Shloka 44
अम्बा–राम–भीष्म संवादः
Amba–Rama–Bhishma Dialogue on Vow and Refuge
गुरुत्वं त्वयि सम्प्रेक्ष्य जामदग्न्य पुरातनम् । प्रसादये त्वां भगवंस्त्यक्तैषा तु पुरा मया
gurutvaṁ tvayi samprekṣya jāmadagnya purātanam | prasādaye tvāṁ bhagavaṁs tyaktaiṣā tu purā mayā ||
Rāma sprach: „Da ich in dir die uralte Autorität meines Lehrers erkenne, o Jāmadagnya, suche ich deine Gunst zu gewinnen, o Ehrwürdiger. Was aber diese Ambā betrifft: Ich hatte sie schon vor langer Zeit verstoßen.“
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds ethical hierarchy: even amid dispute, one should acknowledge legitimate authority (gurutva) and attempt conciliation (prasādana). It also highlights the moral weight of prior renunciation—once a person has formally ‘given up’ a claim or relationship, invoking it again becomes ethically fraught and can intensify conflict.
Rāma (Paraśurāma), addressing Jāmadagnya with reverence, tries to placate him by invoking the long-standing guru-like authority he recognizes in him. He then states that Ambā had already been abandoned by him earlier, implying that her case should not be pressed against him now—an assertion that frames the dispute around past decisions and their binding force.