Table of Contents
Link to Part 1 of this tale.
Jaimini was stunned. The king had to sell his wife. This was misfortune indeed. He asked the birds to continue telling the story of Harishchandra.
The birds continued.
Vishvamitra’s Demand
"Harishchandra was still looking at Shaivya and their son disappear into the city, along with the brahman. He never realized the presence of the sage. Vishvamitra stood there, waiting to be acknowledged. He bowed down to the sage and gave him the money he had got from the brahman.
Vishvamitra took the money and counted it. He said to Harishchandra, "What do you take me for? A beggar? Is this the Dakshina I was expecting from you? Remember the gift you gave me – your kingdom and your wealth. The Dakshina that you need to give me has to be proportionate to that. So, give me what is due to me. Do not try to cheat me. You talk about dharma, and is this what you give me? If you feel this is enough, then I will show my powers. I will curse you. Do you want me to?"
Harishchandra said, "Respected sage, I gave you what I got. I have not kept anything. I do not have anything else to give you. Please give me more time."
Vishvamitra looked at the sky and said, "Look, the sun will set in some time. You have exactly that time. Give me what I need by then. I will not wait beyond that time. I will not listen to any excuses, any pleas. I will be back soon."
Saying this, the sage took the money and left."
Selling Oneself
"Harishchandra looked at the sky. He was scared, he could not think of anything else to do. He decided to sell himself. Standing where he was, he said, "Is there anyone here who wants a servant? I am willing to be a servant to anyone who is willing to pay the correct amount. I do not have much time. A few minutes only.""
An Unexpected Buyer
""I need a servant", a voice said.
Harishchandra looked around. A man stood there. He was a chandala. His role was to take care of the cremation ground. Dead bodies were brought there, and he ensured that a proper fee was given before the cremation took place. He had a bad stench coming from his body. He had a beard and a huge bloated belly. His eyes were red. He was of a dark complexion. He was wearing garlands that he had picked up from the dead bodies in the cremation ground. He was holding a skull in one hand and a thick wooden stick in the other. He had some stray dogs following him who were barking at the people standing there.
"You look fit for the work I do. You will be suitable for me. Name your price. I will pay you that amount."
"Who are you?" asked Harishchandra. "I am a chandala. My name is Pravira. I live here, on the outskirts of the city. I take care of the dead in the cremation ground here. I take money from those who come to burn their dead. I also take the clothes, blankets, garlands and anything else that the corpses have on them.""
Refusal and the Sage's Wrath
"Harishchandra was willing to be a servant in a household but he could not bring himself to be a servant of a chandala and take care of the dead. He felt repulsed. He said to Pravira, "I was born in a royal household and I am not able to convince myself to be with you and accept your profession. Forgive me but I cannot be your servant. I would rather be cursed by the sage."
As soon as he said this, Vishvamitra came there. The sun had set. Vishvamitra asked for the money that was due to him. He had heard what was going on and said, "Harishchandra, you cannot be choosy. You owe me money and when that is being offered to you, you are refusing that. Why do you refuse to give me what is owed? You were born in the solar dynasty and that lineage and ancestry will not be there to protect you when I curse you."
Harishchandra fell at the feet of the sage and said, "Please have mercy on me. I am scared of your curse and I am not sure how I will be able to work with Pravira. The thought itself repulses me. And I am not able to stand the smell of burning corpses that coming from his body. How can I do this? Please tell me what alternate I have? Take me as your servant if you will have it. I will serve you."
Vishvamitra said then, "If you say you are my servant then this is what I have to say. As my servant, I am handing you over to Pravira. Serve him as his servant. Pravira, this is your servant. Now give me the amount that I want. Let me take that and leave.""
Bound to the Chandala
"Harishchandra saw there was no other option. He reluctantly agreed. Pravira gave the amount Vishvamitra asked for. Pravira said he had land that he owned. He said he would give the land to Vishvamitra as Dakshina for the kingdom. Vishvamitra agreed and went away. Harishchandra stood there watching the sage disappear into the city. Pravira seeing this, took his stick and struck Harishchandra. "We do not have time to waste. We have work to do. Come with me," Pravira said. He then held Harishchandra by his hand and took him to his house. Harishchandra quietly went with Pravira. The house was near the cremation ground. He was shown a corner. "This will be the place where you will sleep. You will have to arrange for your food yourself. Rest today and we will start from tomorrow." Harishchandra's new life started."
Life at the Cremation Ground
"Every day Harishchandra thought about his wife and son. His every waking hour was spent thinking what they would be doing. He was in a way happy that Shaivya did not know her husband was working for a chandala. She would not be able to bear this. She probably held on to a distant hope that one day her husband would come and free her. He would think of the happy days he had spent and then he would shudder at the thought of how he had to sell her and their son. Maybe that is why he had become a chandala. He probably deserved this.
The job that Harishchandra had to perform was something he detested. As there was no fixed time for death, he worked day and night. He learnt from Pravira how to remove garments from the dead. He was shown how to divide the rewards that was earned from burning the dead. Half would go to Pravira. Out of the remaining, one third would go to the king of Varanasi and the rest was his to keep. Though he had been given a place to stay, Harishchandra spent his days in the cremation ground. It was in the south of Varanasi, on the banks of the river Ganga. There was a sickening smell there from the burning of bodies and decaying body parts. This attracted animals like jackals, dogs and vultures who fought amongst themselves to steal bones, entrails or whatever they could find. Apart from the smoke of the pyres, the stench, the animals there was the crying of the relatives. Not all bodies burnt properly and the half-burnt corpses presented a grotesque picture, with melted features and animals pulling on them.
