Shloka 6
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
स तु गत्वा च नगरं भायामिदमुवाच ह
sa tu gatvā ca nagaraṃ bhāryām idam uvāca ha | devi mayā mahān prayatnaḥ kṛtaḥ | tapasyā mahādevasya ārādhanā kṛtā | tataḥ bhagavān śaṅkaraḥ prasannaḥ san uvāca—pūrvaṃ te kanyā bhaviṣyati; punaḥ saiva putrarūpeṇa pariṇamiṣyati | mayā punaḥ punaḥ kevalaṃ putrārthaṃ yācitaṃ; kintu bhagavān śivaḥ etad daivasya vidhānam iti uktvā—idaṃ na parivartayituṃ śakyam; yad uktaṃ tad eva bhaviṣyati—iti |
Having returned to his city, the king said to his wife: “Lady, I have made a great effort. Through austerities I worshipped Mahādeva. Then Lord Śaṅkara, pleased, declared: ‘First you will have a daughter; later, that very child will become a son.’ Again and again I begged only for a son, but Lord Śiva said this is the ordinance of fate and cannot be altered: what has been spoken will surely come to pass.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even intense personal desire and effort may be bounded by daiva-vidhāna (the divine/fated order); one is urged to accept what is ordained while continuing to act with sincerity and devotion.
Drupada returns home and reports to his queen the result of his austerities: Śiva grants a boon that a daughter will be born first and later become a son; despite repeated requests for a son alone, Śiva insists the decree cannot be altered.