Numerous Indian Kings were acclaimed for their powerful army base, valiant war skills, intelligence, kindness and compassion – establishing a prosperous rule. However, when it comes to truth and honesty, we are reminded of a single name, Harishchandra.
Why did Harishchandra choose to speak the truth? Let’s learn the truth behind the truthful person…
Lineage
Harishchandra was born in the Ikshvaku (Sun god) dynasty, the lineage of Lord Rama and he ruled the kingdom of Ayodhya. Sage Vasishta was the respectful guru of their dynasty. Harishchandra was married to Taramati, who was known for her chastity. It is a popular belief that only Harishchandra can see the nuptial chain worn on her neck.
Oath of Dharma
Haishchandra and Taramati longed for a child and performed a yagna, seeking the blessings of Lord Varuna (the Rain God). Varuna blessed them with a son but he also wanted them to give away the child after birth. The couple were helpless but agreed to the condition.
In due course of time, a son (Rohitashwa) was born to Harishchandra. While they were overjoyed by the birth of their first child, they were also anxious that they had to let-go the child to keep up their promise.
In due time, Varuna appeared and demanded to give him the child. Harishchandra pleaded and requested him to let the infant stay until he developed his teeth. Varuna agreed and returned once the child developed his teeth. Still unwilling to let his son go, the king asked the Lord to wait till the child had his tonsure ceremony. Once again, Varuna agreed and went away.
Harishchandra kept making excuses and Varuna kept agreeing to them. A few years elapsed and the boy was old enough to understand the situation. He came to know the story behind his birth and that he should have been handed over to Varuna a long time ago. Disappointed with this parents’ lack of integrity, the boy absconded from home.
By this time, Harishchandra was afflicted by a deadly strain of dropsy. Seeing his pitiful condition, Varuna himself relented and told him that he did not want the boy back. He also blessed the king that he would be free of his disease. Eventually, Rohitashwa returned to the kingdom.
Once he recovered, Harishchandra realized that the disease was his punishment for his refusal to honor his commitment. He vowed that he would never lie or go back on his promise. Thereafter, he stayed true to his resolution and lived a life of truth and righteousness. This gave him the name, ‘Satyavrata’, or the observer of truth.
Sage Vasishta Vs. Sage Vishwamitra
One day in the court of heaven, Indra raised a doubt whether there was any honest and truthful human being on earth. Sage Vasishta mentioned the name of Harishchandra. Indra was reluctant to agree based on Varuna’s experience.
The Sage assured that the King had transformed into a pure and honest man. He also confidently challeneged that if he was proven wrong, he would dismantle his Jata (tightly wound locks of hair).
Sage Vishwamitra offered to test the king. He also added that if Harishchandra stuck to path of truth, Vishwamitra will give the king, half the quantum of divine blessings and grace that he had earned throughout his lifetime, and that he would make him a world-renowned monarch.
The devas and sages decided to join forces to test Harishchandra and see how well he fared.
Bahu Suvarna Yagna
The test plot aimed to rid Harishchandra of all his wealth and see if he would lie, at least then. In the meantime, the ruler, blissfully unaware of what was happening around him, was conducting the Bahu Suvarna Yagna, for the welfare of his Kingdom. One of the conditions of the ritual was that the king should give away whatever anyone asked for. By the end of the yagna, his subjects and the sages conducting the ritual were all pleased and satisfied.
First Test
Vishwamitra wanted to test the king. He approached the king and demanded that a man should stand on the back of an elephant and toss a coin in the air. He said that the king should give a pile of money and jewels up to that height reached by the tossed coin. Harishchandra instantly agreed to this demand and arranged for the wealth to be sent to the sage’s ashram.
Bewildered by the King’s generosity and also disappointed at his own failure; Vishwamitra left the wealth, saying that he would collect at a later time. Harishchandra had clearly won this first round of tests.
Intensive Test
Vishwamitra worried as he would be ridiculed by the Devas, if Harishchandra stuck to his honesty. Ever since the yagna, Harishchandra was earning more and more respect. The sage decided to completely rob the king of his power, so that he would have no other choice, except to lie for his survival. He used his magical powers to create wild animals and let them inside the kingdom, to make the subjects suffer.
