Shloka 21

Amba approaches the Paraśurāma context; Hotravāhana’s counsel and Akṛtavraṇa’s report (अम्बोपाख्यानम्—रामदर्शनप्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

स तामपृच्छत्‌ कार्त्स्न्येन व्यसनोत्पत्तिमादित: । सा च तस्मै यथावृत्तं विस्तरेण न्यवेदयत्‌,उन्होंने उसपर संकट आनेकी सारी बातें आरम्भसे ही पूछी और अम्बाने भी जो कुछ जैसे-जैसे हुआ था, वह सारा वृत्तान्त उनसे विस्तारपूर्वक बताया

Transliteration

sa tām apṛcchat kārtsnyena vyasanotpattim āditaḥ | sā ca tasmai yathāvṛttaṁ vistareṇa nyavedayat |

Translation

Bhishma fragte sie von Anfang an und in allen Einzelheiten, wie ihr Unheil entstanden sei. Und sie berichtete ihm ausführlich den ganzen Verlauf der Begebenheiten, genau so, wie es geschehen war.

Word by Word

• {'saḥ': 'he (Bhishma)', 'tām': 'her (that woman

• here, Amba)', 'apṛcchat': 'asked, inquired', 'kārtsnyena': 'completely, in entirety', 'vyasana': 'misfortune, calamity, distress', 'utpatti': 'origin, arising', 'vyasanotpattim': 'the origin of the calamity', 'āditaḥ': 'from the beginning', 'sā': 'she (Amba)', 'ca': 'and', 'tasmai': 'to him', 'yathā-vṛttam': 'as it occurred

• the factual account', 'vistareṇa': 'in detail, expansively', 'nyavedayat': 'reported, related, informed'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Amba

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A righteous decision begins with complete and truthful inquiry: one should hear the full account from the start (āditaḥ, kārtsnyena) and value an accurate narration (yathāvṛttam) before judging or acting.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma questions Amba about how her suffering began, and Amba recounts the entire sequence of events in detail, setting the stage for understanding responsibility and the dharmic course of action.