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 ||
Dijo Lomaśa: Tras darle muerte, conforme al rito ofreció al fuego sagrado la vapa—la telilla grasa (omento) de aquel hombre. Y mientras la vapa ardía en la oblación, las madres, al percibir su olor, se sintieron atraídas hacia él—un instante inquietante que revela cuán frágil es la frontera entre el rito prescrito y la transgresión moral cuando el sacrificio se une a la violencia.
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.