अपि चैतन् मया राजन् नारदे ऽपि निवेदितम् ॥
व्यासे चैव भयात् कार्यं तौ चोभौ माम् अवोचताम् ॥
न विषादस् त्वया कार्यो भीष्म काशिसुतां प्रति ॥
दैवं पुरुषकारेण को निवर्तितुम् उत्सहेत् ॥
सा तु कन्या महाराज प्रविश्याश्रममण्डलम् ॥
यमुनातीरम् आश्रित्य तपस् तेपे ऽतिमानुषम् ॥
निराहारा कृशा रूक्षा जटिला मलपङ्किनी ॥
षण् मासान् वायुभक्षा च स्थाणुभूता तपोधना ॥
यमुनातीरम् आसाद्य संवत्सरम् अथापरम् ॥
उदवासं निराहारा पारयाम् आस भामिनी ॥
api caitan mayā rājan nārade 'pi niveditam ||
vyāse caiva bhayāt kāryaṃ tau cobhau mām avocatām ||
na viṣādas tvayā kāryo bhīṣma kāśisutāṃ prati ||
daivaṃ puruṣakāreṇa ko nivartitum utsahet ||
sā tu kanyā mahārāja praviśyāśramamaṇḍalam ||
yamunātīram āśritya tapas tepe 'timānuṣam ||
nirāhārā kṛśā rūkṣā jaṭilā malapaṅkinī ||
ṣaṇ māsān vāyubhakṣā ca sthāṇubhūtā tapodhanā ||
yamunātīram āsādya saṃvatsaram athāparam ||
udavāsaṃ nirāhārā pārayām āsa bhāminī ||
"And this matter, O king, out of fear I reported to Nārada and Vyāsa. Both of them said to me: 'You need not despair over the daughter of Kāśi, Bhīṣma. Who could turn back fate by mere human effort?' Meanwhile that maiden, O great king, entered the region of hermitages, took up residence on the bank of the Yamunā, and performed austerities beyond human measure. Without food, emaciated, gaunt, her hair matted, her body caked with mud, for six months she lived on air alone, standing motionless as a post, rich in asceticism. Having reached the bank of the Yamunā, the lovely woman then endured a further year of fasting in water, taking no food."
3fe47228b637 · publicado 17 jul 2026, 6:42:04 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
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.