Vedic influence in West Asia (Sacrifice of child Jantu)

Similarly there is another story in which there is a king called Somaka with 100 wives. After many years he begets one son named Jantu. All the 100 wives dote on Jantu. One day, Jantu is bitten by an ant and seeing his agony, the wives cry. Hearing his wives sobbing, the king makes inquiries and realizes that Jantu was only bitten by an ant. The king suddenly feels sad that he has only one son and if he loses him he will be childless. The king asks the priests if there are any sacrifices through which he can get many children. The priests tell that if the king sacrifices his son Jantu and make his wives to smell Jantu’s burning flesh, each of his wives will become pregnant and Jantu himself will be reborn among them with a golden sign. 

The king gives them his consent and a great tug of war ensues between the king’s wives and the priests each trying to pull Jantu to their side. The king’s wives refuse to sacrifice him but in the end, Jantu is sacrificed. As told by the priests the king gets 100 sons and Jantu is born among them with a golden sign. 

In due time the priests die before the king and are sent to hell for performing such a sacrifice. The king after he dies pleads with Lord yama and shares in their punishment.

The actual meaning of this story is as follows. Somaka means moon which again represents man. Jantu represents physical old age. By dispelling selfish desires the king is ready to taste the spiritual fruit. The 100 mothers represent good qualities of the knower with faith as the chief.  The king makes the self-sacrifice which is represented as sacrificing Jantu. The 100 sons represent the many forms of Brahman. Jantu reborn among the 100 sons with a golden sign indicates the king reaching God and obtaining immortality. That is he conquers recurring death.
To prevent people from performing actual sacrifices, the story mentions the priests and the king suffering in hell.