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  What is the difference between ‘daan’ and ‘dakshina’?

  Daan is to give something without expecting anything in return. This brings positive karma, and is holy work (punya kaam). Dakshina is fees, in return for knowledge or some valuable thing. So Vishwamitra wants to assert that he’s not receiving charity—and that he’s releasing Harishchandra from his sin for which he is giving him a fee.

  Harishchandra does not have anything left to give as dakshina. Vishwamitra says it is Harishchandra’s problem, not his. ‘Where do I get it from?’ wonders Harishchandra. Vishwamitra asks him, ‘What is of most value to you?’ He says, ‘My body.’ So Vishwamitra says, ‘Sell your body then.’ And Harishchandra does. He does not get much money for it, so he sells his wife, then his son too, and gives all the money to Vishwamitra.

  Some stories say that Vishwamitra claims this is still not the complete amount and that he’d have to give him everything he earns as well. But he can’t earn because he is a slave now.

  There was a concept of slavery in Puranic times?

  In the Harishchandra story, there’s a clear mention of a market where people are being traded. Otherwise, you don’t find too many references to human trade elsewhere in the Puranas. Greek mythology has a story of Hercules; Roman mythology has stories of gladiators which are all about buying and selling slaves. In India, slave trade surely existed but was not as widespread perhaps, and doesn’t appear as clearly as it does in the Harishchandra story.

  So he is bought by a Chandaal, and a Brahmin buys his wife and son. They are thus separated. The story is significant because it describes the caste system as well, the hierarchy at play. A Brahmin is superior, a Chandaal is an outcaste, who lives outside the town, deals with dead bodies; he’s the outsider. So, someone who was once a king becomes slave to a Chandaal and has to live outside the village. There is an element of tragedy here. Harishchandra works as a dom with him; dom refers to the person who cremates dead bodies and manages the crematorium.

  So was Harishchandra in Benaras at this time?

  The ghat at Benaras called Harishchandra ghat is associated with this story. The doms who work in the cremation ground there claim that they had bought Harishchandra once upon a time. It’s a point of prestige for them that King Harishchandra was their slave. In many places, doms were considered rich because they kept the gold that was left behind by Brahmins on the dead bodies.

  Although Harishchandra has no social status, he is not treated badly; he’s only asked to do his work. His wife, on the other hand, is treated badly, although she resides with an upper caste, a Brahmin. She who was used to the life of a queen now has to cook and clean and do strenuous household work. It is a reflection of how one’s lot can change with time. But she handles it with great dignity. Both she and Harishchandra don’t complain about the hard times that have befallen them. This is the important thing about Harishchandra. He accepts his karma, his fate, with dignity. We feel bad about their misfortune just as we feel good about a rags-to-riches story.

  Then the situation worsens towards the end. To test him further, Vishwamitra sends a poisonous snake to bite his son, Rohit, who dies in the garden. His mother, the queen Taramati (Chandravati in some stories), brings the dead child to the crematorium. She and Harishchandra recognize each other, but don’t acknowledge it because now they’re no longer related; they belong to someone as slaves. He agrees to cremate the body and asks for his fees. She says she does not have anything. He insists because that’s the rule, that’s what his master demands; she can beg and plead all she wants but he needs the fees. So she gives the clothes off her body. The scene is that a one-time queen is taking off her clothes to pay her husband, a one-time king, for their son’s cremation. At that time, the gods come down to earth, thoroughly impressed. Harishchandra does not even stop his wife from taking off her clothes, the ultimate humiliation. It’s the acme of integrity, the highest level of commitment. At this point Vishwamitra arrives and tells them it was a test, to see when he and his wife would break, but they never did. ‘You are worthy of becoming Indra, the greatest king; you are welcome into Indra’s assembly.’ Harishchandra was such a great king. He kept his word even at the cost of his dignity.

  Another story goes that King Harishchandra’s life has been saved by the god Varuna, in return for which Harishchandra agrees to sacrifice his son. When Varuna comes to claim the life, Queen Taramati is upset and tells the king that he did not consult her before making the promise, so he should now sacrifice them both. An adviser tells the king to adopt a child and offer that child as sacrifice instead of his own son. A farmer named Ajigarta comes forward and offers his second son, Sunashep, for sacrifice. He says that his wife is very fond of their youngest, and the eldest helps him in the farm. He asks for 100 cows as payment. The king agrees. However, on the day of sacrifice, nobody agrees to do the job of killing the child. Even the executioner says it will amount to paap, or sin, for the child is innocent. Finally, the farmer himself agrees to kill his son, in exchange for 100 more cows. The king is disgusted with the farmer. ‘Aren’t you ashamed?’ he asks. The farmer says, ‘No, because now he’s your son.’

  In this story, Harishchandra seems manipulative, making technical adjustments to save his son’s life. It’s a tragic story when a father agrees to sell his son, then to kill him for material benefit. The story is also about a king’s unscrupulous ways to save his own son while sacrificing someone else’s. It is far more realistic; this is not an idealistic Harishchandra. Maybe that’s why this story is not so famous.

  This story tells of how, in times of trouble, we are ready to promise anything. Here, Harishchandra promises to sacrifice his son in exchange for recovery from terrible health. In the other story too, he agrees to give everything to save himself from Vishwamitra’s wrath. In good times, you wonder if you can meet that promise. In the earlier story, he does give away everything. In the second one, he tries to find a way around it. Here, a father agrees to kill his son; while in the earlier story, a father sells his son to slavery. In hard times, in poverty, any man may treat his son as commodity, even Harishchandra. And greed can make you do anything; the farmer rationalizes to himself that his son is no longer his own. It is not important whether the story is true or not. Reflecting on these stories gives one an insight into human behaviour.

  What was Harishchandra’s connection with Rama?

  Harishchandra is Rama’s ancestor. Both were honest, good kings of the Surya Vansh who always kept their word and had integrity. They never complain when misfortune comes their way; they accept it with dignity and fortitude. In the Gita, it’s described as Sthith Pragya, a person who is stable in both positive and negative situations.

  Both Harishchandra and Ramchandra have ‘chandra’ in their names. But they were both Suryavanshis. How did ‘chandra’ become attached to their names?

  One can only speculate about this from some stories; there are no definite answers. In one such story, while Rama is a good king, he nevertheless wrongs Sita by sending her away for no fault of hers. Due to this, the sun enters an eclipse, and so Rama was called Ramchandra. Perhaps the same can apply to Harishchandra as he too sold his wife.

  Another story is that, as a child, Rama was very fond of the moon and wanted to possess it. He was shown a reflection in water, and he thought the moon had arrived in his house. He loved the moon so much, hence his name. It might have been the same with Harishchandra!

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  Aarti and Toran

  In our country, why do people decorate their doors so much?

  A door is significant because it separates the outer world from the home. Is a door the outside of the inside or the inside of the outside? There is more control inside the house. A door marks the entry into personal space. This is where the shubh (holy) and ashubh (unholy) meet; the negative energy outside should not get in and the positive energy inside should not escape. All these are associated with a door.

  What’s the significance of a toran o