According
to a legend described in the Markandeya
Purana, the
Markandeya Purana was written in Sanskrit for
Hinduism, and one of the eighteen fundamental Puranas. The title of the
text Markandeya refers to a sage in Hindu history who is the central character
in two legends, one associated with Shiva and the other with Vishnu. The Markandeya
text is one of the Puranas that lacks a denominational presentation of ideas in
favor of a particular deity, and it is rare to invoke any deity or prayers in
the entire text.
The
story of Markandeya
Purana is as follows:
King Harishchandra belongs to Treta Yuga. He was an honest,
noble, and justice king. His subjects enjoyed prosperity and peace. He had a
queen named Shaivya (also known as Taramati) and a son named Rohitashva. Once,
while going on a hunting expedition, he heard the cry of a woman. Taking a bow
and arrow, he went in the direction of the sound. There was an illusion created
by Vighnaraja, the lord of the sound barriers. Vighnaraja was trying to
distract the ascetic Tapasya (meditation) of Sage Vishwamitra. When he saw
Harishchandra, he entered the body of the king and started abusing Vishwamitra.
This destroyed Vishwamitra's Tapasya and whatever knowledge the sage gained
during this Tapasya.
When
Harishchandra came to his senses, he realized that the sage was extremely angry
with him, and he apologized. He promised to fulfill any desire of the sage to
get rid of his crime. Vishwamitra demanded Dakshina (donation) for his Rajasuya Yajna.
The king requested him what he
favored in payment. In response, Vishwamitra said, "Give me all
that, except your wife and your child." Harishchandra accepted the demand.
He let all his possessions - even his clothes - go. When he read to leave his
palace with his family, Vishwamitra demanded another donation. Harishchandra
said that he had no rights left, but promised to make another donation within a
month.
Harishchandra
started living in penance with his wife and his family. His loyal subjects
followed him. When Vishwamitra
noticed the king with his subjects, he started out cursing Harishchandra for
taking his matters (who have been a segment of the kingdom donated to the
sage). The king then determined to leave the kingdom with his family. Soon
to overcome them, Vishwamitra started beating the queen with a stick. When the 5 guardians of the directions say
this, they condemned Vishwamitra. The sage cursed him to be born as a
human being. These patron deities were born as sons of the Pandavas and
Draupadi.
About
a month after leaving his kingdom, Harishchandra arrived at the holy city of Kashi (Varanasi),
only to see Vishwamitra present there. The sage demanded donations that the
king promised him. Harishchandra told him that there was still some time left
to complete one month. The sage agreed to return the next sunset and departed.
When
his hungry son cried for food, Harishchandra worried about how he would be able
to donate to the sage. His wife Shaivya (Taramati) suggested that she sell it
to get some money. After some hesitation, Harishchandra accepted the offer and
sold it to an elderly person. Her child would not let her mother go, so it was
decided that she would go with her mother (and was paid extra for that).
Shortly
thereafter, Vishwamitra reappears and begs donation. Harishchandra gave him all
the money he got from the sale of his wife and son. However, Vishwamitra was
unhappy with Daan and demanded more. Harishchandra then decided to sell
himself.
An
indefatigable Chandal (actually
the deity of dharma in
disguise)
offered to buy him, but Harishchandra's self-respect as a high-caste Kshatriya
would not allow it. He instead offered to be Vishwamitra's slave. Vishwamitra agreed, however then declared
"Since you are my slave, you need to obey me. I sell you this
Chandal in exchange for gold coins." Chandal paid the sage and took
Harishchandra was a slave.
The
chandal employed Harishchandra as an activist at his Samsaan Ghaat.
He instructed Harishchandra to collect a fee for all: a portion of the fee
would go to Chandal, a portion would be paid to the local king, and the rest
would be Harishchandra's remuneration. Harishchandra started living and working
in the crematorium.
One
day, he dreamed about his past lives and realized that his present condition is
the result of his past sins. During this nightmare, he also saw his queen
crying in front of him. When he woke up, he saw that his queen was actually
crying in front of him. He caught the body of his son, who died of a snake
bite. Thinking of his misfortune, Harishchandra thought of committing suicide
but then realized that he would have to continue to pay for his sins in his
next birth.
Meanwhile, the queen read to cremate her son's
corpse. However, Harishchandra told him that he would not let him do it without
paying the fee. At that time, all the gods appeared under the leadership of
Dharma and Vishwamitra. He praised Harishchandra for good qualities and invited
him to heaven.
But Harishchandra refused to go to heaven without
his people, who regretted leaving his kingdom. They believe that they are equal
partners in their strengths and will go to heaven only when their people are
also with them. He requested Indra to the king of the devas to allow his people
to go to heaven at least one day. Indra accepts her request, and he climbs into
selfishness with his people.
After his ascension to heaven, Vashishta - a sage
of Harishchandra's clan - ended his 12-year Tapasya. He came to know about the
unfortunate events that happened to Harishchandra during these years. He started
a severe fight with Vishwamitra but was eventually pacified by Brahma. Brahma
defined to him that Vishwamitra used to be fully checking out the king, and
without a doubt helped him to go to heaven.
Conclusion:
According to this legend, Harishchandra left his
kingdom, offered his family, and agreed to come to be a slave - all to fulfill
a promise made to sage Vishwamitra. It is also said that Harishchandra was a truth who never lied in
his life and hence he is called Satyavadi (always speaking truth). According to
the Brahma Vaivarta Purana,
daughter of Harishchandra, Padmini is the wife of Haihaya
King Kritavirya. His son is
Kartavirya Arjuna, who was killed by Parashurama.
According to Aitareya
Brahamana legend, this story is
narrated by Vyasa to Janamejaya. It begins with Vashistha - the sage of
Harishchandra's clan - praising the king's honesty and noble character.
Vishwamitra states that Harishchandra was ready to sacrifice the sun dynasty
called a human.
This story influenced Mahatma Gandhi, who was fascinated by the virtue
of telling the truth while watching Harishchandra's play in childhood. In
present-day Varanasi,
there is a Harishchandra Samsaan Ghaat where King Harishchandra’s
worked as a chandala.
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