Harishchandra

Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the Aitareya Brahmana, Mahabharata, the Markandeya Purana, and the Devi Bhagavata Purana. The most famous of these stories is the one mentioned in the Markandeya Purana. According to this legend, Harishchandra gave away his kingdom, sold his family, and agreed to be a slave – all to fulfill a promise he had made to the sage Vishvamitra.

Legend

Aitareya Brahmana

According to a legend mentioned in Aitareya Brahamana, Harishchandra had one hundred wives, but no son. On advice of the sage Narada, he prayed to the deity Varuna for a son. Varuna granted the boon, in exchange for an assurance that Harishchandra would make a sacrifice to Varuna in the future. As a result of this boon, a son named Rohita (or Rohitashva) was born to the king. After his birth, Varuna came to Harishchandra and demanded that the child be sacrificed to him. The king postponed the sacrifice multiple times citing various reasons, but finally agreed to it when Rohita became an adult. Rohita refused to be sacrificed and escaped to the forest. An angry Varuna afflicted Harishchandra with a stomach illness. Rohita intermittently visited his father, but on the advice of Indra, never agreed to the sacrifice. Later, Rohita managed to substitute himself with Sunahshepa in the human sacrifice. Sunahshepa prayed to the Rigvedic deities, and was saved from the sacrifice. Harishchandra's illness was also cured because of Sunahshepa's prayers; Sunahshepa was adopted by the sage Vishvamitra.

A similar story is narrated in the Ramayana, but the king's name is Ambarisha instead of Harishchandra.

Puranic legend

thumb|Harishchandra and VishvamitraIn the Puranas, Harishchandra is the son of Trishanku. The Vishnu Purana mentions him, but does not describe his life in detail. The Markandeya Purana contains a detailed legend about his life, narrated by wise birds to the sage Jaimini. The Bhagavata Purana mentions him as the father of Sagara and grandfather of Badaka, and contains a legend about his descendants.

Markandeya Purana

The Markandeya Purana legend is as follows:

Mahabharata

In Mahabharata, Narada tells Yudhishthira that Harishchandra is a rajarshi (king-sage), and the only earthly king who finds a place in the assembly of gods. According to Narada, Harishchandra was a powerful emperor, and all the kings on earth accepted his suzerainty. He performed the rajasuya yajna. After completing the rituals, he gratified the Brahmins with delicacies, gave them what they wanted and gifted them jewels. For this reason, he finds a place alongside Indra (the king of the gods).

In popular culture

Poet Raghavanka's Harishchandra Literature from 12th century in Kannada language is a very popular and acclaimed epic on the life of Harishchandra.

Harishchandra has been the subject of many films in India. The earliest is Raja Harishchandra from 1913, written and directed by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke. It was the first full-length Indian feature film. The first "talkie" of Marathi cinema, Ayodhyecha Raja (1932) directed by V. Shantaram, was also based on his life, starring Govindrao Tembe and Durga Khote in the lead roles. The film was later remade under the name Ayodhya Ka Raja (1932) in Hindi, making it the first double-language talkie of Indian cinema.

Telugu cinema has also produced films on this Hindu mythological subject: in 1935 one titled Harishchandra was directed by P. Pullaiah starring Addanki Srirama Murthy and P. Kannamba; in 1960 another with the same title was directed by Jampana Chandrashekara Rao and starred S. V. Ranga Rao and C. Lakshmi Rajyam. The acclaimed Satya Harishchandra (1965 Telugu film) was produced and directed by K. V. Reddy under Vijaya Productions. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and S. Varalakshmi. K. V. Reddy produced the film simultaneously in Kannada with the same title, starring Dr. Rajkumar.

K. B. Nagabhushanam directed Harischandra (1944 film) in Tamil starring P. U. Chinnappa and P. Kannamba. In later years it was remade again in Tamil with the title of Harichandra (1968 film), directed by K. S. Prakash Rao starring Sivaji Ganesan and G. Varalakshmi which was popularly acclaimed for acting and dialogue. Also, in Tamil popular colloquial usage, Raja Harishchandra is synonymous with absolute adherence to the truth. A person is often chided as being "a Raja Harishchandra", if he tries to cling to truth even to the detriment of those related to him.

The Kannada epic Satya Harishchandra (1965 Kannada film) was based on 12th century Hoysala poet Raghavanka's work, Harishchandra Kavya starring Rajkumar. At the 13th National Film Awards, the film was awarded the President's silver medal for the Best Feature Film in Kannada. The film was hugely successful at its release and is considered a milestone in Kannada cinema. Satya Harishchandra was the third Indian and first South Indian film to be digitally coloured. The coloured version, released in April 2008, was a commercial success.

In 1985, a Bengali language film Harishchandra Shaibya was released based on the life of King Harishchandra. This film was directed by Ardhendu Chatterjee. It also said that Harishchandra was a truthful man, who never lied and is therefore also called Satyavadi (one who always speaks the truth). The king and the god tale was based on him.

Shrines

A temple of Harishchandra is situated in Harishchandra Pimpri, Wadwani taluka, Beed district, Maharashtra
The cremation ground of Kashi - (modern name Varanasi) is named Harishcandra Ghat