Shloka 10
अम्बा-शाल्वसंवादः | Amba’s Appeal to Śālva and His Refusal
राजानश्न समाहूता: पृथिव्यां भरतर्षभ । अम्बा ज्येष्ठाभवत् तासामम्बिका त्वथ मध्यमा
rājānaḥ samāhūtāḥ pṛthivyāṃ bharatarṣabha | ambā jyeṣṭhābhavat tāsām ambikā tv atha madhyamā ||
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai banteng di antara kaum Bharata, untuk upacara svayaṃvara itu, raja-raja dari seluruh bumi telah diundang. Dalam kalangan puteri-puteri itu, Ambā ialah yang sulung, Ambikā yang pertengahan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how public royal rites like svayaṃvara operate within dharma and political order: personal relationships are embedded in social duty, and choices made in such settings can carry far-reaching ethical consequences.
Bhishma begins recounting the Kāśī princesses’ svayaṃvara: kings from across the earth were invited, and he identifies the sisters by age—Ambā as eldest and Ambikā as the middle—preparing for the events that follow.