Harishchandra

Harishchandra — 8 chapters, 80 questions. From the Aitareya Brahmana, the Markandeya Purana and the Devi Bhagavata.

Harishchandra has two very different story threads. In the Aitareya Brahmana he is the father who vowed to give his son to Varuna and then kept trying to get out of it. In the Markandeya Purana and the Devi Bhagavata he is the king who lost his kingdom, his wife, his son and his status for the sake of truth, in a test set by Vishvamitra. These are not two versions of one story; they are two different story threads, and they are kept separate here. Where the two Puranas disagree with each other — how the quarrel begins, the fee, the sale, the night at the cremation ground, and the ending — both versions are given and no verdict is passed. A few things the popular tellings are famous for, such as a "fee" demanded at the cremation ground, were not found in these texts and are not part of the story here. The English dialogue lines are flowing paraphrases of the Sanskrit verses, not word-for-word translations.

Two Harishchandras — Two very different stories about a king with the same name — one that unfolds on a Vedic sacrificial ground, and one that ends at a cremation ghat in Kashi — and the old rivalry standing behind both of them
The Vow to Varuna — A king with a hundred queens made a vow to a god in exchange for a son — and then that same son had to run to the forest, out of fear of the vow
A Cry in the Forest — A hunt, a cry, and a single moment's mistake — which broke a sage's penance, and asked a king for his entire kingdom
Everything, Then More Still — Giving away the kingdom does not finish the gift — a fee is still owed, and a month's deadline is set; and in the meantime, five gods pay the price of a curse
What Could Not Be Sold — In a street in Kashi, a king sells his wife and son — and then sells himself, to a master he could never bring himself to accept
Keeper of the Cremation Ground — The king of Ayodhya now gathers shrouds from the dead at a cremation ground in Kashi — and in a dream he catches a glimpse of many lives
That Night — A snake, a child, and one night at the cremation ground — when a woman arrived carrying her dead son at the very ghat where her husband was gathering shrouds
Dharma's Face — The gods arrived just before the fire, and only then did it become clear that the outcaste who had been his master was Dharma himself — and a king refused heaven