ombhojane/indian_cultural_raw_dataset · Datasets at Hugging Face

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Parashurama gave his word to Amba that he would slay Bhishma, who was his disciple in the past, and destroy his pride.

When Parashurama arrived with his retinue at Kurukshetra and sent a message to Bhishma of his arrival, Bhishma came to see his guru, offering him the traditional respects.

A pleased Parashurama commanded Bhishma to accept Amba.

Bhishma refused, restating that he had taken a vow of celibacy.

An infuriated Parashurama threatened Bhishma with death.

Bhishma tried to calm the sage, but in vain, and he finally agreed to battle his guru to safeguard his Kshatriya duty.

Ganga tried stopping the battle by beseeching her son as well as the great sage, but failed.

The great battle lasted for 23 days, without any result.

On the 24th day when Bhishma chose to use a deadly weapon, at the behest of the divine sage Narada and the devas, Parashurama ended the conflict and the battle was declared a draw.

Parashurama narrated the events to Amba and told her to seek Bhishma's protection.

However, Amba refused to listen to Parashurama's advice and left angrily declaring that she would achieve her objective by asceticism.

Austerities [ edit ] Amba gave up food and sleep, and practised asceticism standing still for six months in the Yamuna river valley, surviving only on air.

She became emaciated and developed matted locks.

After that, she stood in the waters of the Yamuna, without food and practised austerities.

After that, she spent time standing on her tip toes, having eaten only one fallen leaf of a tree.

Her penance for twelve years started burning the heavens and the earth.

She then went to Vatsa kingdom, in which many renowned sages lived.

She roamed the kingdom, bathing in the sacred waters of the Ganges (Ganga) and the Yamuna.

Then, she visited the ashrams of many sages like Narada , Uluka , Chyavana , Vishwamitra , Mandavya , and Garga , as well as sacred sites like Prayaga , Bhogavati , and holy groves.

During her journey, she observed difficult vows and performed ablutions in the holy waters.

The goddess Ganga appeared before Amba and listened to Amba's tale that her austerities were aimed to destroy Bhishma , Ganga's son.

The angry goddess Ganga replied that since Amba's mind was crooked, she would become a crooked and tortuous river, which will remain dry for eight months and flow in the four months of the rainy season.

Ganga declared that the bathing places along the river's course would be in difficult terrain, and it will be infested with crocodiles and other fierce creatures.

Amba wandered practising severe vows and forgoing food and water for months.

She visited many tirthas in this time and finally returned to Vatsa , where Ganga's curse materialized.

Though half of her became the river Amba, the other half remained human, due to her ascetic merit.

Shiva's boon and Amba's death [ edit ] The ascetics of Vatsa dissuaded her from the austerities, but Amba maintained her resolve and told them her desire was to be born a man and slay Bhishma to avenge her misery.

The god Shiva appeared to her and blessed her that she would become a man in her next birth and destroy Bhishma.

Amba would be born to the king Drupada of Panchala and become a great warrior.

Amba would remember her previous birth and hatred of Bhishma.

Pleased with the boon, Amba created a funeral pyre of wood on the banks of the Yamuna and jumped in the fire saying "for Bhishma's destruction!".

Garland of ever-fresh lotuses [ edit ] Another variant narrates that Amba performed austerities and pleased Kartikeya , the god of war and Shiva's son.

He granted her a garland of ever-fresh lotuses and declared that whoever wore it will destroy Bhishma.

With this garland, Amba made one more attempt to seek help of many kings and princes to support her in her just cause.

However, there was no response from anyone of them to help her as they did not want to be on the wrong side of Bhishma.

In a final effort she approached Drupada but even he declined; in frustration she cast the garland off on a pillar outside Drupada's palace and went for austerities in the forest again.

While Amba kills herself, no one dares to touch the garland.

Rebirth as Shikhandi [ edit ] Main article: Shikhandi Drupada had no children, and so he engaged himself in austerities in the forest, seeking the blessings of Shiva for begetting a son.

Shiva granted him the boon that a girl would be born to him, but would transform into a boy later.

As prophesied, Amba was reborn as Shikhandi, whose true sex was not disclosed, and she was brought up as a boy.

When Drupada got his daughter in the garb of a son married to the daughter of Hiranyavarna, the King of Dasharna , her true identity was revealed, not only to the chagrin of the girl, her father, but also to Shikhandi herself.

The agitated Hiranyavarna declared war on Panchala.

Distressed by the turn of events, Shikhandi went into the forest to meet a yaksha (a nature spirit), Sthunakarna, who helped her by offering to exchange their sexes for a period of time.

Thus, Shikhandi became biologically male.

After Hiranyavarna's death, Shikhandi returned to swap sexes with the yaksha, but learnt that the yaksha had been cursed by Kubera to remain female until Shikhandi's death.

In the variant where the garland of ever-fresh lotuses is mentioned, Shikhandi wears the garland once, and Drupada realises that she would slay Bhishma.

Meanwhile, over the course of time, Ambika and Ambalika had grandchildren: the Kauravas and the Pandavas , who became arch-enemies.

Draupadi , the daughter of Drupada, was married to the Pandavas.

When a great Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas ensued, Shikhandi sided with his brothers-in-law, while Bhishma stood with the Kauravas.

Bhishma had vowed "not to shoot at a woman, anyone who used to be a woman or has a woman's name or appears to be a woman", and so he narrated the tale of Amba to Duryodhana , and refused to fight Shikhandi.

