अम्बा–राम–भीष्म संवादः
Amba–Rama–Bhishma Dialogue on Vow and Refuge
काश्ये न काम गृह्नामि शस्त्र वै वरवर्णिनि । ऋते ब्रह्मविदां हेतो: किमनयत् करवाणि ते
kāśye na kāma gṛhṇāmi śastraṃ vai varavarṇini | ṛte brahmavidāṃ hetoḥ kim anyat karavāṇi te ||
हे वरवर्णिनी काशिराजकन्ये, मी केवळ स्वेच्छेने शस्त्र उचलत नाही. ब्रह्मविद् वेदवेत्त्यांच्या हित-रक्षणाशी संबंधित कारणावाचून मी अस्त्र धारण करीत नाही. म्हणून माझी प्रतिज्ञा जपत, मी तुझे आणखी कोणते कार्य करू?
भीष्म उवाच
The verse emphasizes ethical restraint: weapons should not be taken up from personal desire or impulse. One must act within the bounds of one’s vow and dharma, using force only for a legitimate, principled cause.
In the Ambā–Bhīṣma–Paraśurāma episode, Ambā urges Paraśurāma to kill Bhīṣma. Paraśurāma replies that he cannot take up arms merely at will; he is bound by his vow and will fight only when a proper cause—especially connected with the duty toward learned Brahmins—arises, and he asks what else he can do for her while keeping his pledge.