The wild beasts, pests and insects that the sage created, brought immense damage to the kingdom. They destroyed food and damaged people’s homes. The subjects beseeched the king for redressal of their issues. The king assured them that he would do everything in power to set right the great misfortune that had befallen his kingdom.
He then set out to hunt the animals causing the damage and kill them. Reaching the interiors of jungle, he spent all day finding and slaying them. As he proceeded, he unexpectedly landed on a sanctuary where wild animals lived together in a peaceful environment. On venturing ahead, he realized this was the ashram of his family Guru, sage Vasishtha. After taking the blessings of the sage, he left to travel yet deeper into the forest.
By afternoon, he reached another hermitage – that of sage Vishwamitra. But as he neared the place, he could feel a tangible change in the atmosphere. Tired, he decided to rest a little before visiting the sage. He laid down with his head resting on his wife’s lap and soon went into a deep slumber.
When Vishwamitra came to know that the king was near his ashram, he started using his yogic powers and created two beautiful girls. However, as his intentions were evil, the girls were made of filth and dirt. He then ordered them to go and approach the King for a marriage proposal.
In the meantime, Harishchandra had a horrible dream. He sensed something inauspicious was about to happen and he described the dream to Taramati. She tried to placate him, as did his son and minister.
At this time, the two girls approached him and demanded that he marry them. Harishchandra flared up angrily and asked them to leave immediately. When they refused, he beat them with a sledge hammer and drove them out. The girls in tears, rushed to Vishwamitra, begging for his help.
He approached the king with rage. Harishchandra respectfully greeted and welcomed him, also apologizing for any fault shown in his duty towards him. Vishwamitra mercilessly shouted at Harishchandra for killing his animals and beating up the girls. He demanded that he marry them. When he refused to do so, the sage grew even more abusive. Finally, in order to pacify the sage, the king offered to give up his entire kingdom.
The sage ordered to pass on his power in the presence of everyone. So, Harishchandra seated the sage in his chariot and followed him on foot, all the way back to the kingdom. Once back in the palace, he summoned his minister, court officials and all his subjects, and handed over all his royal and administrative powers to sage Vishwamitra, in their presence.
Harishchandra then requested Vishwamitra to give permission to leave. The sage felt reluctant as Harishchandra and his family, accepted to forsake their wealth without remorse. He then stopped Harishchandra and demanded the gifts that he had earlier agreed to safeguard. The latter had nothing else to offer and requested a grace time period of 48 days.
The sage then asked one of his followers, Nakshatraka, to torture till they had paid up their dues. He decided to take the shape of terrible storms, fire, thirst, hunger and various wild animals, in order to make them lose their way; finally forcing Harishchandra to utter at least one single lie.
Varanasi
Harishchandra decided to go to Varanasi to collect money by taking a huge loan and then working hard to repay it. Until now, Harishchandra never once swerved from his vow of truthfulness and righteousness. Additionally, the power of Taramati’s chastity also protected them from harm.
On reaching Varanasi, they went to the temple of Lord Vishweshwara (Shiva) and prayed to clear their debt. Taramati suggested that he sell her and their son, in order to pay up all their debts. Harishchandra was shocked, but realized he was out of options.
He wandered from street to street, offering his wife and son for sale. After a long time, one Brahmin bought them for cash. The king paid this money to Nakshatraka, thereby debiting some amount. However, a large part of the loan remained unpaid. As the 48th day approached, the king was worried and decided to sell himself.
Veerabahu, the person in-charge of the grave yard came ahead to buy him. Harishchandra told him about the amount he had to repay. The latter asked him what Harishchandra would do for him if he were to pay. The king promised him that he would forever remain his servant and do his bidding for the rest of his life.
Veerabahu agreed and paid the money to Nakshatraka, thereby clearing all of Harishchandra’s debts. Nakshatraka felt bad at the way his Guru and himself had tortured a pure soul. In any case, he did his duty and took all the money back to his Guru. Vishwamitra was clearly defeated in this phase of challenge, too.
