One-line: truth-obsessed king who loses kingdom, family, and status rather than lie.
First appears: Book 7, in Book 7 retelling.
Who they are: Harishchandra is Book 7’s ordeal of truth. Vishvamitra’s demand strips him of everything: kingdom, wealth, wife, son, and social status. The pressure keeps increasing until truth itself seems almost unbearable.
What they do that matters:
- Gives up his kingdom as sacrificial payment.
- Sells his family and then himself.
- Refuses to lie even at the cremation ground.
Other names: None in this storybook layer.
Family / lineage (when relevant): A Solar dynasty king.