Shloka 13

Amba approaches the Paraśurāma context; Hotravāhana’s counsel and Akṛtavraṇa’s report (अम्बोपाख्यानम्—रामदर्शनप्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

उषितास्मि तथा बाल्ये पितुर्वेश्मनि तापसा: । नाहं गमिष्ये भद्रं वस्तत्र यत्र पिता मम । तपस्तप्तुमभीप्सामि तापसै: परिरक्षिता,तापसो! मैं बाल्यावस्थामें पिताके घर रह चुकी हूँ। आपका कल्याण हो। अब मैं वहाँ नहीं जाऊँगी, जहाँ मेरे पिता होंगे। मैं आप तपस्वी जनोंद्वारा सुरक्षित होकर यहाँ तपस्या करनेकी ही इच्छा रखती हूँ

Transliteration

uṣitāsmi tathā bālye pitur veśmani tāpasāḥ | nāhaṃ gamiṣye bhadraṃ vas tatra yatra pitā mama | tapas taptum abhīpsāmi tāpasaiḥ parirakṣitā ||

Translation

അംബ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ തപസ്വികളേ! ബാല്യത്തിൽ ഞാൻ പിതാവിന്റെ ഗൃഹത്തിൽ വസിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. നിങ്ങൾക്ക് മംഗളം. ഇനി എന്റെ പിതാവ് ഉള്ള സ്ഥലത്തേക്ക് ഞാൻ പോകുകയില്ല. തപസ്വികളായ നിങ്ങളുടെ സംരക്ഷണത്തിൽ ഇവിടെ തന്നെ തപസ്സു ചെയ്യാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

{'uṣitā asmi''I have dwelt

I have stayed', 'tathā''indeed

in that manner', 'bālye''in childhood', 'pituḥ': 'of (my) father', 'veśmani': 'in the house

in the dwelling', 'tāpasāḥ''O ascetics

men of penance (vocative plural)', 'na aham''I will not', 'gamiṣye': 'I shall go (future)', 'bhadram': 'well-being

‘may it be well’ (benedictive sense)', 'vas''to you (plural, enclitic)', 'tatra': 'there', 'yatra': 'where', 'pitā': 'father', 'mama': 'my', 'tapas': 'austerity

penance', 'taptum''to perform

to practice (penance)', 'abhīpsāmi''I desire

I wish', 'tāpasaiḥ''by ascetics (instrumental plural)', 'parirakṣitā': 'protected

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

father (unnamed)

tāpasas (ascetics)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds a dharmic choice grounded in personal resolve: having already fulfilled life in the paternal household, the speaker refuses to return and instead chooses tapas (a disciplined ethical-spiritual practice), seeking safety and support from righteous ascetics.

What is happening in the narrative?

Addressing a group of ascetics, the speaker declares she has lived in her father’s home during childhood and now will not go back to where her father resides; she asks, in effect, to remain under the ascetics’ protection so she can continue a life of austerity.