Introduction
Harishchandra is a king of the Ikshvaku dynasty, the son of Trishanku. He is remembered in Indian tradition as the king who never broke his word.
Family
The test
In the Puranic story, the sage Vishwamitra tested him. Harishchandra gave away his kingdom to Vishwamitra in a gift, and then sold his wife and son, and worked as a servant at a cremation ground. When his son died of a snakebite, his wife came to cremate the body, and he still demanded the cremation fee. The gods then appeared and restored everything.