Amba (mythology)

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Amba ( Sanskrit अम्बा ambā ) is a figure of Indian mythology , in the Mahabharata she appears as the eldest daughter of Kashya , the king of Kashi .

She is kidnapped by Bhishma with her sisters Ambika and Ambalika in order to marry them off to his stepbrother King Vichitravirya . Ambika and Ambalika are happy to be married, but Amba has already been promised to the ruler of Salwa , which is why Bhishma lets her go again. When she comes to Salwa, she is rejected there because there are doubts about her virginity due to the kidnapping. She then turns to Bhishma and asks him to marry her, as he is responsible for the fact that she could not be married to the ruler Salwas. She is also turned down by Bhishma, as he has vowed never to marry in order to avoid disputes over the throne.

Since Amba has been deprived of any opportunity to get married, she retires into the woods and swears vengeance. Your vows will eventually be heard by Shiva . He promises her that she can take revenge and lets her reincarnate as the man Shikhandi .

At the battle of Kurukshetra , Bhishma proves invincible. It turns out that he cannot be defeated by any man, only by a woman. When Shikhandi confronts him in the fight, he recognizes Amba and stops the fighting. He is then struck down by Shikandi's and Arjuna's arrows.

literature

  • Amba 2 . In: John Dowson : A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature. Trübner & co., London 1879, p. 12 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
  • James Lochtefeld: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism , Volume 1. Rosen, New York 2002, ISBN 9780823931798 , p. 32.