Shloka 12
Somaka–Jantu Ākhyāna: Desire-Driven Sacrifice and Shared Karmic Consequence
तदनन्तर कुछ कालके पश्चात् सोमकके पुरोहित परलोकवासी हो गये। थोड़े दिनोंके बाद राजा सोमक भी परलोकवासी हो गये। यमलोकमें जानेपर सोमकने देखा, पुरोहितजी घोर नरककी आगमें पकाये जा रहे हैं। उन्हें उस अवस्थामें देखकर सोमकने पूछा --“ब्रह्मनन]! आप नरककी आगमें कैसे पकाये जा रहे हैं?” ।। तमब्रवीद् गुरु: सोडथ पच्यमानो5ग्निना भूशम् | त्वं मया याजितो राजंस्तस्येदं कर्मण: फलम्
tam abravīd guruḥ: so ’dya pacyamāno ’gninā bhūśam | tvaṃ mayā yājito rājan tasyedaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam ||
Then the priest, his guru, said: “O king, today I am being terribly scorched in the fire. You were the one for whom I performed sacrifices; this is the fruit of that very act.”
लोगमश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses karma-phala and moral accountability: ritual performance is not ethically neutral. A priest who empowers a king through sacrifice may share in the consequences if the underlying purpose or conduct is unrighteous, showing that dharma governs even sacred acts.
After death, King Somaka reaches Yamaloka and sees his own priest suffering in a hellish fire. When questioned, the priest explains that his torment is the result of having performed sacrifices for Somaka—linking the priest’s fate to the moral weight of the king’s actions and intentions.