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 · 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.