Shloka 4
भीष्म–रामसंयुगनिवृत्तिः
Bhishma and Rama: Restraint and Withdrawal in the Engagement
यत्कृते दुःखवसतिमिमां प्राप्तास्मि शाश्वतीम् । पतिलोकाद् विहीना च नैव स्त्री न पुमानिह,“जिसके कारण मैं सदाके लिये इस दुःखमयी परिस्थितिमें पड़ गयी हूँ और पतिलोकसे वंचित होकर इस जगतमें न तो स्त्री रह गयी हूँ न पुरुष ही। उस गंगापुत्र भीष्मको युद्धमें मारे बिना तपस्यासे निवृत्त नहीं होऊँगी। तपोधनो! यही मेरे हृदयका संकल्प है, जिसे मैंने स्पष्ट बता दिया
yatkṛte duḥkhavasatim imāṃ prāptāsmi śāśvatīm | patilokād vihīnā ca naiva strī na pumān iha |
“Because of him I have fallen into this everlasting abode of suffering; and, cut off from the world of a husband, in this life I am neither truly woman nor man. Until I slay Bhīṣma, the son of Gaṅgā, in battle, I will not cease from my austerities. O ascetics rich in penance, this is the resolve of my heart, and I have declared it plainly.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unresolved injustice can harden into a binding vow: personal suffering and social exclusion are transmuted into relentless resolve, raising ethical questions about whether vengeance and ascetic power should be directed toward destruction even when framed as a duty.
A wronged figure (contextually associated with Śikhaṇḍin/Amba’s enmity) declares to ascetics that, having lost the possibility of a normal conjugal life and social identity, they will continue severe austerities until Bhīṣma—Gaṅgā’s son—is slain in battle.