Shloka 57

Amba approaches the Paraśurāma context; Hotravāhana’s counsel and Akṛtavraṇa’s report (अम्बोपाख्यानम्—रामदर्शनप्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

अम्बोवाच भगवन्नेवमेवेह यथा55ह पृथिवीपति: । शरीरकर्ता मातुर्मे सृज्जयो होत्रवाहन:,अम्बा बोली--भगवन्‌! जैसा कि मेरी माताके पिता सूंजयवंशी महाराज होत्रवाहनने कहा है, ठीक ऐसी ही मेरी परिस्थिति है

Transliteration

ambovāca bhagavann evam eveha yathāha pṛthivīpatiḥ | śarīrakartā mātur me sūñjayo hotravāhanaḥ ||

Translation

อัมพากล่าวว่า “ข้าแต่ท่านผู้ควรบูชา สภาพของข้าพเจ้า ณ ที่นี้เป็นไปดังที่พระราชาตรัสไว้ทุกประการ มาตามหาของข้าพเจ้า—โหตรวาหนะ แห่งวงศ์สูญชยะ ผู้เป็นเหตุให้ข้าพเจ้ามีร่างกาย—ก็ได้กล่าวไว้เช่นนั้น”

Word by Word

अम्बाAmba

उवाचsaid

भगवन्O Lord / O venerable one

एवम्thus, in this manner

एवindeed, just

इहhere, in this matter

यथाas, just as

पृथिवीपतिःthe king (lord of the earth)

शरीरकर्ताthe begetter/producer of the body (father)

मातुःof (my) mother

मेmy

सृञ्जयःSrinjaya (proper name / lineage name)

होत्रवाहनःHotravahana (proper name; lit. 'having the oblation as vehicle')

Speaker

होत्रवाहन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Amba

Hotravāhana

Sūñjaya (lineage)

Pṛthivīpati (a king; referenced speaker)

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?

The verse underscores the ethical weight of truthful testimony and lineage-based responsibility: Amba grounds her claim in the authoritative words of elders/royal authority and in her familial lineage, reflecting how dharma in epic society is argued through credible speech, kinship, and social duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Amba is presenting her case to a revered listener, affirming that her circumstances match what the king has already declared, and she invokes her maternal grandfather Hotravāhana of the Sūñjaya line as a key authority connected to her identity and social standing.