को ऽन्यस् तम् उत्सहेज् जेतुम् उद्यतेषुं महीपतिम् ॥
साहं भीष्मविनाशाय तपस् तप्स्ये सुदारुणम् ॥
चरामि पृथिवीं देवि यथा हन्याम् अहं नृपम् ॥
एतद् व्रतफलं देहे परस्मिन् स्याद् यथा हि मे ॥
ततो ऽब्रवीत् सागरगा जिह्मं चरसि भामिनि ॥
नैष कामो ऽनवद्याङ्गि शक्यः प्राप्तुं त्वयाबले ॥
यदि भीष्मविनाशाय काश्ये चरसि वै व्रतम् ॥
व्रतस्था च शरीरं त्वं यदि नाम विमोक्ष्यसि ॥
नदी भविष्यसि शुभे कुटिला वार्षिकोदका ॥
दुस्तीर्था चानभिज्ञेया वार्षिकी नाष्टमासिकी ॥
भीमग्राहवती घोरा सर्वभूतभयंकरी ॥
ko 'nyas tam utsahej jetum udyateṣuṃ mahīpatim ||
sāhaṃ bhīṣmavināśāya tapas tapsye sudāruṇam ||
carāmi pṛthivīṃ devi yathā hanyām ahaṃ nṛpam ||
etad vrataphalaṃ dehe parasmin syād yathā hi me ||
tato 'bravīt sāgaragā jihmaṃ carasi bhāmini ||
naiṣa kāmo 'navadyāṅgi śakyaḥ prāptuṃ tvayābale ||
yadi bhīṣmavināśāya kāśye carasi vai vratam ||
vratasthā ca śarīraṃ tvaṃ yadi nāma vimokṣyasi ||
nadī bhaviṣyasi śubhe kuṭilā vārṣikodakā ||
dustīrthā cānabhijñeyā vārṣikī nāṣṭamāsikī ||
bhīmagrāhavatī ghorā sarvabhūtabhayaṃkarī ||
"Who else could ever defeat this king with his raised arrow? Therefore, for the destruction of Bhīṣma, I shall undertake the most severe asceticism. I roam the earth, O goddess, so that I may slay the king; may the fruit of this vow be granted me in another body." Then Gaṅgā, who flows into the ocean, said: "You act crookedly, O lovely one. This desire, O flawless one, cannot be attained by you, weak as you are. If, O daughter of Kāśi, you keep this vow for the destruction of Bhīṣma, and, still holding to the vow, give up your body, then, O gracious one, you will become a river — winding, filled only with the rains, hard to ford, unfamiliar, seasonal, flowing for less than eight months, full of fearsome crocodiles, terrible, and a source of fear to all beings."
755cfa092b80 · 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.