प्रतिपत्स्यति राजा स पिता ते यद् अनन्तरम् ॥
तत्र वत्स्यसि कल्याणि सुखं सर्वगुणान्विता ॥
न च ते ऽन्या गतिर् न्याय्या भवेद् भद्रे यथा पिता ॥
पतिर् वापि गतिर् नार्याः पिता वा वरवर्णिनि ॥
गतिः पतिः समस्थाया विषमे तु पिता गतिः ॥
प्रव्रज्या हि सुदुःखेयं सुकुमार्या विशेषतः ॥
राजपुत्र्याः प्रकृत्या च कुमार्यास् तव भामिनि ॥
भद्रे दोषा हि विद्यन्ते बहवो वरवर्णिनि ॥
आश्रमे वै वसन्त्यास् ते न भवेयुः पितुर् गृहे ॥
ततस् तु ते ऽब्रुवन् वाक्यं ब्राह्मणास् तां तपस्विनीम् ॥
त्वाम् इहैकाकिनीं दृष्ट्वा निर्जने गहने वने ॥
प्रार्थयिष्यन्ति राजेन्द्रास् तस्मान् मैवं मनः कृथाः ॥
pratipatsyati rājā sa pitā te yad anantaram ||
tatra vatsyasi kalyāṇi sukhaṃ sarvaguṇānvitā ||
na ca te 'nyā gatir nyāyyā bhaved bhadre yathā pitā ||
patir vāpi gatir nāryāḥ pitā vā varavarṇini ||
gatiḥ patiḥ samasthāyā viṣame tu pitā gatiḥ ||
pravrajyā hi suduḥkheyaṃ sukumāryā viśeṣataḥ ||
rājaputryāḥ prakṛtyā ca kumāryās tava bhāmini ||
bhadre doṣā hi vidyante bahavo varavarṇini ||
āśrame vai vasantyās te na bhaveyuḥ pitur gṛhe ||
tatas tu te 'bruvan vākyaṃ brāhmaṇās tāṃ tapasvinīm ||
tvām ihaikākinīṃ dṛṣṭvā nirjane gahane vane ||
prārthayiṣyanti rājendrās tasmān maivaṃ manaḥ kṛthāḥ ||
'Your father, the king, will receive you and take care of whatever comes next. There, O blessed one, you will live happily, endowed with every virtue. For you, O gracious one, there is no other rightful refuge equal to a father. For a woman, the refuge is her husband or her father, O fair one: in prosperity the husband is the refuge, but in adversity it is the father. Renunciation is a very hard thing, especially for a tender girl, for a king's daughter and a maiden by her very nature, O fair one. O gracious, O fair one, for you living in the hermitage there are many dangers that would not exist in your father's house.' Then the brahmins said to that ascetic woman: 'Seeing you here alone, in a desolate and dense forest, kings will pursue you. Therefore do not hold to such a thought.'
c3512d8f45b4 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:36:31 AM UTC
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In this chapter Amba's plight moves from personal grief toward a search for effective protection. The ascetics propose the ordinary social path: return the girl to her father's authority, since life in the forest is dangerous, especially for a princess without support. Amba refuses: returning would mean disgrace among her kin and would not heal the wound within her. The arrival of Hotravahana changes the course of events — he takes up her suffering as a family duty and directs her to Rama Jamadagnya. Thus austerity, kinship responsibility, and kshatriya retribution converge on a single path, one leading toward the future confrontation with Bhishma.