Shloka 9
अम्बा-शाल्वसंवादः | Amba’s Appeal to Śālva and His Refusal
तथाश्रौषं महाबाहो तिस््र: कन्या: स्वयंवरा: । रूपेणाप्रतिमा: सर्वा: काशिराजसुतास्तदा । अम्बां चैवाम्बिकां चैव तथैवाम्बालिकामपि,महाबाहो! उन्हीं दिनों मैंने सुना कि काशिराजकी तीन कन्याएँ हैं, जो सब-की-सब अप्रतिम रूप-सौन्दर्यसे सुशोभित हैं और वे स्वयंवर-सभामें स्वयं ही पतिका चुनाव करनेवाली हैं। उनके नाम हैं अम्बा, अम्बिका और अम्बालिका
tathāśrauṣaṃ mahābāho tisraḥ kanyāḥ svayaṃvarāḥ | rūpeṇāpratimāḥ sarvāḥ kāśirājasutās tadā | ambāṃ caivāmbikāṃ caiva tathaivāmbālikām api ||
So I heard, O mighty-armed one, that at that time the king of Kāśī had three daughters—maidens of svayaṃvara—each incomparable in beauty. Their names were Ambā, Ambikā, and likewise Ambālikā.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames royal marriage as a public, dharma-governed institution: the princesses are described as svayaṃvarāḥ, emphasizing socially sanctioned choice and the ethical weight of alliances formed through marriage—an issue that later drives major consequences in the Kuru line.
Bhīṣma begins recounting how he came to know of the three famed daughters of the king of Kāśī—Ambā, Ambikā, and Ambālikā—who were to hold a svayaṃvara. This sets up the later episode of Bhīṣma’s intervention in their marriage arrangements.