Shloka 8
Somaka–Jantu Ākhyāna: Desire-Driven Sacrifice and Shared Karmic Consequence
जन्तुर्ज्येष्ठ: समभवज्जनित्र्यामेव पार्थिव । स तासामिष्ट एवासीन्न तथा ते निजा: सुता:,राजन्! सोमकका उज्येष्ठ पुत्र जन्तु अपनी माताके ही गर्भसे प्रकट हुआ, वही उन सब रानियोंको विशेष प्रिय था। उन्हें अपने पुत्र उतने प्यारे नहीं लगते थे
jantur jyeṣṭhaḥ samabhavaj janitryām eva pārthiva | sa tāsām iṣṭa evāsīn na tathā te nijāḥ sutāḥ ||
Lomasha said: “O king, Jantu was born as the eldest, emerging from his own mother’s womb. Among all those queens he alone became especially dear; their affection for their own sons was not the same as the fondness they felt for him.”
लोगमश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how affection within a royal household can become uneven and socially complicated: a child may be favored beyond others, even beyond one’s own offspring, suggesting the ethical tension created by partiality and preference.
Lomasha narrates to the king that Jantu, being the eldest and born from his mother’s womb, became exceptionally dear to all the queens; their attachment to him exceeded the affection they felt for their own sons.