Shloka 7
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
कृतो यत्नो महादेवस्तपसा55राधितो मया । कन्या भूत्वा पुमान् भावी इति चोक्तोडस्मि शम्भुना
kṛto yatno mahādevas tapasā rādhito mayā | kanyā bhūtvā pumān bhāvī iti cokto 'smi śambhunā ||
Bhīṣma said: “I exerted myself with every effort and, through austerity, worshipped Mahādeva. Śambhu himself told me: ‘A daughter will be born, and later she will become a man.’ Even though I repeatedly begged only for a son, Śiva declared this to be the fixed ordinance of destiny—unchangeable—and said: ‘What has been spoken will indeed come to pass.’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even intense effort and devotion may culminate in an outcome shaped by daiva (destiny); the ethical stance implied is acceptance of what is divinely ordained when it is declared unalterable, rather than insisting that personal preference must prevail.
Bhīṣma recounts that he performed austerities to propitiate Śiva and sought a son, but Śiva granted a specific boon: a daughter would be born who would later become male—an event presented as fixed by destiny and therefore not subject to change.