Somaka
Master, why are you doomed to live in this muffled stagnant world?
Ritvik
I offered up your son in the sacrificial fire: that sin has lodged my soul in this obscurity.
Shades
King, tell us the story, we implore you; the recital of crime can still bring life’s fire into our torpor.
Somaka
I was named Somaka, the King of Videha. After sacrificing at innumerable shrines weary year on year, a son was born to my house in my old age, love for whom, like a sudden untimely flood, swept consideration for everything else from my life. He hid me completely, as a lotus hides its stem. The neglected duties of a king piled up in shame before my throne. One day, in my audience hall, I heard my child cry from his mother’s room, and instantly rushed away, vacating my throne.