SECTION CLXXVI
"Bhishma said, 'I then placed the matter before (my mother) Kali,
otherwise called Gandhavati, as also all our counsellors, and also before
our special and ordinary priests and then permitted, O king, the eldest
of those maidens, Amva, to depart. Permitted by me, that maiden then went
to the city of the ruler of the Salwas. And she had for her escort a
number of old Brahmanas and was also accompanied by her own nurse. And
having travelled the whole distance (between Hastinapura and Salwa's
city), she approached king Salwa and said these words, 'I come, O you of
mighty arms, expectant of thee, O high-souled one! Unto her, however, O
king, the lord of the Salwas said with a laughter, 'O you of the fairest
complexion, I no longer desire to make a wife of you who wast to be
wedded to another. Therefore, O blessed one, go back thither unto
Bhishma's presence. I no longer desire you that was forcibly ravished by
Bhishma. Indeed, when Bhishma, having vanquished the kings, took thee
away, you didst go with him cheerfully. When having humiliated and
vanquished all the kings of the earth, Bhishma took you away, I no
longer desire thee, O you of the fairest complexion, for a wife,--thee
that was to have been wedded to another! How can a king like myself, who
is acquainted with all branches of knowledge and who lays down laws for
the guidance of others, admit (into his abode) a woman who was to have
been wedded to another? O blessed lady, go whithersoever you wishest,
without spending your time in vain!' Hearing these words of his, Amva
then, O king, afflicted with the arrows of the god of love, addressed
Salwa, saying, 'Say not so, O lord of the earth, for it is not so! O
grinder of foes, cheerful I was not when taken away by Bhishma! He took
me away by force, having routed all the kings, and I was weeping all the
while. An innocent girl that I am and attached to thee, accept me, O lord
of the Salwas! The abandonment (by one) of those that are attached (to
him) is never applauded in the scriptures. Having solicited Ganga's son
who never retreats from battle, and having at last obtained his
permission, I come to thee! Indeed, the mighty-armed Bhishma, O king,
desireth me not! It hath been heard by me that his action (in this
matter) hath been for the sake of his brother. My two sisters Amvika and
Amvalika, who were abducted with me at the same time, have, O king, been
bestowed by Ganga's son on his younger brother Vichitravirya! O lord of
the Salwas, I swear, O tiger among men, by touching my own head that I
have never thought of any other husband than thee! I do not, O great
king, come to you as one who was to have been wedded to another! I tell
thee the truth, O Salwa, truly swearing by my soul! Take me, O you of
large eyes, me--a maiden come to you of her own accord--one unbetrothed
to another, one desirous of your grace!' Although she spoke in this
strain, Salwa, however, O chief of the Bharatas, rejected that daughter
of the ruler of Kasi, like a snake casting off his slough. Indeed,
although that king was earnestly solicited with diverse expressions such
as these, the lord of the Salwas still did not, O bull of the Bharata
race, manifest any inclination for accepting the girl. Then the eldest
daughter of the ruler of Kasi, filled with anger, and her eyes bathed in
tears, said these words with a voice choked with tears and grief, 'Cast
off, O king, by thee, whithersoever I may go, the righteous will be my
protectors, for truth is indestructible!'
"It thus, O you of Kuru's race, that the lord of the Salwas rejected
that maiden who addressed him in language such as this and who was
sobbing in grief so tenderly. Go, go,--were the words that Salwa said
unto her repeatedly. I am in terror of Bhishma, O you of fair hips, thou
art Bhishma's capture! Thus addressed by Salwa destitute of foresight,
that maiden issued out of his city sorrowfully and wailing like a
she-osprey.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 5 : UPA-PARVA 176 ---------------------
