In Hindu mythology, King Harishchandra was a ruler of Ayodhya, who belonged to the Solar (Ikshvaku) Dynasty. One day, while he was hunting in the forest, he inadvertently disturbed Sage Vishwamitra's meditation. To appease the sage, the King offered anything he desired. Vishwamitra demanded Harishchandra's entire kingdom and his wealth. Harishchandra acquiesced and renounced the throne. Vishwamitra then asked for dakshina (fee) for his Rajasuya Yagya. Harishchandra had already forfeited his royal fortune, but vowed to earn the money and pay within a month. He then left the palace with his wife, Shaivya, and their young son, Rohitashwa.

Harishchandra and his family went to Kashi (Varanasi). To earn the money, they had to face numerous trials. It was often suggested to Harishchandra that he default on the debt, as it had no legal witnesses or documentation, but he would not swerve from the path of truth. He sold Shaivya as a maidservant to an elderly Brahmin. At Harishchandra's request, the Brahmin agreed to let young Rohitashwa stay with Shaivya while she worked at his house. The money Harishchandra obtained by selling Shaivya wasn't enough, so he sold himself as a slave to a chandala (a cremation-ground keeper). Harishchandra was tasked with cremating the dead after collecting tax from the one who brought the body.

One day, the Brahmin told Rohitashwa to gather some flowers for a puja. The boy promptly went to the garden, greeted the woman gardener, and began to pick flowers. A little later, the gardener was shocked to find him lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth. At Vishwamitra's command, a venomous snake had bitten him. She immediately went home and informed Shaivya. Shaivya rushed to her son's aid, but it was too late; Rohitashwa lay dead amid the grass. 

"O God!" she lamented. "How can you be so heartless as to take my only son away from me?"

There was nothing left for her to do but to cremate her son. With a heavy heart, she carried his body to a crematorium—the very crematorium overseen by her husband. Harishchandra saw Shaivya approaching him with a corpse. They had changed so much after parting ways that they did not recognize each other. He demanded that she pay the tax first.

"Tax? But I have nothing with me. How can I possibly pay the tax?" she said.

"That's the rule, and it applies to everyone—rich or poor. I cannot go against my master."

Suddenly, Shaivya recognized her husband's voice.

"You ... you're Harishchandra?"

Harishchandra was surprised she knew his name.

"It's me, Shaivya," she wept.

"If you're Shaivya, is this ... is this Rohita?

"Yes, my lord."

Harishchandra's whole world came crashing down around him. Yet, as per his master's orders, he could not burn a body without collecting the tax. Having nothing else, Shaivya decided to tear her saree in half to pay the fee. At that moment, Sage Vishwamitra and the other gods appeared before them. Vishwamitra revealed to Harishchandra that this ordeal was a test of his truthfulness, and that the chandala was, in fact, Yamaraja (the god of justice). He resurrected Rohitashwa and returned Harishchandra's kingdom to him.

Sources

1. Vishwamitra (1989 Hindi TV series) by Dasari Narayana Rao.

2. Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra (Hindi book) by Gopi Krishna Kunwar

3. ChatGPT, Google, and Grok.