भगवन्न् एवम् एवैतद् यथाह भगवांस् तथा ॥
अजेयो युधि भीष्मो ऽयम् अपि देवैर् उदारधीः ॥
यथाशक्ति यथोत्साहं मम कार्यं कृतं त्वया ॥
अनिधाय रणे वीर्यम् अस्त्राणि विविधानि च ॥
न चैष शक्यते युद्धे विशेषयितुम् अन्ततः ॥
न चाहम् एनं यास्यामि पुनर् भीष्मं कथं चन ॥
गमिष्यामि तु तत्राहं यत्र भीष्मं तपोधन ॥
समरे पातयिष्यामि स्वयम् एव भृगूद्वह ॥
एवम् उक्त्वा ययौ कन्या रोषव्याकुललोचना ॥
तपसे धृतसंकल्पा मम चिन्तयती वधम् ॥
bhagavann evam evaitad yathāha bhagavāṃs tathā ||
ajeyo yudhi bhīṣmo 'yam api devair udāradhīḥ ||
yathāśakti yathotsāhaṃ mama kāryaṃ kṛtaṃ tvayā ||
anidhāya raṇe vīryam astrāṇi vividhāni ca ||
na caiṣa śakyate yuddhe viśeṣayitum antataḥ ||
na cāham enaṃ yāsyāmi punar bhīṣmaṃ kathaṃ cana ||
gamiṣyāmi tu tatrāhaṃ yatra bhīṣmaṃ tapodhana ||
samare pātayiṣyāmi svayam eva bhṛgūdvaha ||
evam uktvā yayau kanyā roṣavyākulalocanā ||
tapase dhṛtasaṃkalpā mama cintayatī vadham ||
"O blessed one, it is exactly as the lord has said. This great-minded Bhīṣma is unconquerable in battle even for the gods. You have done everything within your power and zeal for my cause, holding back neither your valor nor your various astras in the fight. And yet he cannot be decisively surpassed in battle. But under no circumstances will I go to Bhīṣma again. I shall go instead, O treasure of asceticism, where I myself may bring Bhīṣma down in battle, O bearer of Bhṛgu's line." Having said this, the maiden, her eyes wild with rage, went off to perform austerities, firmly resolved upon my destruction.
b7f3578f0237 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:42:04 AM UTC
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After the duel is halted, Ambā does not accept defeat as the end. Rāma acknowledges the limit of his own strength, while she turns her pain into a fierce asceticism aimed at Bhīṣma's destruction. The chapter reveals the dangerous side of resolve: a vow can elevate, but when fed by anger alone, it warps the path it follows. Gaṅgā's words are especially telling: Ambā's desire is not dismissed as empty, but she is shown the heavy form its fruit will take. Ambā's austerity becomes a power capable of carrying over into another birth, yet at the same time it makes her like a difficult, dangerous, winding river.