एवं ब्रुवति कन्यां तु पार्थिवे होत्रवाहने ॥
अकृतव्रणः प्रादुरासीद् रामस्यानुचरः प्रियः ॥
ततस् ते मुनयः सर्वे समुत्तस्थुः सहस्रशः ॥
स च राजा वयोवृद्धः सृञ्जयो होत्रवाहनः ॥
ततः पृष्ट्वा यथान्यायम् अन्योन्यं ते वनौकसः ॥
सहिता भरतश्रेष्ठ निषेदुः परिवार्य तम् ॥
ततस् ते कथयाम् आसुः कथास् तास् ता मनोरमाः ॥
कान्ता दिव्याश् च राजेन्द्र प्रीतिहर्षमुदा युताः ॥
ततः कथान्ते राजर्षिर् महात्मा होत्रवाहनः ॥
रामं श्रेष्ठं महर्षीणाम् अपृच्छद् अकृतव्रणम् ॥
evaṃ bruvati kanyāṃ tu pārthive hotravāhane ||
akṛtavraṇaḥ prādurāsīd rāmasyānucaraḥ priyaḥ ||
tatas te munayaḥ sarve samuttasthuḥ sahasraśaḥ ||
sa ca rājā vayovṛddhaḥ sṛñjayo hotravāhanaḥ ||
tataḥ pṛṣṭvā yathānyāyam anyonyaṃ te vanaukasaḥ ||
sahitā bharataśreṣṭha niṣeduḥ parivārya tam ||
tatas te kathayām āsuḥ kathās tās tā manoramāḥ ||
kāntā divyāś ca rājendra prītiharṣamudā yutāḥ ||
tataḥ kathānte rājarṣir mahātmā hotravāhanaḥ ||
rāmaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ maharṣīṇām apṛcchad akṛtavraṇam ||
While King Hotravāhana was thus speaking to the maiden, Akṛtavraṇa, Rāma's beloved companion, appeared. Then all the sages rose up by the thousand, and with them the aged King Sṛñjaya Hotravāhana. Then, having duly inquired after one another, these forest-dwellers, O best of the Bharatas, gathered together, surrounded him, and sat down. After that they began to tell one another various delightful and wondrous tales, filled with affection, joy, and delight, O king. When the tales came to an end, the great-souled royal sage Hotravāhana asked Akṛtavraṇa about Rāma, the foremost of the great seers.
c56131c17e38 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:36:31 AM UTC
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Hotravāhana sends Ambā not merely to a mighty warrior, but to Rāma Jāmadagnya — an ascetic, a keeper of vows, and an unsurpassed wielder of arms. The account given before Akṛtavraṇa gathers the whole chain of causes anew: Bhīṣma's abduction of the princesses, Ambā's confession about Śālva, her release, Śālva's refusal, and her arrival in the forest. The precision of this retelling matters: before seeking redress, one must clearly name the source of the suffering and the measure of each party's responsibility. Ambā resolves to submit to Rāma's word, because her personal pain now enters the domain of dharma, of vows, and of righteous judgment.