Parashurama gave his word to Amba that he would slay Bhishma, who was his disciple in the past, and destroy his pride.

When Parashurama arrived with his retinue at Kurukshetra and sent a message to Bhishma of his arrival, Bhishma came to see his guru, offering him the traditional respects.

A pleased Parashurama commanded Bhishma to accept Amba.

Bhishma refused, restating that he had taken a vow of celibacy.

An infuriated Parashurama threatened Bhishma with death.

Bhishma tried to calm the sage, but in vain, and he finally agreed to battle his guru to safeguard his Kshatriya duty.

Ganga tried stopping the battle by beseeching her son as well as the great sage, but failed.

The great battle lasted for 23 days, without any result.

On the 24th day when Bhishma chose to use a deadly weapon, at the behest of the divine sage Narada and the devas, Parashurama ended the conflict and the battle was declared a draw.

Parashurama narrated the events to Amba and told her to seek Bhishma's protection.

However, Amba refused to listen to Parashurama's advice and left angrily declaring that she would achieve her objective by asceticism.

Austerities [ edit ] Amba gave up food and sleep, and practised asceticism standing still for six months in the Yamuna river valley, surviving only on air.

She became emaciated and developed matted locks.

After that, she stood in the waters of the Yamuna, without food and practised austerities.

After that, she spent time standing on her tip toes, having eaten only one fallen leaf of a tree.

Her penance for twelve years started burning the heavens and the earth.

She then went to Vatsa kingdom, in which many renowned sages lived.

She roamed the kingdom, bathing in the sacred waters of the Ganges (Ganga) and the Yamuna.

Then, she visited the ashrams of many sages like Narada , Uluka , Chyavana , Vishwamitra , Mandavya , and Garga , as well as sacred sites like Prayaga , Bhogavati , and holy groves.

During her journey, she observed difficult vows and performed ablutions in the holy waters.

The goddess Ganga appeared before Amba and listened to Amba's tale that her austerities were aimed to destroy Bhishma , Ganga's son.

The angry goddess Ganga replied that since Amba's mind was crooked, she would become a crooked and tortuous river, which will remain dry for eight months and flow in the four months of the rainy season.

Ganga declared that the bathing places along the river's course would be in difficult terrain, and it will be infested with crocodiles and other fierce creatures.

Amba wandered practising severe vows and forgoing food and water for months.

She visited many tirthas in this time and finally returned to Vatsa , where Ganga's curse materialized.

Though half of her became the river Amba, the other half remained human, due to her ascetic merit.

Shiva's boon and Amba's death [ edit ] The ascetics of Vatsa dissuaded her from the austerities, but Amba maintained her resolve and told them her desire was to be born a man and slay Bhishma to avenge her misery.

The god Shiva appeared to her and blessed her that she would become a man in her next birth and destroy Bhishma.

Amba would be born to the king Drupada of Panchala and become a great warrior.

Amba would remember her previous birth and hatred of Bhishma.

Pleased with the boon, Amba created a funeral pyre of wood on the banks of the Yamuna and jumped in the fire saying "for Bhishma's destruction!".

Garland of ever-fresh lotuses [ edit ] Another variant narrates that Amba performed austerities and pleased Kartikeya , the god of war and Shiva's son.

He granted her a garland of ever-fresh lotuses and declared that whoever wore it will destroy Bhishma.

With this garland, Amba made one more attempt to seek help of many kings and princes to support her in her just cause.

However, there was no response from anyone of them to help her as they did not want to be on the wrong side of Bhishma.

In a final effort she approached Drupada but even he declined; in frustration she cast the garland off on a pillar outside Drupada's palace and went for austerities in the forest again.

While Amba kills herself, no one dares to touch the garland.

Rebirth as Shikhandi [ edit ] Main article: Shikhandi Drupada had no children, and so he engaged himself in austerities in the forest, seeking the blessings of Shiva for begetting a son.

Shiva granted him the boon that a girl would be born to him, but would transform into a boy later.

As prophesied, Amba was reborn as Shikhandi, whose true sex was not disclosed, and she was brought up as a boy.

When Drupada got his daughter in the garb of a son married to the daughter of Hiranyavarna, the King of Dasharna , her true identity was revealed, not only to the chagrin of the girl, her father, but also to Shikhandi herself.

The agitated Hiranyavarna declared war on Panchala.

Distressed by the turn of events, Shikhandi went into the forest to meet a yaksha (a nature spirit), Sthunakarna, who helped her by offering to exchange their sexes for a period of time.

Thus, Shikhandi became biologically male.

After Hiranyavarna's death, Shikhandi returned to swap sexes with the yaksha, but learnt that the yaksha had been cursed by Kubera to remain female until Shikhandi's death.

In the variant where the garland of ever-fresh lotuses is mentioned, Shikhandi wears the garland once, and Drupada realises that she would slay Bhishma.

Meanwhile, over the course of time, Ambika and Ambalika had grandchildren: the Kauravas and the Pandavas , who became arch-enemies.

Draupadi , the daughter of Drupada, was married to the Pandavas.

When a great Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas ensued, Shikhandi sided with his brothers-in-law, while Bhishma stood with the Kauravas.

Bhishma had vowed "not to shoot at a woman, anyone who used to be a woman or has a woman's name or appears to be a woman", and so he narrated the tale of Amba to Duryodhana , and refused to fight Shikhandi.