Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अहमेकस्तु चारेण वचनान्नारदस्य च । ज्ञातवान्‌ देववाक्येन अम्बायास्तपसा तथा,केवल मैं गुप्तचरके दिये हुए समाचारसे, नारदजीके कथनसे, महादेवजीके वरदान- वाक्यसे तथा अम्बाकी तपस्यासे शिखण्डीके कन्या होनेका वृत्तान्त जान गया था

Transliteration

aham ekas tu cāreṇa vacanān nāradasya ca | jñātavān devavākyena ambāyās tapasā tathā ||

Translation

గూఢచారుల సమాచారంతో, నారదుని వాక్యంతో, మహాదేవుని వరదాన-వాక్యంతో, అలాగే అంబా తపస్సుతో—శిఖండీ కన్యగా జన్మించిన వృత్తాంతాన్ని నేను ఒక్కడే తెలుసుకున్నాను.

Word by Word

अहम्I

एकःalone, single

तुbut, indeed

चारेणby a spy (secret agent)

वचनात्from the statement/words

नारदस्यof Nārada

चand

ज्ञातवान्knew, came to know

देववाक्येनby the divine utterance/boon-word

अम्बायाःof Ambā

तपसाby austerity/penance

तथाlikewise, also

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Śikhaṇḍī

Nārada

Mahādeva (Śiva)

Ambā

cāra (spy/intelligence agent)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Hidden causes—tapas, divine boons, and reliable testimony—can shape decisive outcomes in dharmic conflict. Bhīṣma implies that ethical and strategic decisions in war are not based only on what is publicly visible; they must account for deeper karmic histories and authoritative sources of knowledge.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma explains how he alone learned the true background of Śikhaṇḍī’s birth as a girl: from a spy’s report, from Nārada’s words, from a divine pronouncement (linked with Mahādeva’s boon), and from Ambā’s austerities—connecting Śikhaṇḍī’s role in the coming war to Ambā’s prior vow and ascetic pursuit.