श्रद्दधानो हि तद् वाक्यं देवस्याद्भुततेजसः ॥
छादयाम् आस तां कन्यां पुमान् इति च सो ऽब्रवीत् ॥
जातकर्माणि सर्वाणि कारयाम् आस पार्थिवः ॥
पुंवद् विधानयुक्तानि शिखण्डीति च तां विदुः ॥
अहम् एकस् तु चारेण वचनान् नारदस्य च ॥
ज्ञातवान् देववाक्येन अम्बायास् तपसा तथा ॥
śraddadhāno hi tad vākyaṃ devasyādbhutatejasaḥ ||
chādayām āsa tāṃ kanyāṃ pumān iti ca so 'bravīt ||
jātakarmāṇi sarvāṇi kārayām āsa pārthivaḥ ||
puṃvad vidhānayuktāni śikhaṇḍīti ca tāṃ viduḥ ||
aham ekas tu cāreṇa vacanān nāradasya ca ||
jñātavān devavākyena ambāyās tapasā tathā ||
Believing the word of the god of wondrous splendor, the king concealed this girl and said: 'He is a man.' The earthly lord had all the birth rites performed according to the established rite for a male, and she was known by the name Shikhandin. I alone learned the truth through a spy, from the words of Narada, through divine utterance, and by the power of Amba's austerity.
908af3f5f644 · publicado 17 jul 2026, 6:42:05 UTC
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This chapter shows how Amba's vow begins to enter history through the house of Drupada. Shiva does not overturn the world's order by an instant miracle, but grants a destiny that unfolds gradually: the child is born a daughter, yet destined to become a man and the instrument of Bhishma's death. Drupada and his wife act out of faith in the god's word, and so they conceal the child's sex and perform the rites due a son. For Bhishma this is not merely a family secret of the Panchalas: he sees in it the continuation of Amba's austerity and the working of a destiny that no human means can turn aside.