Ambika ( Sansk . अम्बिका , Ambikā IAST ) is the heroine of the ancient Indian epos “ Mahabharata ” and Hinduism's puranic literature , the daughter of the king Kashi Kashi and the wife of the ruler Hastinapura Wichitravirya . [1] Together with her sisters Amboy and Ambalika, Ambika was won on the svayamvara by her elder brother Wichitravirya Bhishma , who challenged the princes who participated in the svayamvara and fought with them, won the victory. Bhishma did this for the sake of his brother, who, because of his young age, had no chance of being elected as a husband to young princesses. Bhishma brought for the Wichitravirya three princesses - Ambika, Ambu and Ambalika . However, Amba had previously given her heart to Shalva , therefore Wichitravirya married only two of them - Ambike and Ambalike.
Soon after the wedding, Vichitravirya died, leaving behind no heir. Then Satyavati asked Bhishma to conceive sons in the wolves of Ambiki and Ambaliki. Bhishma, however, could not satisfy his mother’s request, as he had previously given an oath to hold life-long celibacy. Then Satyavati entrusted this role to her illegitimate son Vyasa , from whom Ambika gave birth to Dhrtarastra , and Ambalika to Pandu . It is described (Mahabharata, Book One - Adiparva, ch. 101) that when Vyasa came to Ambika, she was terrified at the sight of the ugly hermit and closed her eyes, without opening them during the whole sexual intercourse. For this reason, her son Dhrtarashtra was born blind. After the birth of Dhrtarastra, when Satyavati asked Vyasa to conceive another son from Ambika, Ambika sent the wise man her servant, from whom Vidura was born, instead of herself.
Notes
- ↑ Law, BC (1973). Tribes in Ancient India, Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, p.105