Amba
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- For the Israeli condiment, see amba (condiment).
Amba (अम्बा) was the eldest daughter of King of Kashi in the Hindu epic of the Mahabharata.
Along with her sisters Ambika and Ambalika, she was taken by force by Bhishma from their Swayamvara. (Bhishma challenged the assembled Kings and Princes and defeated them.) He presented them to Satyavati for marriage to Vichitravirya, the king of Hastinapura.
Vichitravirya married only her sisters, since Amba had already given her heart to some other. When Amba went to see her beloved, he rejected her as she had been already given to Bhishma. Amba then returned to Bhishma and demanded that he marry her. But he too declined since he had already taken a vow of bachelorhood. Enraged that she was going to be an unmarriageable women, she swore to kill him, at least in her next life, and died.
She was re-born as Shikhandi the son of Drupada. In the battle of Kurukshetra, Shikhandi was instrumental in Bhishma's death.
Amba is also Goddess Parvathi, consort of Lord Shiva.
| The Mahabharata by Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa | |
|---|---|
| Characters | |
| Kuru Dynasty | Others |
| Santanu | Ganga | Bhishma | Satyavati | Chitrāngada | Vichitravirya | Ambika | Ambalika | Vidura | Dhritarashtra | Gandhari | Shakuni | Subhadra | Pandu | Kunti | Madri | Yudhisthira | Bhima | Arjuna | Nakula | Sahadeva | Duryodhana | Dushasana | Yuyutsu | Dushala | Draupadi | Hidimbi | Ghatotkacha | Ahilawati | Uttara | Ulupi | Chitrāngadā | Amba | Barbarika | Babruvahana |Iravan | Abhimanyu | Parikshita | Virata | Kichak | Kripa | Drona | Ashwatthama | Ekalavya | Kritavarma | Jarasandha | Satyaki | Mayasura | Durvasa | Sanjaya | Janamejaya | Vyasa | Karna | Jayadratha | Krishna | Balarama | Drupada | Hidimba | Dhristadyumna | Shalya | Adhiratha | Shikhandi |
| Other | |
| Pandava | Kaurava | Hastinapura | Indraprastha | Kingdoms | Kurukshetra war | Bhagavad Gita | |
| Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Indian epic poetry |  |
|---|---|
| Female Deities: Devi | Saraswati | Lakshmi | Dakshayani | Gayatri | Parvati | Durga | Shakti | Kali | Sita | Radha | Mahavidya | more... | |
| Male Deities: Deva |Brahma | Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Murugan | Hanuman | Indra | Surya | more... | |
| Texts: Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata | Rigveda | |
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