Shloka 17

अम्बोपाख्याने तापसानां विचारः तथा होत्रवाहनस्य उपदेशः

Ambā among ascetics; Hotravāhana directs her to Paraśurāma

Devanagari script

न चान्यपूर्वा राजेन्द्र त्वामहं समुपस्थिता । सत्यं ब्रवीमि शाल्वैतत्‌ सत्येनात्मानमालभे,'राजेन्द्र शाल्व! मुझपर किसी भी दूसरे पुरुषका पहले कभी अधिकार नहीं रहा है। मैं स्वेच्छापूर्वक पहले-पहल तुम्हारी ही सेवामें उपस्थित हुई हूँ। यह मैं सत्य कहती हूँ और इस सत्यके द्वारा ही इस शरीरकी शपथ खाती हूँ

Transliteration

na cānyapūrvā rājendra tvām ahaṃ samupasthitā | satyaṃ bravīmi śālva etat satyenātmānam ālabhe ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “O king, I have never before belonged to any other man. Of my own free will I have come to you first and foremost in service. This I declare as truth, O Śālva; and by that very truth I take an oath upon my own person.”

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'ca': 'and', 'anyapūrvā': 'previously connected with another

• having had another before (i.e., not previously claimed by another man)', 'rājendra': 'O best of kings

• O king', 'tvām': 'you (accusative singular)', 'aham': 'I', 'samupasthitā': 'approached

• come into attendance/service (feminine past participle)', 'satyam': 'truth

• truly', 'bravīmi': 'I speak

• I say', 'śālva': 'O Śālva (vocative

• name of a king)', 'etat': 'this', 'satyena': 'by truth

• with truth (instrumental)', 'ātmānam': 'myself

• my own person/body (accusative)', 'ālabhe': 'I touch/lay hold of

• I invoke as a solemn oath (idiomatically: ‘I swear by…’)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Śālva
• rājendra (a king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds satya (truthfulness) as an ethical foundation: a solemn claim is strengthened by invoking truth as an oath, emphasizing personal honor, credibility, and moral accountability.

What is happening in the narrative?

A woman (as quoted within Bhīṣma’s narration) addresses King Śālva, asserting that no other man has previously had a claim over her and that she has approached him voluntarily; she seals this assertion by swearing upon herself through the power of truth.