Shloka 8
Amba approaches the Paraśurāma context; Hotravāhana’s counsel and Akṛtavraṇa’s report (अम्बोपाख्यानम्—रामदर्शनप्रसङ्गः)
गति: पति: समस्थाया विषमे च पिता गति: । प्रत्रज्या हि सुदु:खेयं सुकुमार्या विशेषत:,“सुखकी परिस्थितिमें नारीके लिये पति आश्रय होता है और संकटकालमें उसके लिये पिताका आश्रय लेना उत्तम है। विशेषतः तुम सुकुमारी हो, अतः तुम्हारे लिये यह प्रव्रज्या (गृहत्याग) अत्यन्त दुःखसाध्य है
gatiḥ patiḥ samasthāyā viṣame ca pitā gatiḥ | pravrajyā hi suduḥkheyam sukumāryā viśeṣataḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Khi cảnh ngộ yên ổn, chỗ nương của người nữ là phu quân; nhưng lúc nguy biến, phụ vương trở thành chỗ nương. Với người mảnh mai, mềm yếu như nàng, việc xuất gia—rời bỏ nhà cửa và mọi chỗ dựa thế tục—đặc biệt khó chịu đựng, đầy dẫy khổ đau.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma frames ethical counsel in terms of appropriate refuge (gati): in ordinary life a woman relies on her husband, but in calamity she may rightly seek her father’s protection; he also warns that renunciation (pravrajyā) is not a simple ideal but a demanding path, especially for one unaccustomed to hardship.
Bhīṣma is advising a young woman contemplating or facing the prospect of leaving household life; he argues from practical dharma—social supports and duties—urging her to recognize where protection lies in normal times versus crisis, and to understand the severe difficulty of a life of renunciation.