Shloka 18
सोमक–जन्तु उपाख्यानम्
Somaka–Jantu Exemplar: The Quest for a Hundred Sons
सोमक उवाच कार्य वा यदि वाकार्य येन पुत्रशतं भवेत् । कृतमेवेति तद् विद्धि भगवान् प्रब्रवीतु मे,सोमकने कहा--भगवन्! आप वह कर्म मुझे बताइये जिससे सौ पुत्र हो सकते हैं। वह करनेयोग्य हो या न हो, मेरेद्वारा उसे किया हुआ ही जानिये
Somaka uvāca—kāryaṃ vā yadi vā akāryaṃ yena putraśataṃ bhavet | kṛtam eveti tad viddhi bhagavān prabravītu me ||
قال سُوماكا: «أيها الجليل، أخبرني بالفعل الذي تُنال به مئةُ ابن. سواء أكان جائزًا أم غير جائز، فاعلمْه كأنه قد تمّ على يدي—فما عليك إلا أن تُعلنه لي.»
सोमक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds an ethical warning: intense desire (here, for many sons) can push a person to disregard dharma, declaring willingness to perform even an improper act. It sets up a moral tension between ends (progeny, lineage) and means (whether the act is righteous).
Somaka addresses a revered figure and urgently asks for the method to obtain a hundred sons. He emphasizes his determination by saying that, whether the act is proper or improper, he will treat it as already done—pressing the sage to reveal the means.