Shloka 23
अम्बा–राम–भीष्म संवादः
Amba–Rama–Bhishma Dialogue on Vow and Refuge
महाराज भरतनन्दन! फिर उन वेदवादी मुनियोंको साथ ले परशुरामजी राजकन्या अम्बाके साथ कुरक्षेत्रमें आये ।।
nyaviśanta tataḥ sarve parigṛhya sarasvatīm | tāpasās te mahātmāno bhṛguśreṣṭha-puraskṛtāḥ ||
Then all those great-souled ascetics, having taken shelter by the Sarasvatī, settled there for the night, placing Bhṛgu’s foremost—Paraśurāma—at their head. In the narrative, this is a deliberate, dharma-minded pause: they reach Kurukṣetra not in haste or hostility, but under revered sages’ guidance, choosing the sacred riverbank for counsel and restraint before decisive action in Ambā’s cause.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores dharmic conduct through restraint and reverence: even amid a charged dispute, the party proceeds under the leadership of a revered sage and chooses a sacred, peaceful setting (the Sarasvatī’s bank) for lodging and deliberation, implying that right action should be grounded in sanctity, counsel, and self-control rather than impulsive force.
After arriving in the Kurukṣetra region with Ambā and accompanying Veda-versed ascetics, Paraśurāma leads the group to the Sarasvatī. There, the sages encamp for the night on the riverbank, with Paraśurāma placed at the forefront as their guide.