King Somaka Laments Having Only One Son

Lomasha said: O Yudhishthira, there was a king named Somaka, devoted to dharma. He had one hundred wives, all equal to one another. Though he made great efforts, a son was not born to him for a very long time. Only after he had grown old, still persisting, did a son named Jantu finally arrive — born from those one hundred wives collectively, the single child of them all. When Jantu was born, all the mothers surrounded him. They gave him everything that might bring him pleasure. They guarded him as if he were the only thing in the world worth guarding — which, in a sense, he was. One day an ant bit Jantu on his hip. The child cried out in pain. At once, all the mothers were extremely distressed. They surrounded Jantu and raised a great lamentation — a chorus of grief that spread through the palace until it reached the king himself. Somaka was seated in the midst of his advisers and priests when he heard the loud cries. He sent for news. The steward brought him word of what had happened to his son. The king rose swiftly with his advisers and went to the inner quarters. He consoled his son. Then he emerged and sat down with his advisers and priests. He spoke. "Shame on having a single son. It is better to have none. All beings are always prone to distress, and a single son is cause for misery. O brahmana, I examined these one hundred wives and married them for the sake of obtaining sons. But they did not produce offspring. As I endeavoured with all of them, somehow this single son named Jantu was born. What can be greater misery than that? My time has passed, and so has that of my wives. Their lives are dependent on this single son, and that is also the way for me. Isn't there some ceremony or deed — large, small, or difficult — so that I can obtain one hundred sons?" The officiating priest replied: "There is such a deed, so as to obtain one hundred sons. O Somaka, if you can perform it, I will explain it to you." Somaka said: "Whether it is a good deed or a bad one, if it can get me one hundred sons, know that I will perform it. O illustrious one, explain it to me." The officiating priest said: "O king, I will perform the rite, and you will sacrifice Jantu. Then, within a short while, one hundred fortunate sons will be born. When he is offered in the sacrifice, his mothers will inhale the smoke, and all of them will give birth to extremely valorous sons. Jantu will also be born as your son from the same woman. A golden mark will be seen on his left side."