Chapter 180
“Bhishma said, ‘O lord, repeatedly urged by that maiden to slay Bhishma,Rama replied unto that weeping girl, saying, ‘O daughter of Kasi, O thouof the fairest complexion, I do not, on any account, take up arms nowexcept for the sake of those that are conversant with the Vedas. Tell me,therefore, what else I can do for thee? Both Bhishma and Salwa are, Oprincess, exceedingly obedient to me. Do not grieve, I will accomplishthy object. I will not, however, O beautiful lady, take up arms, exceptat the command of Brahmanas. This hath been my rule of conduct.’
“Amva said, ‘My misery, O holy one, should by any means be dispelled bythee. That misery of mine hath been caused by Bhishma. Slay him,therefore, O lord, without much delay.’
“Rama said, ‘O daughter of Kasi, say but the word and Bhishma, however,deserving of reverence from thee, will, at my word, take up thy feet onhis head!’
“Amva said, ‘O Rama, slay in battle that Bhishma who roareth like anAsura. Indeed, summoned to the encounter (by him), slay him, O Rama, ifthou wishest (to do) what is agreeable to me. It behoveth thee, besides,to make thy promise true.’
“Bhishma continued, ‘While, O king, Rama and Amva were talking thus witheach other, the Rishi (Akritavrana) of highly virtuous soul said thesewords, ‘It behoveth thee not, O mighty-armed one, to desert this girlthat seeketh thy protection! If summoned to battle, Bhishma cometh to theencounter and sayeth–I am vanquished, or, if he obeyeth thy words, thenthat which this maiden seeketh will be accomplished, O son of Bhrigu’srace, and the words spoken by thee, O hero, will also, O lord, be true!This also was, O great Muni, the vow then made by thee, O Rama,–the vowmade by thee before Brahmanas after thou hadst conquered all theKshatriyas, viz., that thou wouldst slay in battle the person, be he aBrahmana, a Kshatriya, a Vaisya, or a Sudra, who would be a foe to theBrahmanas. Thou hadst further promised that as long as thou wouldst livethou wouldst not abandon those that would come to thee in fright and seekthy protection, and that thou wouldst, O Bhargava, slay that proudwarrior who would vanquish in battle all the assembled Kshatriyas of theearth! O Ram, even Bhishma, that perpetuator of Kuru’s race, hathachieved such success (over all the Kshatriyas)! Approaching him, O sonof Bhrigu’s race, encounter him now in battle!’
“Rama said, ‘O best of Rishis, I recollect that vow of mine made before.I will, however (in the present instance) do that which conciliation maypoint out. That task which the daughter of Kasi hath in her mind is agrave one, O Brahmana! Taking this maiden with me, I will repair myselfto the place where Bhishma is. If Bhishma, proud of his achievements inbattle, do not obey my behest, I will then slay that arrogant wight. Eventhis is my fixed resolve. The arrows shot by me do not stick to thebodies of embodied creatures (but pass them through). This is known toyou from what you saw in my encounters with the Kshatriyas!’ Having saidthis, Rama then, along with all those seekers of Brahma, resolved todepart from that asylum! and the great ascetic then rose from his seat.Then all those ascetics passing that night there, performed (on the nextmorning) their homa-rites and recited their prayers. And then they allset out, desirous of taking my life. And Rama, accompanied by all thosedevotees of Brahma, then came to Kurukshetra, O monarch, with thatmaiden, O Bharata, in their company. And those high-souled ascetics, withthat foremost one of Bhrigu’s race at head, having arrived on the banksof the stream of Saraswati, quartered themselves there.'”
