स एवं विजयी राम भीष्मः कुरुकुलोद्वहः ॥
तेन युध्यस्व संग्रामे समेत्य भृगुनन्दन ॥
राम उवाच
स्मराम्य् अहं पूर्वकृतां प्रतिज्ञाम् ऋषिसत्तम ॥
तथैव च करिष्यामि यथा साम्नैव लप्स्यते ॥
कार्यम् एतन् महद् ब्रह्मन् काशिकन्यामनोगतम् ॥
गमिष्यामि स्वयं तत्र कन्याम् आदाय यत्र सः ॥
यदि भीष्मो रणश्लाघी न करिष्यति मे वचः ॥
हनिष्याम्य् एनम् उद्रिक्तम् इति मे निश्चिता मतिः ॥
न हि बाणा मयोत्सृष्टाः सज्जन्तीह शरीरिणाम् ॥
कायेषु विदितं तुभ्यं पुरा क्षत्रियसंगरे ॥
sa evaṃ vijayī rāma bhīṣmaḥ kurukulodvahaḥ ||
tena yudhyasva saṃgrāme sametya bhṛgunandana ||
rāma uvāca
smarāmy ahaṃ pūrvakṛtāṃ pratijñām ṛṣisattama ||
tathaiva ca kariṣyāmi yathā sāmnaiva lapsyate ||
kāryam etan mahad brahman kāśikanyāmanogatam ||
gamiṣyāmi svayaṃ tatra kanyām ādāya yatra saḥ ||
yadi bhīṣmo raṇaślāghī na kariṣyati me vacaḥ ||
haniṣyāmy enam udriktam iti me niścitā matiḥ ||
na hi bāṇā mayotsṛṣṭāḥ sajjantīha śarīriṇām ||
kāyeṣu viditaṃ tubhyaṃ purā kṣatriyasaṃgare ||
'O Rama, this victorious Bhishma, bearer of the Kuru line, is indeed such a one. Meet him and fight him in battle, O descendant of Bhrigu.' Rama said: 'O best of sages, I remember my former vow, and I shall act accordingly, insofar as this can be achieved by peaceful words. This grave matter, O brahmin, concerns the intent of the daughter of Kashi. I myself will go there, taking the maiden, to where he is. If Bhishma, so proud of battle, does not heed my word, I shall slay that arrogant one: such is my firm resolve. For the arrows I loose do not lodge halfway in the bodies of embodied beings; this you know from the war with the kshatriyas of old.'
b893ebb86c72 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:36:31 AM UTC
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In this chapter Rama first tries to settle the matter by word alone: he promises to bring Bhishma and Shalva under the sway of his speech and recalls that he takes up arms only under a special obligation. But Amba does not accept so gentle a resolution: her plea has already become a demand for rightful retribution. Akritavrana reinforces her position, reminding Rama of his own vow to protect those who take refuge in him and to punish arrogant kshatriya might. Thus word, vow, and refuge come together: Rama approaches Bhishma first as a teacher, yet already ready to act as a warrior should righteous speech be refused.