Shloka 15
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
ततः स राजा द्रुपद: प्रच्छन्नाया नराधिप
tataḥ sa rājā drupadaḥ pracchannāyā narādhipa, narendra! itas param rājā drupadena chāditāyāḥ kanyāyāḥ sarve saṃskārāḥ putrasyaiva samāḥ kāritāḥ. drupadasya rājñyā sarvaprakāraṃ yatnena etad rahasyaṃ gopayituṃ vyavasthā kṛtā. sā tāṃ kanyāṃ putra iti eva sambodhayati sma. nagare sarvatra drupadaṃ vinā anyaḥ kaścid api na jānāti sma yat sā kanyā iti.
Disse Bhishma: “Então o rei Drupada, ó senhor dos homens, mandou que todos os ritos de passagem daquele filho oculto fossem realizados exatamente como para um varão. A rainha de Drupada, esforçando-se de todas as maneiras, providenciou para que o segredo permanecesse guardado. Chamava a menina apenas de ‘filho’. Em toda a cidade, exceto o próprio Drupada, ninguém sabia que a criança era, na verdade, uma filha.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how royal households may manipulate social identity and ritual status to protect dynastic aims and public order. It raises ethical tension between truthfulness and perceived necessity: secrecy is maintained to secure a future political-religious objective, while the queen’s role shows deliberate management of reputation and lineage through saṃskāra and public speech.
Bhishma narrates that Drupada’s hidden daughter is publicly treated as a son: all rites are performed as for a male child, the queen consistently calls the child 'son,' and the secret is kept from everyone in the city except Drupada.