Shloka 172
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
जन्तूपाख्यानमत्रैव यत्र पुत्रेण सोमक: । पुत्रार्थभयजद् राजा लेभे पुत्रशतं च सः,यहीं जन्तूपाख्यान है। इसमें राजा सोमकने बहुत-से पुत्र प्राप्त करनेके लिये एक पुत्रसे यजन किया और उसके फलस्वरूप सौ पुत्र प्राप्त किये
jantūpākhyānam atraiva yatra putreṇa somakaḥ | putrārthabhayajād rājā lebhe putraśataṃ ca saḥ ||
Dito rin isinasalaysay ang kuwentong tinatawag na Jantūpākhyāna: si Haring Somaka, dahil sa pangamba at pagnanais na magkaanak na lalaki, ay nagsagawa ng yajña at inihandog ang isang anak upang magtamo ng supling; at bunga nito, nagkaroon siya ng sandaang anak na lalaki.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense attachment to lineage and fear-driven desire for sons can lead to morally questionable choices; it invites reflection on whether ends (progeny) justify means (a sacrifice involving one’s own child) within the framework of dharma.
The speaker points to the Jantūpākhyāna episode: King Somaka, longing for many sons, performs a rite in which one son becomes the sacrificial means, and he consequently obtains a hundred sons.