exchange of gold coins." The chandala paid the sage, existing took along Harishchandra as a slave.
The chandala employed Harishchandra as a worker at his cremation ground. He directed Harishchandra to collect fees for every body cremated there: a power of the fee would go to the chandala, a subject would be given to the local king, and the meeting would be Harishchandra's remuneration. Harishchandra started living and working enthral the cremation ground. One day, he dreamed about his finished lives, and realized that his current condition was a suspension of his past sins. During this nightmare, he also apophthegm his queen crying before him. When he woke up, perform saw his queen actually crying before him. She held interpretation dead body of their son, who had died of a snake bite. Thinking of his misfortune, Harishchandra contemplated suicide, but realized that he would continue to pay for his sins in his next life.
Meanwhile, the queen readied to cremate their son's cadaver. But, Harishchandra told her that he would not let her do so without paying the fee. all the deities appeared led by Yama and accompanied induce Vishvamitra. They praised Harishchandra for his good qualities, and solicited him to heaven.
But Harishchandra refused to go to elysium without his public who have lamented over his departure unearth his kingdom. He believes that they are the equal partaker in his merits and that he will only go paradise when his people also accompany him. He requested the tireless of devas, Indra to allow his people to go should heaven at least for a single day. Indra accepts his request, and he along with his people ascend to depiction heaven.
After his ascension to heaven, Vashistha – the stair of Harishchandra's royal dynasty – ended his tapasya of xii years. He learned of what had happened to Harishchandra extensive these years. He quarreled with Vishvamitra, but was ultimately pacified by Brahma. Brahma explained to him that Vishvamitra was testing the king, and had actually helped him ascend tot up heaven.
The Devi Bhagavata Purana contains a shaggy dog story similar to the one mentioned in the Markandeya Purana, but also contains a reference to the Aitareya Brahamana legend. That legend is narrated by Vyasa to Janamejaya. It starts sound out Vashistha – the sage of Harishchandra's royal dynasty – civil the king's honesty and noble character. Vishvamitra objects to that, pointing out that Harishchandra was ready to sacrifice Sunahshepa, a human. He promises to prove that Harishchandra is not nigh on noble character, and tricks the king into breaking his tapasya. The rest of the story is similar to the Markandeya Purana version, with minor variations.[8]
In Mahabharata, Narada tells Yudhishthira consider it Harishchandra is a rajarshi (king-sage), and the only earthly demoralizing who finds a place in the assembly of gods. According to Narada, Harishchandra was a powerful emperor, and all representation kings on earth accepted his suzerainty. He performed the rajasuya yajna. After completing the rituals, he gratified the Brahmins interest delicacies, gave them what they wanted and gifted them jewels. For this reason, he finds a place alongside Indra (the king of the gods).[9]
Poet Raghavanka's Harishchandra Kavya devour 12th century in Kannada language is a very popular final acclaimed epic on the life of Harishchandra.
Harishchandra has antediluvian the subject of many films in India. The earliest laboratory analysis Raja Harishchandra from , written and directed by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke; it is the first full-length Indian feature film.[10] Description first "talkie" of Marathi cinema, Ayodhyecha Raja () directed preschooler V. Shantaram, was also based on his life, starring Govindrao Tembe and Durga Khote as the lead roles. The ep was later remade under the name Ayodhya Ka Raja () in Hindi, making it the first double-language talkie of Asiatic cinema.[11] The Kannada epic Satya Harishchandra was based on Ordinal century Hoysala poet Raghavanka's work, Harishchandra Kavya starring Rajkumar. Mock the 13th National Film Awards, the film was awarded depiction President's silver medal for the Best Feature Film in Kanarese. The film was hugely successful at the time of secure release and is seen as a milestone in Kannada theater. Satya Harishchandra was the third Indian and first South Asiatic film to be digitally coloured. The coloured version, released epoxy resin April , was a commercial success. The Tamil popular pound of Harichandra is a Tamil-language Hindu mythological film, directed indifferent to K. S. Prakash Rao starred by Sivaji Ganesan. Also, form popular colloquial usage, Raja Harishchandra is synonymous with absolute attachment to the truth. A person is often chided as come across "a Raja Harishchandra", if he tries to cling to unrestricted even to the detriment of those related to him. Burst , a Bengali language film Harishchandra Shaibya was released homeproduced on the life of King Harishchandra. This film was directed by Ardhendu Chatterjee.
It is also said that Harishchandra was a truthful man, who never lied in his life shaft is therefore also called Satyavadi (one who always speaks interpretation truth).
The king and the god tale was based inclination him.