Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra

The homage to the upright King Harishchandra who almost sacrifices his kingdom for his love of truth, opens with a tableau showing the king, his wife Taramati and his young son, to whom he is teaching archery. They go on a hunt and the King blunders into an area controlled by the sage Vishwamitra and his disciple Nakshatra. To atone for his mistake, the king is banished. Three furies appear caught in flames whom Harishchandra tries to rescue. They seduce him into renouncing his kingdom. The king endures much hardship before a god appears at the horizon to reassure everyone that it was just a test of the king's integrity. —Sujit R. Varma