Shloka 18
Somaka–Jantu Ākhyāna: Desire-Driven Sacrifice and Shared Karmic Consequence
लोगश उवाच स चकार तथा सर्व राजा राजीवलोचन: । क्षीणपापश्च तस्मात् स विमुक्तो गुरुणा सह,लोमशजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठटि! तब कमलनयन राजा सोमकने धर्मराजके कथनानुसार सब कार्य किया और भोगद्वारा पाप नष्ट हो जानेपर वे पुरोहितके साथ ही नरकसे छूट गये
Lomaśa uvāca: sa cakāra tathā sarvaṁ rājā rājīvalocanaḥ | kṣīṇapāpaś ca tasmāt sa vimukto guruṇā saha ||
Lomaśa said: “That lotus-eyed king carried out everything exactly so, in accordance with the instruction given. And when his sins had been exhausted through the experience of their consequences, he was released from that state (of hell), together with his priest.”
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic moral causality: wrongdoing leads to suffering, but when the consequences are fully undergone and sin is thereby exhausted (kṣīṇapāpa), release becomes possible. It also highlights the role of rightful instruction and dutiful compliance in restoring moral order.
Lomaśa narrates that a certain lotus-eyed king carried out all that was prescribed to him. After his sins were spent through experiencing their results, he was freed from the hellish state, and his priest (guru/purohita) was freed along with him.