Life after clearing debts
The Brahmin kept harassing Taramati and Rohitashwa endlessly. They were treated badly – slaving away for him; being starved and scolded all day long. Taramati hoped and kept praying for better days.
One day, Rohitashwa went to the forest to gather wood and he was stung by a poisonous serpent. Taramati came to know of his death and was completely heartbroken. Her son was the only little solace to her and he too had gone. She tried to compose herself and realized that she had to cremate her son’s body, alone. She took her master’s permission, who agreed for only one day of leave.
Weeping inconsolably, she walked to the cremation ground carrying Rohitashwa’s corpse. Placing him down gently, she collected firewood and was about to light the fire. Harishchandra snatched the firewood and demanded that she had to pay to use the ground. He did not recognize his wife and their dead son.
Taramati shed bitter tears, beseeching him to permit her to cremate her dead child. However, Harishchandra was stern to collect the cremation fees. She told him that she had no money. Then, he suggested that she pawn her nuptial chain and bring him the required money. Taramati was shocked at this instance, as she recognized that it was Harishchandra, the king now working in the crematorium. Even after knowing it was his son, Harishchandra refused to go against his master’s instruction and demanded that Taramati had to arrange for the fee.
Crisis for Taramati
Vishwamitra planned to make a final attempt to trap Harishchandra, by creating a crisis for Taramati. The same night that their boy died, some bandits kidnapped the prince of Varanasi and killed him, in order to take his jewels. Hearing the child cry for help, Taramati, in her distraught condition, thought it was her son crying out for her. She rushed to the dying boy and seeing Taramati near the boy, the king’s men thought that she was the murderer and forcefully took her to the king’s palace.
The king ordered Veerabahu to execute Taramati, for her crime. Veerabahu, in turn, ordered his new assistant to complete the execution. Harishchandra led Taramati to the gallows and asked her to say her last prayers. Taramati knelt on the ground and offered her salutations to her Guru, her husband, and prayed that his son came back to life. She also wished that Vishwamitra became immortal. With that, she asked Harishchandra to strike the blow. His pulse raced and tears filled his eyes, as he raised the sword.
Triumph of Truth
Dawn was just arriving and Suryadeva (the Sun God) was gazing down at the brilliant glory of his dynasty and took pride at the honor and integrity displayed by his descendant. All the Gods and angels assembled to witness the heavenly event – a mortal king’s success against the test of devas and sages. Vasishtha was hoping that Vishwamitra would liberate Harishchandra and his family from their troubles.
Vishwamitra appeared and offered to revive his son alive and return the kingdom, on one condition that Harishchandra married the two girls, whom he had rejected before. With determination, Harishchandra refused and stood by his master’s (Veerabahu) command.
At that instance, Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma appeared and blessed Harishchandra for his path of righteousness. They revived his dead son, Rohitashwa.
Vishwamitra prostrated before the Lords. He explained that all suffering was an illusory drama and that the evil Brahmin was actually Lord Agni (God of Fire) and Veerabahu was Yama (God of Death). The sage then officially stated in the presence of all that Harishchandra had won the challenge and that he would return all his wealth and power. He would also give half of all the grace earned in his lifetime through penance.
The angels showered flowers on the king and his family. All his suffering turned out to be a blessing and the world had witnessed the true power of his truthfulness and virtue.
Did you know?
There is a temple dedicated to the worship of Harishchandra in Pimpri, Maharashtra.
Harishchandra Ghat, a crematorium in Varanasi was named based on the days, the King worked in the burial ground. According to locals, it is believed that being cremated here, leads a person to attain salvation.
There were two significant people who lived centuries apart, but was greatly influenced by the story of Harishchandra.
1. As per our Legends, Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava prince heard this story at a young age and immediately vowed to follow the Dharma (the path of righteousness), no matter what he had to endure for it. Ultimately, it earned him the name “Dharmaraja” for his truthfulness and integrity.
2. Mahatma Gandhi was inspired by the story of Harishchandra from his childhood days. It left a deep impact in him to stand up for the truth, no matter how adverse the circumstances were. He mentioned that he was filled with grief, every time he encountered the story.
Story Courtesy: https://www.dollsofindia.com/library/harishchandra/
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