ततो महेन्द्रं सह तैर् मुनिभिर् भृगुसत्तमः ॥
यथागतं ययौ रामो माम् उपामन्त्र्य भारत ॥
ततो ऽहं रथम् आरुह्य स्तूयमानो द्विजातिभिः ॥
प्रविश्य नगरं मात्रे सत्यवत्यै न्यवेदयम् ॥
यथावृत्तं महाराज सा च मां प्रत्यनन्दत ॥
पुरुषांश् चादिशं प्राज्ञान् कन्यावृत्तान्तकर्मणि ॥
दिवसे दिवसे ह्य् अस्या गतजल्पितचेष्टितम् ॥
प्रत्याहरंश् च मे युक्ताः स्थिताः प्रियहिते मम ॥
यदैव हि वनं प्रायात् कन्या सा तपसे धृता ॥
तदैव व्यथितो दीनो गतचेता इवाभवम् ॥
न हि मां क्षत्रियः कश् चिद् वीर्येण विजयेद् युधि ॥
ऋते ब्रह्मविदस् तात तपसा संशितव्रतात् ॥
tato mahendraṃ saha tair munibhir bhṛgusattamaḥ ||
yathāgataṃ yayau rāmo mām upāmantrya bhārata ||
tato 'haṃ ratham āruhya stūyamāno dvijātibhiḥ ||
praviśya nagaraṃ mātre satyavatyai nyavedayam ||
yathāvṛttaṃ mahārāja sā ca māṃ pratyanandata ||
puruṣāṃś cādiśaṃ prājñān kanyāvṛttāntakarmaṇi ||
divase divase hy asyā gatajalpitaceṣṭitam ||
pratyāharaṃś ca me yuktāḥ sthitāḥ priyahite mama ||
yadaiva hi vanaṃ prāyāt kanyā sā tapase dhṛtā ||
tadaiva vyathito dīno gatacetā ivābhavam ||
na hi māṃ kṣatriyaḥ kaś cid vīryeṇa vijayed yudhi ||
ṛte brahmavidas tāta tapasā saṃśitavratāt ||
"Then Rāma, the best of the Bhṛgus, together with those sages, set out for Mount Mahendra by the way he had come, having taken leave of me, O Bhārata. As for me, I mounted my chariot, praised by the twice-born, entered the city, and told my mother Satyavatī all that had happened, O great king. She approved of me. I appointed wise men to keep watch over the doings of that maiden; day after day, devoted to my good and my welfare, they brought me report of her words and deeds. When that maiden, firm in her vow, went off to the forest to practice austerities, I at once became troubled, wretched, as though I had lost my senses. For no kshatriya could ever have defeated me by strength in battle — none save a knower of the Brahman, one strict in vows and mighty through asceticism, my son."
da03694db785 · 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.