Shloka 5
Somaka–Jantu Ākhyāna: Desire-Driven Sacrifice and Shared Karmic Consequence
विशस्य चैनं विधिवद् वपामस्य जुहाव सः । वपायां हूयमानायां गन्धमाप्राय मातर:
viśasya cainaṁ vidhivad vapām asya juhāva saḥ | vapāyāṁ hūyamānāyāṁ gandham āprāya mātaraḥ ||
قال لوماشا: وبعد أن قتله، قدّم على وفق الشعيرة «الفَپا»—وهي الغشاء الدهني (omentum) لذلك الرجل—في النار المقدّسة. ولمّا كانت الفَپا تُحرق في القُربان، التقطت الأمهات رائحتها فانجذبن إليها—لحظةٌ مقلقة تكشف هشاشة الحدّ بين الطقس المأمور به والانتهاك الأخلاقي حين يُقرَن الطقس بالعنف.
लोगमश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension: ritual correctness (vidhivat) does not automatically sanctify an act if it is rooted in violence. It invites reflection on dharma as more than external procedure—ethical intention and the nature of the act matter.
Lomaśa narrates that a man is killed and his vapā (caul/omentum) is offered into the fire as an oblation. As it burns, the ‘mothers’ sense the smell and move toward it, creating a vivid, ominous image tied to the sacrificial act.