Shloka 4
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
अस्मद्वधार्थ निश्चित्य तपो घोरं समास्थित: । ऋते कन्यां महादेव पुत्रो मे स्यादिति ब्रुवन्
bhīṣma uvāca | asmad-vadhārthaṁ niścitya tapo ghoraṁ samāsthitaḥ | ṛte kanyāṁ mahādeva putro me syād iti bruvan nivartasva mahīpāla naitaj jātva anyathā bhavet |
毗湿摩说道：“他决意为毁灭我们而求得一子，便修行严酷苦行，口称：‘大天啊，赐我儿子，不要女儿。’ 大神摩诃提婆听后答曰：‘国王啊，你将先得一女；其后，她将化为男子。如今回去吧——我所说之言，绝无可能变为他样。’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts the power of disciplined austerity with the ethical danger of using it for revenge, while emphasizing that divine pronouncements are irrevocable and that outcomes unfold according to a higher, unalterable order.
Bhishma recounts how a king performed fierce penance to obtain a son specifically to take vengeance and bring about Bhishma’s death; Mahadeva grants a qualified outcome—first a daughter, who later becomes male—then sends the king back, affirming the certainty of his word.