Shloka 4
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
अस्मद्वधार्थ निश्चित्य तपो घोरं समास्थित: । ऋते कन्यां महादेव पुत्रो मे स्यादिति ब्रुवन्
bhīṣma uvāca | asmad-vadhārthaṁ niścitya tapo ghoraṁ samāsthitaḥ | ṛte kanyāṁ mahādeva putro me syād iti bruvan nivartasva mahīpāla naitaj jātva anyathā bhavet |
Bhishma berkata: “Dengan tekad memperoleh seorang putera demi kebinasaan kami, dia menempuh tapa yang amat berat sambil berkata, ‘Wahai Mahādeva, kurniakanlah aku putera—bukan puteri.’ Mendengar itu, Mahādeva menjawab, ‘Wahai raja, mula-mula engkau akan memperoleh seorang puteri; kemudian dia akan menjadi lelaki. Pulanglah sekarang—apa yang telah Kukatakan tidak akan pernah menjadi selainnya.’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts the power of disciplined austerity with the ethical danger of using it for revenge, while emphasizing that divine pronouncements are irrevocable and that outcomes unfold according to a higher, unalterable order.
Bhishma recounts how a king performed fierce penance to obtain a son specifically to take vengeance and bring about Bhishma’s death; Mahadeva grants a qualified outcome—first a daughter, who later becomes male—then sends the king back, affirming the certainty of his word.