Shloka 4
अम्बोपाख्याने तापसानां विचारः तथा होत्रवाहनस्य उपदेशः
Ambā among ascetics; Hotravāhana directs her to Paraśurāma
सा तमासाद्य राजानं शाल्वं वचनमत्रवीत् | आगताहं महाबाहो त्वामुद्दिश्य महामते,आज्ञा पाकर राजकन्या अम्बा वृद्ध ब्राह्मणोंके संरक्षणमें रहकर शाल्वराजके नगरकी ओर गयी। उसके साथ उसकी धाय भी थी। उस मार्गको लाँचधचकर वह राजाके यहाँ पहुँच गयी और शाल्वराजसे मिलकर इस प्रकार बोली--“महाबाहो! महामते! मैं तुम्हारे पास ही आयी हूँ
sā tam āsādya rājānaṃ śālvaṃ vacanam abravīt | āgatāhaṃ mahābāho tvām uddiśya mahāmate ||
Having reached King Śālva, she addressed him: “O mighty-armed one, O wise king, I have come here with you in mind.” In the surrounding narrative, this is Ambā’s deliberate appeal to the man she had chosen, asserting her intention and seeking a dharmic resolution to the wrong done to her through forcible abduction and the disruption of her chosen marriage.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds intention and rightful choice in marriage: Ambā explicitly states she has come for Śālva, highlighting personal agency and the dharmic need to honor prior commitment and consent, even amid royal power and coercive customs.
Ambā reaches King Śālva and speaks directly to him, declaring that she has come with him as her aim—an appeal meant to restore the marriage she had chosen before her abduction and to seek recognition of that prior bond.