अम्बोवाच
न शक्यं काशिनगरीं पुनर् गन्तुं पितुर् गृहान् ॥
अवज्ञाता भविष्यामि बान्धवानां न संशयः ॥
उषिता ह्य् अन्यथा बाल्ये पितुर् वेश्मनि तापसाः ॥
नाहं गमिष्ये भद्रं वस् तत्र यत्र पिता मम ॥
तपस् तप्तुम् अभीप्सामि तापसैः परिपालिता ॥
यथा परे ऽपि मे लोके न स्याद् एवं महात्ययः ॥
दौर्भाग्यं ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठास् तस्मात् तप्स्याम्य् अहं तपः ॥
भीष्म उवाच
इत्य् एवं तेषु विप्रेषु चिन्तयत्सु तथा तथा ॥
राजर्षिस् तद् वनं प्राप्तस् तपस्वी होत्रवाहनः ॥
ततस् ते तापसाः सर्वे पूजयन्ति स्म तं नृपम् ॥
पूजाभिः स्वागताद्याभिर् आसनेनोदकेन च ॥
ambovāca
na śakyaṃ kāśinagarīṃ punar gantuṃ pitur gṛhān ||
avajñātā bhaviṣyāmi bāndhavānāṃ na saṃśayaḥ ||
uṣitā hy anyathā bālye pitur veśmani tāpasāḥ ||
nāhaṃ gamiṣye bhadraṃ vas tatra yatra pitā mama ||
tapas taptum abhīpsāmi tāpasaiḥ paripālitā ||
yathā pare 'pi me loke na syād evaṃ mahātyayaḥ ||
daurbhāgyaṃ brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhās tasmāt tapsyāmy ahaṃ tapaḥ ||
bhīṣma uvāca
ity evaṃ teṣu vipreṣu cintayatsu tathā tathā ||
rājarṣis tad vanaṃ prāptas tapasvī hotravāhanaḥ ||
tatas te tāpasāḥ sarve pūjayanti sma taṃ nṛpam ||
pūjābhiḥ svāgatādyābhir āsanenodakena ca ||
Amba said: 'I cannot go back again to the city of Kashi, to my father's house. Among my kinsfolk I would be scorned — of this there is no doubt. For in childhood I lived differently in my father's house, O ascetics. I will not go where my father is. May you be blessed. Under the protection of the ascetics I wish to perform austerity, so that in another life such a great calamity and misfortune may not befall me again, O best of brahmins — therefore I shall practice asceticism.' Bhishma said: While these brahmins were still deliberating this way and that, a royal sage, the ascetic Hotravahana, arrived at that forest. Then all the ascetics honored this king with rites of welcome, with a seat, and with water.
ccffb3b633c1 · 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.