Shloka 41
भीष्मस्वप्न-स्मृत्युपाख्यानम् | Bhīṣma’s Dream-Linked Recollection of the Paraśurāma Combat
सा कन्या तपसा तेन देहार्थेन व्यजायत । नदी च राजन् वत्सेषु कन्या चैवाभवत् तदा,राजन्! राजकन्या अम्बा उस तपस्याके प्रभावसे आधे शरीरसे तो अम्बा नामकी नदी हो गयी और आधे अंगसे वत्सदेशमें ही एक कन्या होकर प्रकट हुई
sā kanyā tapasā tena dehārthena vyajāyata | nadī ca rājan vatseṣu kanyā caivābhavat tadā ||
Wahai Raja, oleh daya tapa itu sang gadis berubah secara menakjubkan: dengan separuh tubuhnya ia menjadi sungai bernama Ambā, dan dengan separuh lainnya ia menampakkan diri kembali sebagai seorang gadis di negeri Vatsa.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata motif that tapas (austerity) possesses transformative potency: intense ascetic effort can alter embodiment and redirect the course of destiny, suggesting that moral and karmic pressures may reappear in new forms until resolved.
Rāma addresses the king and describes a miraculous outcome of austerity: the maiden manifests in two ways—becoming the river Ambā in one aspect, and appearing again as a maiden in the Vatsa region in another.