Not sure when but slowly Harishchandra got used to this life. He began to forget his days as the king of Ayodhya. He wore garments that he collected from the dead. His body was covered in ash from the pyres. His body gave off a foul smell, stained with fat, oil and marrow from the corpses. He ate what was offered to the dead. For jewels, he decked himself with garlands that he would pick up from the corpses. As he had to work round the clock, he barely slept. He would sometimes doze off and then suddenly wake up, in cold sweat.
Time passed in this manner and Harishchandra had spent a year working for Pravira."
The Nightmare
"One day he was really tired. He was not able to walk any further. He wanted sit and rest. No one had come to the cremation ground. There was a huge banyan tree in the ground, which was considered holy. Harishchandra went and sat near the tree. It was day time and a beautiful breeze was blowing from the river. He never realized when he dozed off and had a nightmare.
He dreamt he was a different person living in a different family. He was going to a guru who had demanded a Dakshina. He had worked hard and had been able to pay off the Dakshina to his guru. After paying the debt he had died and was destined to be born as a chandala. Even in the womb of the chandala woman, he remembered his dharma and promised he would spend a righteous life. He was then born a chandala. He grew up, learning how to work with the corpses that were brought to the cremation ground, from an early age. One day, when he would have been around seven years old, a corpse of a poor brahman was brought to be cremated. As the chandala child, Harishchandra being duty bound, said he would not allow the corpse to be burnt without paying a fee. When the relatives of the dead brahman heard this, they started shouting at the boy, "All this talk about duty is all because of Vishvamitra. It is because of the sage that you who were a king once has now become a chandala boy. He cursed you and any merits that you had were lost and you had to take birth in this form. You are saying you are duty bound. What duty is it that makes you act in this manner. We curse you. Fall from earth immediately and go to a terrible hell and stay there."
The moment the brahmans said this, it became pitch dark. The brahmans vanished and two beings arrived there. They were messengers of Yama. They caught hold of the boy Harishchandra, tied a rope around his waist and began dragging him away. Being dragged, the boy began screaming in fear and pain. The messengers pulled him and threw him into hell. He was thrown in a tub full of hot oil. Taken from there, he was cut with saws. Then his body was thrown in a tub full of blood. This carried on for seven years and the boy chandala grew up, facing the torment of hell. While the hell remained the same, the punishments varied. Sometimes he was thrown directly in fire instead of hot oil. After seven years of suffering the punishments and torture of hell he was thrown back to earth. He was then born as a dog that ate filth to survive. After being a dog he was born as a donkey where he had to bear burden. He died and became an elephant. As the elephant, he was captured and made to carry weight. He died and became a monkey. Births and rebirths continued like this and in each life, he was tortured and died as a result of that. After lives like this, he found himself born a king. He lived a life gambling away everything and became a pauper. He had lost his kingdom and began roaming in the forests, running around to escape from the people whom he owed money. Running like this, one day he came face to face with a lion. The lion caught him and began tearing him apart. He cried out to his family and saw that they were also suffering.
He then found himself in heaven and there he saw Shaivya being dragged away, asking for help. He stood there helpless and found himself being dragged by the messengers of death, who caught hold of him. "Vishvamitra went to Yama and put in a word for you. Yama has sent for you. We have come to take you to Yama." They dragged Harishchandra away from the heaven where he was. He fell from heaven and landed back in hell.
Instead of landing in a tub of oil, he found himself standing in front of Yama. Yama was tall, dark and held a thick staff in his hand. Yama was talking to a person who was recounting the deeds that Harishchandra had performed. They spoke about his birth as a king, then as a chandala, various animals and then as a gambler king. They were talking about how he had a glimpse of heaven after which he had been brought in front of Yama. Yama said, "You do not know what has happened. You angered Vishvamitra and for twelve years you never bothered to find out what your wife and son were doing. Because of Vishvamitra's curse, your son is no more. Go back to earth. You need to stay on earth for twelve years as a chandala and then you will be freed." Pointing to the messengers, Yama said, "Send him back.""
Awakening
"The messengers then caught hold of Harishchandra and pushed him. He found himself falling and then suddenly realized. It was all a dream. He had fallen on the ground. How long had he been asleep? He had no idea. He asked the other chandalas who worked there, "You see me every day, when is the last time you saw me? How long has it been?" Some said it had been twelve years, some said they were not sure."
The Next Trial
"Harishchandra began praying to the gods. "Please keep my son safe. Please keep Shaivya safe. That is all I ask for. O Indra, king of gods, protect my family." Saying this, he got back to his work in the cremation ground, still thinking about the dream. Had this been a reality? He was wondering when a woman came there. She was dirty, thin and tired. She was carrying the body of a young boy. The boy was dead, having been bitten by a snake."
Some More on This
Harishchandra’s commitment to truth and duty is put through severe tests. He doesn’t just give up material comforts, he abandons his identity and steps into a world that strips him of status, pride, and dignity. He proves that dharma must be upheld even when all outer supports vanish.
The dream sequence traces multiple lifetimes which is the doctrine of birth and rebirth where each action carries consequences beyond a lifetime.
The journey through various births dramatizes the inexorability of karma, and that liberation is not a reward for power or ritual purity, but for deep inner alignment with dharma.
The Cremation Ground is a liminal space between life and death. Harishchandra being there signifies he is undergoing spiritual burning. The cremation ground is where ego dies and realization dawns.
Vishvamitra here is playing the role of the guru-as-destroyer. He burns away falsehood. He forces Harishchandra to renounce identity. Without Vishvamitra’s cruelty, Harishchandra’s spiritual ascent would not happen.
This challenges the reader to reconsider the nature of truth and identity. Through suffering, Harishchandra becomes a mirror for us all and reminds us that true dharma begins when everything else is lost.
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