One of the most inspiring story I heard in my life is Harishchandra katha. It was during my school days when my Sanskrit teacher told us this story. Until this minute, I find this story related to Dharma and Truth, very fascinating. There are many aspects of this story that trigger the sense of questioning in my mind. The way Harishchandra agrees to give Vishvamitra everything that he possessed shows his stand for his own principles of Dharma. Although this story is from Treta yuga and nothing such happens in today’s world, I believe it takes a lot of courage and sacrifice to stand for what you believe. I have learnt that from Harishchandra katha. Moreover, I strongly believe there is nothing wrong in denying something that doesn’t seem right. Harishchandra decides to sell his own wife which doesn’t seem right to him. He still does. At that point of this story, I thought Harishchandra should not have done that. When he felt that wasn’t the right thing to do, he shouldn’t have done that. He simply should have denied Vishwamitra. Although at the end of the story Harishchandra passes the Dharma test, this part of the story puts me in dilemma of Dharma related to conscience and gut feeling. But there were rules in Treta yuga and Harishchandra was just following bookish rules. It was still the society which was controlling the definition of Dharma. It still is!
This is my take from a small story from my school days. I am going to cherish this for my entire life.
Have fun! Enjoy your weekend 🙂
