ततः सा पश्यतां तेषां महर्षीणाम् अनिन्दिता ॥
समाहृत्य वनात् तस्मात् काष्ठानि वरवर्णिनी ॥
चितां कृत्वा सुमहतीं प्रदाय च हुताशनम् ॥
प्रदीप्ते ऽग्नौ महाराज रोषदीप्तेन चेतसा ॥
उक्त्वा भीष्मवधायेति प्रविवेश हुताशनम् ॥
ज्येष्ठा काशिसुता राजन् यमुनाम् अभितो नदीम् ॥
tataḥ sā paśyatāṃ teṣāṃ maharṣīṇām aninditā ||
samāhṛtya vanāt tasmāt kāṣṭhāni varavarṇinī ||
citāṃ kṛtvā sumahatīṃ pradāya ca hutāśanam ||
pradīpte 'gnau mahārāja roṣadīptena cetasā ||
uktvā bhīṣmavadhāyeti praviveśa hutāśanam ||
jyeṣṭhā kāśisutā rājan yamunām abhito nadīm ||
Then that blameless, fair woman, before the eyes of those great sages, gathered firewood in that forest. Having built a very large pyre and set it ablaze, O great king, she, her heart burning with wrath, entered the sacrificial flame, saying: 'For the death of Bhishma.' Thus the eldest daughter of Kashi entered the fire, O king, beside the river Yamuna.
84351054a28a · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:42:05 AM UTC
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Here Ambā's resolve reaches its limit. She rejects a life in which she sees neither a woman's lot nor a man's strength for vengeance, and asks not for consolation but for the power to destroy Bhishma. Shiva grants her not an instant victory but a path through a new birth and a change of body. The chapter thus binds together austerity, karma, and destiny: a powerful intention does not vanish with death but carries onward, taking the form of a future instrument. Ambā's entry into the fire becomes not flight but a terrible vow directed toward her next birth.