Shloka 56
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
निवर्तस्व महीपाल नैतज्जात्वन्यथा भवेत् | हमलोगोंके वधके लिये पुत्र पानेका निश्चित संकल्प लेकर उन्होंने यह कहते हुए घोर तपस्या की थी कि “महादेव! मुझे कन्या नहीं
nivartasva mahīpāla naitaj jātva anyathā bhavet | vadhāya asmākam putra-prāptaye niścita-saṅkalpā sā etad uktvā ghoraṃ tapaś cacāra—“mahādeva! me kanyā na bhavatu, putro me prāpyatām | bhagavan! bhīṣmasya prati badalārthaṃ putram icchāmi” iti | etac chrutvā devādhidevo mahādeva uvāca—“bhūpāla! te pūrvaṃ kanyā prāpsyate, sā eva paścāt pumān bhaviṣyati | idānīṃ nivartasva | mayoktaṃ kadācana mithyā na bhavati” iti
Disse Bhīṣma: “Volta, ó rei; isto jamais poderá ser de outro modo. Com a firme resolução de obter um filho para a nossa destruição, ela empreendeu severas austeridades, dizendo: ‘Mahādeva! Não me concedas uma filha—concede-me um filho. Ó Senhor, desejo um filho para vingar-me de Bhīṣma.’ Ouvindo isso, Mahādeva, Deus dos deuses, respondeu: ‘Ó governante, primeiro obterás uma filha, e depois ela mesma se tornará homem. Agora volta. O que eu disse nunca pode ser falso.’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage stresses the inevitability of a divine pronouncement and the moral weight of intense resolve (saṅkalpa) expressed through tapas: when a vow is directed toward vengeance, it still gains power, yet unfolds according to a higher order—here, Shiva’s boon that first a daughter will be born and later become male, and that divine speech does not become false.
Bhishma recounts how a woman, determined to bring about the destruction of Bhishma and his side, performed severe austerities and prayed to Shiva for a son (not a daughter) to accomplish revenge. Shiva grants a conditional boon: she will first have a daughter, and that very child will later become a man—foreshadowing the figure who will be instrumental in Bhishma’s downfall.