Shloka 136

Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)

Devanagari script

कन्‍्यां प्रवररूपां तु प्राजायत नराधिप । नरेश्वर! पुत्रहीन राजा ट्रपदकी उस महारानीने समय आनेपर एक परम सुन्दरी कन्याको जन्म दिया

Transliteration

kanyāṁ pravararūpāṁ tu prājāyata narādhipa | nareśvara! putrahīno rājā drupadakī sā mahārājñī samaye āgate paramasundarīṁ kanyāṁ janayām āsa ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „O König, zur rechten Zeit gebar die königliche Gemahlin Drupadakī—obwohl ihr Gatte, König Drupada, ohne Sohn war—eine Tochter von außergewöhnlicher Schönheit und edler Gestalt. Die Erzählung macht deutlich, dass dynastische Hoffnungen und Sorgen auch ohne männlichen Erben fortbestehen; doch wird die Geburt einer Tochter zugleich als bedeutsam und glückverheißend geschildert.“

Word by Word

• कन्याम्: a daughter/maiden
• कन्याम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रवररूपाम्: of excellent beauty/form
• प्रवररूपाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रवररूपा (प्रवर + रूप)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• प्राजायत: was born / came into being
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (जायते)
• Form: Aorist (Luṅ), 3rd, Singular, Ātmanepada

• नराधिप: O king, lord of men
• Type: Noun
• Root: नराधिप (नर + अधिप)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• narādhipa/nareśvara (addressed king)
• Drupada
• Drupadakī (queen of Drupada)
• the newborn daughter (kanyā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between royal expectations of a male heir and the meaningful, auspicious arrival of a daughter, suggesting that worth and destiny are not confined to gendered succession.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma narrates that Queen Drupadakī, wife of the sonless King Drupada, gives birth at the proper time to an extraordinarily beautiful daughter.